No Country For Old Men

Great book and a great film

I read it in March 2022

What I wrote...

I had only read one Cormac McCarthy book, The Road, prior to reading No Country for Old Men (2005).

The Road is stunning but oh so dark and upsetting. I doubt I'll ever read it again but I've never been able to forget it.

I saw the excellent film version of No Country for Old Men about 10 years ago and so sufficient time had elapsed for me to forget the detail of the plot.

No Country for Old Men alternates between the reflections of Sheriff Bell, dealing with the narrative of an unusual case involving dead drug dealers and a missing satchel of money, and Anton Chigurh, a gun for hire, who is also a supernaturally powerful psychopathic killer, and is on the trail of Llewelyn Moss, the person who has taken the money. Llewelyn Moss is a Vietnam vet and Chigurh's relentless pursuit of him makes for a gripping action story.

Although it's Anton Chigurh, the avenging Angel of Death, who dominates much of the book, it is Sheriff Bell who is really at the core of this tale. Bell's monologues bemoan the societal changes he has seen during his lifetime. Bell is an old man and no longer suited to his new and violent country, he also has his own issues to process.

No Country for Old Men is another dark and compelling tale from Cormac McCarthy, and one which transcends the action genre.