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old men country for old cormac mccarthy sheriff bell blood meridian drug deal anton chigurh quotation marks llewelyn moss writing style coen brothers saw the movie west texas million dollars carla jean pretty horses tom bell border trilogy highly recommend tommy lee
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Dee ArrTop Contributor: Harry Potter
TOP 500 REVIEWER
5.0 out of 5 stars Ethical Dilemmas All The Way Around Embellish a Great Story
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2017
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This book is built around the premise that any one of us can think we are making a good decision only to later find out the depths of how bad that decision actually was. Llewelyn Moss chose to take a suitcase full of money from a drug deal gone bad, thinking he would never get caught…and it all goes downhill from there.

This was my first Cormac McCarthy book, suggested by a friend who well knows my penchant for Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style.” Commas are a rare breed, and quotation marks were extinct long before this book was written. Even so, the author’s style is fairly easy to understand, and the story drives this book anyhow. The down-home conversations reveal a lot about the characters, and the interludes with Sheriff Bell (where it seems as if he is speaking directly to us) tell us everything we want to know about the man, and more.

Mr. McCarthy balances multiple characters, allowing each to share the main stage and have their moment to shine as the book races to an unexpected climax. The plot examines motivations, particularly why different people make different decisions and the underlying currents that cause or force them to continue, right or wrong, to embrace whatever path was chosen. These moments are very revealing, and it is interesting to view each character’s interpretation of what is ethical behavior. This is not a speed read. The author’s style arm-twists us into slowing down, and for that I am grateful. Five stars.
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Frequency JonesTop Contributor: Camping
5.0 out of 5 stars A modern-day masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2017
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What more can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? This is an incredible book. I read The Road prior to this book and it's difficult to say which is my favorite. Both are fantastic. I read the parts of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in Tommy Lee Jones' voice because I just can't think of anyone else who would've been better cast in that role. And Mr. Chigurh is truly a psychopath in this book. A wonderful contrast to the aging sheriff.
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thomas templeton
5.0 out of 5 stars He juxtaposes good, decent ordinary human beings up against the 21st ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2018
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Unfortunately, I watched the movie prior to reading the book and I have to admit the book holds its own to a superb Coen Brothers film. McCarthy
writes a hard, cold, mean prose almost devoid of heroes. He juxtaposes good, decent ordinary human beings up against the 21st centuries' Hannibal Lecter only this psychopath has absolutely no charm nor charisma nor overpowering intellect. Anton Chigur is a psychopath with only one saving grace; he is as relentlessly ruthless and savage as death. Read the book and maybe you'll root for the sheriff or the man who stole the dope deal gone bad's brief case full of drug money. It is a truly remarkable and enjoyable book.. The 20th century had Hannibal Lecter, a suave and brilliant psychopath. The 21st century has Anton Chigur, a frozen creature without even a hint of a soul. Take your pick: charm and great taste or the bloodless soulless threat of a great white shark on the hunt.
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Randolph Severson
5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunningly Consummate Novel
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2020
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Because of the success of the Oscar-winning movie and its ubiquitous run on Cable TV, this novel is well known but maybe not so widely read, at least not now. Which is a pity. It is a stunningly consummate novel. In its mood and style it is as spacious as the West Texas country it describes and with the same kind of austerity and incinerating beauty. The plot, which is a simple one — there is a crime, another opportunistic crime by a local man, pursuit by the local Sheriff and also a Contract Killer, the Sheriff trying to reach the man in the effort to both arrest and save him — is in its inexorable unfolding like the hours of the day, and its message, that is, what the story is finally telling us, less a statement, more like an image, more like a moonlit night in the desert, in which the moon, never more than a remote and spectral presence in the first place, gradually grows darker in full eclipse. The novel presents a hard country, a hard resilient people, with a tough survivors‘ ethic — tough but touching and humane — who are gradually overtaken by a chain of remorseless fatal consequence that they can neither defeat nor comprehend. McCarthy’s The Road, with its more macabre and gruesome setting and characters but its in the end more redemptive message completes the vision that is foreshadowed here. But, it too is No Country For Old Men or maybe only Old Men who still have visions that can carry the best of the past with them forward into the darkness like an old-timey light in the horn of a saddle. This is one of those novels that left unread may leave you missing something — some sobering truth about what it means to be human — that none of us in the life that we share and the world that we live in, ought to miss. Very Highly Recommended
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The Cane Maker
5.0 out of 5 stars Very unique
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2020
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I greatly enjoyed this book. The writing style is unique, the story believable. The story is disturbing and it is a credit to the author that his tale can be realistic and intriguing enough to frighten the reader. We live in violent and increasingly lawless times, with corruption of law enforcement, DAs, and judges becoming commonplace, all while being a good cop can be fatal.
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C. M Mills
TOP 500 REVIEWER
5.0 out of 5 stars No Country for Old Men is a novel of violence, revenge and murder by Cormac McCarthy the Pulitzer Prize winning author
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2015
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No Country in for Old Men is a bloody and bold novel. The story takes place in Texas in 1980. The plot concerns a young man named Moss who comes across a bloody crime scene in the desert. He discovers several dead drug dealers and teals the millions of dollars he finds on their corpses.
Moss flees from a devilish homicidal maniac whose name is Anton Chigurh An old Texas sheriff Bell is given the difficult task of tracking down the evil Chigurth and saving the life of young Moss and his wife.. The exciting story will keep your interest from the first to the last page., A quick read!
The book excels in the use of dialogue. These characters speak as if they are real people. The graphic violence will be disturbing to many readers. This is not for young and impressionable readers. The novel was made into a famous movie which was awarded the Best Picture Oscar in 2007.
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Top reviews from other countries

LUDDITE
5.0 out of 5 stars Pure genius
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2017
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I discovered McCarthy through the film of the same name and that took me to the book. What a discovery! The style of writing takes a little getting used to but his descriptive powers are immense and it only takes a few pages to get hooked.The deceptive simplicity of the writing reminded me of Hemingway and the violence he brings to some scenes is reminiscent of 'The Wild Bunch' or any Tarantino film. But unlike Tarantino( for me at least) you feel the violence is valid. Not a book for the squeamish.
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JaketheDax
5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous. Having watched the film first, Tommy Lee ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2017
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Confusing, enthralling, other-worldly. Often I felt dislocated from the competing motivations of the characters in this novel. This did not detract from the story, as the effective prose and authentic speech was rivetting. I haven't read anything quite like this before, even from McCarthy. It's wonderful not to have every thought, every plan, every foible explained and signposted. The 'outer dark' of the title is also worthy of contmplation, and I certainly did so at the end. Thoroughly recommended
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Thespionic
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, Great Film.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2018
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I’ve seen the film a couple of times before but this is such a good story I decided to read the book. I wasn’t disappointed – it was every bit as good as the film, yes I knew the basic premise of the plot but the book offers the full dialogue between the murderer and his victims. There are parts in the film which differ from the book and visa versa but in the main it follows the basic concept of the storyline.
Both are 5 star entertainment.
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Gert and Daisy
5.0 out of 5 stars No Country for old men class
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2020
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This book again shows how many brilliant writers there is out there this is dare I say it a classic it has everything suspense drama brilliant dialogue and above all a subtle menace about it that keeps you hooked. The rich Texas accent and phrases shine through a give the book even more character it just works on every level for me. I loved it but it did also make me think that there is a big bad world out there and some very strange people in it, scary man.
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gaz
1.0 out of 5 stars One of the most frustrating novels to read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2020
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I hadn't watched the film beforehand. Came into this without context and the author does very little to fill that in. Multiple references to him/he or her/she at the beginning of chapters without explaining who they are. Locations not explained, timeframes often missing especially at the beginning when it'll just be 2.30 not explaining whether it's AM or PM (not useful as you don't know anything about the characters or the story by this point). Still don't know if all the start of chapter monologues are from the same character or not. They go off into rambles that might have made ore sense if I'd know who was giving them but then again I'm not going to give that much credit.

I wanted to give up several times and actually wish I had because I took virtually nothing from finishing this read. Utterly frustrating and a waste of time.
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