In a Vision of the Night

An unflinching look into the dark chaos of this world, which wields words with the seriousness such reflection requires, and yet finds hope. I’m speaking, of course, of Cormac McCarthy’s novels…and the book of Job…and Philip Thomas’ comparison of the two in this book. Unlike his subjects, though, Thomas’ clear and comprehensible study makes them both easier to understand, and, if possible, more powerful. Mixing McCarthy’s mud-and-blood-spattered world with Job’s spittle-frothed laments, Thomas enables readers to see reality more clearly and appreciate the theological contributions of these works more fully.

~Will Kynes, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University

Readers disturbed by the dark matters of the biblical book of Job and the novels of Cormac McCarthy will be grateful to Philip Thomas for his penetrating study. Careful to respect the integrity of both ancient scripture and recent fiction, Thomas interrogates one by means of the other. A bracing view of God emerges, one in which our anthropocentrism is crushed even as we are pointed to an unquenchable graciousness.

~John Sykes, Professor of English and Religion, Wingate University

This profoundly thoughtful book moves between theology and the searing visions of Cormac McCarthy with grace, curiosity, and a genuine invitation to readers to explore the deep rewards of thinking theologically about literature, and literarily about theology, positing that each may be enriched by open dialog with the other. In this illuminating conversation, Philip Thomas interrogates the relationship between the agonized cries of despair in the Book of Job to the equally existential torments of McCarthy’s characters. From The Sunset Limited, in which White admits to Black that the only book of the Bible he has read is Job, to the kid in Blood Meridian, who by the end of the novel carries a Bible, ‘no word of which he could read,’ Thomas looks beyond easy examples of intertextuality to interrogating, as Chapter Five suggests, ‘the possibility of hope amid chaos’ in McCarthy’s novels and plays and the haunting laments of Job in a world that seems both bereft of meaning and freighted with potential.

~Sara L. Spurgeon, Professor of American Literature, Texas Tech University

The book is an excellent demonstration of the intersection of the ancient Book of Job and contemporary American literature. Those interested in exploring that intersection will find this book fascinating. It is a testament to the commonality of human experience despite the distance of time and culture.

~Leslie J. Hoppe, The Bible Today

For those who know little of McCarthy’s work, Thomas’ study makes appetite for more; for those who know much, it will be a satisfying journey of connecting the dots. It is a literary accomplishment in its own right, and I warmly recommend it for researchers of Job as a refreshing reading alongside the standard commentary genre.

~Samuel Hilderbrandt, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament