Morality Thriller (generic spoiler)

books:


	• No Country For Old Men Cormac McCarthy Knopf, 2005 - 309 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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The book is better than the movie

I saw the movie, which was of course superb, and garnered several Oscars. In researching the movie,I found that it stemmed originaly from a book by Cormac McCarthy. Sadly, I'd never heard of McCarthy. Reading his biography I discovered that he was the recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award and the Pulitzer and is considered by many to be one of today's greatest living writers. So I picked up the book. Wow! I know that several reviewers haven't been able to get into the wierd punctuation and other McCarthy idiosyncracies, but once you get used to it and perhaps read a bit out loud so that you can understand what he is trying to achieve through the rythym and pace of the uninterruped story, the author's incredibly powerful voice takes over. One of best books I've ever read. Some people have labled it a thriller, but I'm not sure if that is descriptive. Reading McCarthy there are many levels of pleasures that you feel from his masterful use of language and regional dialogue that take it so far above the conventional thriller structure that it is simply something else entirely. All I know is that I will take it from my shelf from time to time to savor a superb writer at the full height of his considerable skills.

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On Par With The Film

Wow.

I think you can sum up the entire review with the word above. This book is a lean juicy steak with zero fat. That is the most important thing about this story, that there is zero fluff, because if there was any unneeded junk put into the story, it wouldn't work at all.

I love that McCarthy isn't some literary aficionado somewhere at some university but he is somewhere living in a truck out in West Texas or East New Mexico, writing.

Seeing the movie before the book did not hamper my joy in reading this one bit. What is great about the book is that you get much more of Sheriff Tom Bell, and you get to see his view of things in panorama.

Moss's demise is explained in greater detail, and although it is still not satisfactory for most, it is the way McCarthy intended the book to be, without a tidy ending and without any sense of justice.

There is quite a bit more of Anton Chigurh as well, and he gives out some of his philosophy and world views, especially right before he kills someone. I'm not sure why he is obsessed with the people knowing why he is killing them before he does it, but this is part of his M.O., showing the victims that their life is hopeless if it led to this point.

This book is a fast read, and that is mostly because a good portion of it is dialogue. I'm a sucker for good southern dialogue, and McCarthy's use of the language and dialect is unmatched in this generation.

This is a highly recommended read, despite if you have seen the movie or not, and go into knowing that this is more than a story, but McCarthy's view on civilization and the culture of violence. If you missed his point in the movie, the book won't leave you guessing as to what this all means. We're all in a basket, and we're all heading down south.

I'm going out of my way here to say that I can't remember enjoying a book this much, despite the depression that lingers after reading it. It has jumped up to my top five books of all times list, and may be close to the first. I know that means something to you.

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Morality Thriller (generic spoiler)

At first, No Country read like another, "average Joe finds bag of money" yarn. Eventually I realized how the Sheriff's war story matched his life of service as a peace officer. Heroic as he was, he just couldn't save those that were already either dying or dead.

I had already been exposed to McCarthy's very spare punctuation by reading The Road, but I wasn't prepared for this lingering study of many violent deaths. The descriptions of hovering, inexorable death still haunt me when I'm alone.

Possibly better on tape?

I didn't actually read the book, but listened to a book on tape version. It could be that the different voices helped me understand it better. I tried to read another of McCarthy's books, Blood Meridian, and found the lack of punctuation marks too distracting to read. However, when I listened to this, I found that the story was excellent and captivating. Apparently, there are flaws in the story, but I was too wrapped up in what was happening in the story to know or care. The sheriff's last monologue is boring compared to the rest of the story, but explains a great deal about the title of the book and perhaps the opinion of McCarthy himself.

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