No Country for Old Men

By: Cormac McCarthy

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Cormac McCarthy, best-selling author of National Book Award winner All the Pretty Horses, delivers his first new novel in seven years. Written in muscular prose, No Country for Old Men is a powerful tale of the West that moves at a blistering pace.

Llewelyn Moss is hunting antelope near the Texas-Mexico border when he stumbles upon several dead men, a big stash of heroin, and more than two million dollars in cash. He takes off with the money, and the hunter becomes the haunted. A drug cartel hires a former Special Forces agent to track down the loot, and a ruthless killer joins the chase as well. Also looking for Moss is the aging Sheriff Bell, a World War II veteran who may be Moss' only hope for survival.

Raw and lean, No Country for Old Men is another masterpiece from one of America's acclaimed novelists.

©2005 Cormac McCarthy (P)2005 Recorded Books, LCC

Critic reviews

"No Country for Old Men gets off to a riveting start as a sort of new wave, hard-boiled Western....Harrowing, propulsive drama." (The New York Times)
"A mesmerizing modern-day western....While the action of the novel thrills, it's the sensitivity and wisdom of Sheriff Bell that makes the book a profound meditation on the battle between good and evil and the roles choice and chance play in the shaping of a life." (Publishers Weekly)
"Shades of Dostoyevsky, Hemingway, and Faulkner resonate in McCarthy's blend of lyrical narrative, staccato dialogue, and action-packed scenes splattered with bullets and blood. McCarthy fans will revel in the author's renderings of the raw landscapes of Mexico and the Southwest and the precarious souls scattered along the border that separates the two." (Booklist)

Much more than expected from the title

This book has violence, insight, humor, love, respect, honor and depth beyond the story line. Narrator: Tom Stechschulte is excellent. He makes the characters come to life.
I could not put it down. This book will make you rethink some of your own values and appreciate your life for what it is. At least it did for me. The "country" wisdom is put in a take it or leave it fashion that does not seem forced on you but lets you draw your own conclusion. Very enjoyable listen.

No Country for Old Men

...compelling story, good listening...well suited for movie adaptation...well worth reading especially before seeing the movie.

Awesome Listen

I recently saw the movie and couldn't stop thinking about it. I decided to check out the audio book even though i was a bit worried that since I knew how it ended that I would find it boring. I was not disappointed even though the Movie was an excellent adapation of the book there was still alot of content and dialog the book offered that made it very enjoyable and difficult to tear myself away.

Mr Mcarthy has a gift with words and storys I am totally in awe of how of how he can pull the reader into the story with the detail and dialog of the characters while at the same time forcing the reader to use the reader to think and use their imagination.

There is a lot of action and violence in the book to keep you interested but its the dialog of the characters that make it great!

The Narrator is great as well he does a fantistic Job of making the book feel authentic. He also makes it easy for you to tell the diffence between characters with the tone and style of his voice which not all narrators can do. I will now look for him on future books I pick.

Incredible.

I bought this on paperback a few years ago, but always put off reading it because I had already seen the movie.

I finally listened to it, and I am speechless. I think this book is under-rated when discussing McCarthy’s finest works. I enjoyed it much more than Blood Meridian. Even if you have seen the movie, this book is must-read. The ending gives more clarity to details that I loved hearing. All the characters had a bit more depth in the book too. This will be a story that I will read again.

Took a while to understand this story

At first, this story really bored me. It just had descriptions of a psycho-killer killing everyone to get some money. What was the point? Later, this turned into a struggle between one man (the killer) and all the forces that went after him, many just as determined as he was.

The sheriff evolves as a philosophical character. In the book, he acknowledges that he is probably only alive because the killer doesn't think much of him. Then he discusses something that happened in WWII (the setting is 1970s) and some of the characters were also in Vietnam. Right after reading this, I watched to movie again. Some of the subtlety of the book is lost in the movie. It would have been hard to put it in, but it is a loss in the movie and makes the book worthwhile, even if you have seen the movie.

I often had trouble determining who the narrator was at various points. I'm not sure if this was in the original book, or if it is a difficulty peculiar to the narration. The voices also were not very distinctive, so that made it more difficult, as one has to figure out who is speaking from the context- and that can take a while.

Amazing story

I read/listened to the book after watching the movie. As it usually happens, the book was amazing. It contained details absent from the movie. Also, I a firm believer in the fact that a narrator can make or break a book. Tom Stechschulte did a great job with the story and the characters. Bravo all around!

worth reading even after movie

What made the experience of listening to No Country for Old Men the most enjoyable?

The narrative skills of the author are excellent. I had seen the movie a few years ago, and I thought perhaps the book wouldn't be as exciting as the movie, but I was mistaken, the book is another experience altogether.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I knew the plot from the movie, but more than the plot what kept me hooked was the ability of the narrator to tell the story, to create characters, dialogue that are interesting to imagine and experience.

Which character – as performed by Tom Stechschulte – was your favorite?

Chigurh no doubt is a very strong character. He comes across as a real being, a very strange fellow, but very credible. Ed Tom, the Sheriff, who is the narrator of the book is also very interesting since it is through his point of view that we experience the action.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I don't think it is the kind of books which makes one cry or laugh. Yes, at the end there is some reflexion on evil and wars and the difficulties of life; all these things can sort of get you into a melancholic mood, but all of it very much part of the deal; one knows these sort of things are on the writers mind, specially if one has read other of his books, or seen the films.

Any additional comments?

I was hooked from the first paragraph to the last. I don't recall ever being bored throughout the narration. If anything, I had wished the book to be longer.

Gets better every chapter

The 7th and final chapter was fantastic. Few writers could have captured such a deep well of human emotion. The view of humanity here is raw and unapologetically honest from the character Bell. I can feel his helplessness in the world, see his expectation of virtue, relate to his confessions of inadequacy, and rejoice in his heartfelt reflections of love and beauty and righteous anger.

One of the very best narrations

Great writing. McCarthy knows these characters and their voices inside out. Add a great story and one of the very best narrations I've ever heard, and this is a must-listen.

Pure Texas

I'm a big fan of Cormac McCarthy and his rich story telling. His settings in Texas ring true to my experiences and memories. And the narration here is superb. The written word and expressions used are pure to the common dialogue of the good old boys in Texas.

The outlook and acceptance of circumstances are so spot on to the mentality and culture of the people that scrabble an existence in the hot and dry and dangerous environment of Texas.

There are seeds of brilliance and depth of thought cloaked in the common sense and unpretentious language and cadence. This is not the King's English, but who needs it when the good people of Texas are just as smart but express themselves simply.