Cormac McCarthy, American novelist of the stark and dark, dies at 89

Cormac McCarthy attends the New York premiere of The Road, the film adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, in 2009. (Mark Von Holden/Getty Images For Dimension Films)

Cormac McCarthy, one of the great novelists of American literature, died Tuesday of natural causes at his home in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 89. His death was confirmed via a statement from his publisher.

McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for his stunning, post-apocalyptic, father-son love story called The Road. He wrote most compellingly about men, often young men, with prose both stark and lyrical. There was a strong Southwestern sensibility to his work.