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)

Classic

It was a great lesson especially after seeing a movie so many times. So many more details.

Amazingly written, very heavy

This book, like all Cormac McCarthy books, is is a pleasure to read. It’s poetic, succinct, and deceptively simple. If you’ve I found of the movie, you’ll love the book. It’s very similar, but with more detail and deeper character development. When I say, it’s heavy, I’m talking about the sense of hopelessness, the cynicism, and the feeling of being utterly overwhelmed that the sheriff carries around with him. The weight of this inner monologue can feel like a burden at times, so be ready for that.

Very, very good book!

Not as heavy and detailed as Dostoyevsky, but this book is even more provoking to guess and fill in the details of the story and personalities involved.

Masterful writing

Both novel and film are legendary. Emotional timepiece of the late American west and south. Violent, adventurous, accounting of duty and the dereliction of duty and the pervading argument that may justify as much.

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.