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)

Cormac rules

Do the book, then the movie. Or vice versa. It don’t matter none. Both great.

Incredible

Not much to say. The movie is great the book is equally as great if not better in a different way. Completely worth the read

Spellbinding

Coming off The Road, I was worried this would be an impossibly bleak story. It is bleak in a regard, though there is something very human about this story.

There was something about this book that made it incredibly difficult to put on pause. It’s definitely a page turner, as much as it can be in this format. The suspense keeps you listening and the character decisions ensnare you with such finesse that it’s hard to believe this isn’t a real story. Everyone is painted with a skewed sense of what they’re willing to do, even if it puts others in the line of fire. Very relatable characters in one sense or another.

The narration is top notch just as it was in The Road, he weaves back and forth between characters with enough grace to keep listeners grounded in the story and who is talking at any given moment. The execution of dialogue is especially important here since there are lengthy exchanges and moments of introspection told in first person.

Definitely give this a listen if you enjoyed the film and cat/mouse style stories in general.

Amazing

One of the most engaging stories I have ever heard. Both performance-wise and content-wise. Left me with something to think about

wonderful narrator

lovely job with the accents - 15 word minimum seems a bit excessive, Mr. Audible app.

One of the greatest books ever written

Fantastic reading and a fantastic book. Cormac McCarthy is a genius. Some of his stuff is too dark, but this one has a great balance of humor.

I liked the movie so much

it's just like with most good books, it gives more substance & character. good stuff can't complain at all

The Coen Brothers are so good it's spooky

If you liked the movie, you'll love this audio book. It is very well read and you will re-live every scene in the movie in your head. The narrator's voices really have a lot of depth and authenticity. You will realize just how good the Coen brothers are when you see how well they adapted this book. Awesome!

A masterpiece of horror, tension and philosophy.

What did you love best about No Country for Old Men?

The author doesnt spoon feed you everything. The ambiguity of alot of things make it easier to relate to. If you were in the situation you wouldn't get all the answers spelled out for you. I really felt like i was there

I also enjoy all the philosophical exposition. It was just enough to shape your thinking for the events of the book

What other book might you compare No Country for Old Men to and why?

I would compare it to the Film The Counselor. Lots of philosophical rants but the story itself is just one angle of an event. It really helps illustrate the panic when its told through a few lenses rather than an omniscient stand point.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably Wells and Moss talking in person. This did a really good job of establishing all my favorite elements of the story and its characters. Well's professionalism through his demeanor, Moss's downward spiral through his scrambling and Anton as a force of nature through Well's opinion of him.

If you could take any character from No Country for Old Men out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Anton Chigurh. His disposition and views are interesting. His mentality seems to be that of a animal with detective and military training.

Any additional comments?

No additional comments. I don't want to hold anyone up from starting this book.

Not really for young men either.

This incredibly violent story contemplates generational change, the meaning of existence, and morality.

McCarthy's command of language is again put to good use; in this book his descriptive language is not always on display, but when it is used, it is achingly beautiful. Meanwhile, he writes sparse but devastating dialogue. If McCarthy's books fall in a spectrum of language, "All the Pretty Horses" might define one side while "The Road" would define the opposite. The language in this book is right in the middle.

Tom Stechschulte has the perfect voice for this novel; his gruff delivery sounds spot-on for most of the characters. He doesn't try too hard to make different voices for each character, and this approach is correct for most narrators.