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What caused the devastation is not mentioned on purpose. The point is that it does not matter. The novel is not about what caused the disaster, but about survival. If McCarthy had described the cause of the apocalypse, the novel would become a statement about the cause, which is not what the author wanted. Say, if the devastation were caused by a nuclear war, the novel would make a statement about nuclear weapons. If it were caused by environmental reasons, it would become an environmental book. McCarthy did not want to make a political statement; he wanted to tell a story about survival and hope against all odds.
I thought the novel was beautifully written. I loved it.
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