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)

Very thrilling read

This is been one of the more enjoyable books I’ve gotten from Audible recently. I have watched the movie and really enjoyed it but this just adds another depth to the characters in ways the movie just can’t convey.

Great listen!

Loves this as a movie but the book and the deeper story telling blow it out of the water!

narration par excrllence

this narrator is simply magnificent. He is a true actor. The author is blessed to have his book read ny someone like this.

Great Story

This was my first audible book and I have to say, I loved it! Really great story, and I like the way the reader verbalized the different characters. It was extremely easy to follow and understand and read at a perfect pace, not to fast and not to slow. Definitely recommended to anyone who likes a mystery with a little violence and humor splashed in. Don’t want to give any specifics and spoil the book.

one of my favorite performances

the narrator is incredibly talented in this performance, really impressive voices and tone, makes you feel like you're in the story, and the story is one of the best.

2nd time listening

I’ve read it twice and listened twice as well! This is one that I keep coming back to!

Strange blend of elements that mostly works

No Country for Old Men is part cat and mouse crime drama, part nihilistic fatalism, and part meditation about aging. The themes meld surprisingly well and the result is so much better than The Road. It's Cormac McCarthy so it's no spoiler to say that no one's going to call this their feel good read of the year. My only complaint is that after the main struggles have been resolved, the remainder of the book meanders and drifts for far longer than necessary. Until then though, it's a tense slow burn. It's like watching a bulldozer: the slow raw power feels unimpressive until it meets the first of what should be resistance -- which it annihilates effortlessly and without breaking its stride. After that display of force, you feel both apprehension and certainty about what will happen to the next obstacle.

No Country

It’s hard to imagine a better written novel, telling the American story bittersweet, violent and heartfelt. The place is the southern border of Texas between our past and future, told with fearless honesty and down home passion. Broken and perfect, it is our story and I am thankful to have read it.

Excellent

This is a great book which is elevated by an excellent performance by the narrator.

Good but a bit much for my taste

This book is full of violence and intrigue, and has such a high body count that I'm not sure anyone could count. It's not really a spoiler as there are a bunch of dead bodies right in the beginning.

I know the movie won Best Picture at the Oscar's, but I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the movie. I liked some of the characters, but I'm not going to say anything about who they are and whether they survived the carnage.

Honestly, I would give it 3.5 stars if I could, but I rounded up because the writing is good. There's a folksy quality to it as well as the narration. I'm not going to go on a Cormac McCarthy binge anytime soon. If this is your kind of thing, then go for it.