The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy, and Bunnahabhain 12, Part 1

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide.

Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy, while drinking Bunnahabhain 12yo single malt.

In this episode:

  • Some hot takes on The Road to start us off

  • A reading group guide

  • It takes a really long time to answer the extremely simple question of who the title character is

  • Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle in a work of fiction (also, obligatory Gene Wolfe reference)

  • As Likely to End the World as to Save it: Knowledge and Science in Cormac McCarthy, by Philip Bunn

  • Shifting and fuzzy definitions, somewhat intentionally

  • The Passenger of this book is literally this book

  • Is this book an 18th-century novel?

  • A NEW THING: Join us on GoodReads!

Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

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Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Ethan Bartlett