The Sunset Limited

"This is a room in a tenement building in a black ghetto in New York city. There is a kitchen with a stove & a large refrigerator. A door to the outer hallway and presumably to a bedroom. The hallway door is fitted with a bizarre collection of locks & bars. There is a cheap Formica table in the room and two chrome & plastic chairs. There is a drawer in the table. On the table is a bible & a newspaper. A pair of glasses. A pad & pencil. A large black man is sitting in one chair(stage right) and in the other a middle aged white man"

The Sunset Limited starts with the the stage direction above & all we know are that the characters Black & White are there in this room. It's only through their dialogue that the story unfolds & we learn that White is a Professor & that Black was an addict & has spent some time in the "Jailhouse" for murder. We also learn that Black somehow saved White from throwing himself under a train (The Sunset ltd). We do not know why they are in this room.

Through their conversation, we discover that whilst he was close to death in a prison hospital, Black believes he was visited by God & is now an evangelical Christian, which means little to White, who as an Atheist, has nothing but contempt for religion.

Through their continued dialogue Black, tries to understand White's reasoning behind his suicide attempt & to convince him that life is worth living. But White believes that all reason leads to the inevitable conclusion that death is the only solution & that everything else is just delusion through fear of death.

White constantly tries to leave the apartment, leaving Black to come up with ways to stop him (offering food, coffee etc.). They probe each others beliefs (or lack of), batting back & forth ideas to counter each others arguments, yet neither succeeding being to tied to their own ideology, whether it's Black with everything hanging on his faith & salvation or White with his rationalism & despair that humanity has reached it's nadir.

Through this dialectic, we follow both characters, as one and then the other argue their opposing views, with White's aim to escape the apartment to meet The Sunset ltd (his suicide) & Black increasingly desperate to find a way to stop him, ending with White losing his patience & he lets loose with a vehement denunciation of Black's faith.

"I don't believe in God. Can you understand that? look around you man. Cant you see? The clamour & din of those in torment has to be the sound most pleasing to his ear. I loathe these discussions. The argument of the village atheist whose single passion is to revile endlessly that which he denies the existence of in the first place. Your fellowship is a fellowship of pain and nothing more...."

This seems to leave Black nonplussed & it becomes apparent that there could be more than White's soul at stake, but in the end White's argument wins out, forcing Black to unlock the door, so White can leave to makes his appointment with The Sunset Ltd. Black is left behind, lamenting the outcome.

"He collapse to his knees in the doorway, all but weeping.

Black -" I'll be there, "

He looks up

Black - " He didn't mean them words. You know he didn't. You know he didn't. I don't understand what you sent down there for. I don't understand it. If you wanted me to help him how come you didn't give me the words? you gave em to him. what about me?"

He kneels weeping rocking back & forth.

Black - "That's all right. That's all right. If you never speak again you know I'll keep your word. You know I will. You know I'm good for it."

The Sunset Limited is a beautifully lean yet muscular book, it's prose is precise & seems to work as an internal dialogue espousing both points of view, balancing with the skill of a tightrope walker both Black's & White's standpoints. Expressing both the optimism & despair of the human condition. This book is extremely thought provoking. It's also extremely dark and extremely funny.

http://parrishlantern.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/sunset-limited.html ( )

A professor attempts to kill himself, only to be saved by an ex-con with strong religious faith. The two discuss their beliefs and views on life and faith. ( )

Strange old book this one. Takes the form of a conversation between the two characters. the subject of the conversation is religion and the meaning of life. Some points in the conversation were thought provoking but I felt a little short changed by the length and the ending. ( )

The Sunset Limited is written almost entirely as a dialogue between a black man and a white man on their opposing beliefs about religion and the way they see the world. It is an amazing read and while it is quite short and can be read pretty quickly, it is easily the most thought provoking book I have read in ages. If you like arguing the pros and/or cons of religion over beers, then this is a must read. ( )

Very powerful read - I loved the juxtaposition of these two very real characters. ( )