Book Review: No Country for Old Men

Note: This is book #30 of my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge for 2008.

I've said before that I would hate to be a character in a John Steinbeck novel, but I think it would be worse to be one in a Carmac McCarthy story. Sure, Steinbeck's characters often end up getting mauled, shot, or starved to death, but those are still better odds than most of the folks between the front and back covers of McCarthy's books. And No Country for Old Men is no exception.

Where The Road was a kind of sci-fi horror story and Blood Meridian was kind of Western, No Country for Old Men is more of a contemporary thriller. Everyman Llewelyn Moss is out in the Texas backcountry one day when he comes across the remains of a drug deal gone bad --dead bodies, bullet-ridden SUVs, stacks of heroin, and a suitcase bursting with money. Moss gets greedy and takes the money, and after a couple of early blunders he's on the run from three groups: the criminals who were trying to sell the drugs, the criminals who were trying to buy the drugs, and a genteel County Sheriff named Tom Bell who just wants to bring Moss in safely. Before long a psychotic hitman enters the chase, and things don't look good for Moss and his money bag.

It's really had to describe much of what happens next without giving away some surprises, but suffice to say that Cormac McCarthy's penchant for brutality, hopelessness, and long-winded philosopher/murderers permeates this book, though it's not as vulgar in its depiction of violence as Blood Meridian. Still, it's not a bad ride for a thriller, and McCarthy's elegant prose continues to grow on me. I also liked the parts that spoke through Sheriff Tom Bell's voice. To bring back the comparison to Steinbeck, McCarthy has a gift for authentically capturing the tone and dialect of certain people.

Others doing the 52-in-52 thing this week:


See all entries in the "books" category.


When I finish a book I habitually write down the title and the date I finished reading it. Below are the books I've read since I started doing this, along with the dates I finished each one. You can read about what I thought of many of these here in the blog archives.

2008

07/07/08 -- Wikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
06/27/08 -- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
06/20/08 -- Good to Great by Jim Collins
06/16/08 -- 1776 by David McCullough
06/09/08 -- Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
06/01/08 -- Deadhouse Gates by Stephen Erickson
05/27/08 -- No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
05/22/08 -- Einstein: His Universe and Life by Walter Isaacson
05/13/08 -- Mort by Terry Pratchett
05/07/08 -- Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
05/03/08 -- Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
05/02/08 -- The Ten Cent Plague by David Hajdu
04/29/08 -- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
04/28/08 -- I Am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert
04/14/08 -- Gardens of the Moon by Stephen Erikson
04/08/08 -- Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clark
04/04/08 -- The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
04/02/08 -- The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
03/30/08 -- In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
03/26/08 -- Heretic by Bernard Cornwell
03/20/08 -- Monkey Girl by Edward Humes
03/17/08 -- The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
03/10/08 -- The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
03/02/08 -- Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
02/29/08 -- Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell
02/15/08 -- Duma Key by Stephen King
02/15/08 -- The Archer's Tale by Bernard Cornwell
01/29/08 -- Lord of the Flies by William Goldman
01/23/08 -- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
01/19/08 -- Soon I Will be Invincible by Alex Grossman
01/17/08 -- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
01/14/08 -- Quicksilver by Neil Stephenson
01/12/08 -- The Guns of Avalon by Robert Zelaney
01/07/08 -- 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 by Scott Kelby
01/04/08 -- Jennifer Government by Max Barry
01/02/08 -- Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson

2007

12/21/07 -- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
12/07/07 -- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
11/30/07 -- Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays
by Stephen Hawking
11/26/07 -- Don't Eat This Book by Morgan Spurlock
11/18/07 -- Making Comics by Scott McCloud
11/09/07 -- Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen
10/21/07 -- The Innocent Man by John Grissom
10/09/07 -- Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein
09/14/07 -- Nine Lords in Amber by Robert Zelaney
09/06/07 -- Little Myth Marker by Robert Asprin
09/02/07 -- Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
08/31/07 -- The Running Man by Stephen King / Richard Bachman
08/26/07 -- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
08/18/07 -- Hit or Myth by Robert Asprin
08/12/07 -- Executive Coaching: A Guide for the HR Professional by Anna Marie
Valerio & Robert J. Lee
08/10/07 -- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
08/09/07 -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
07/25/07 -- Road Work by Stephen King / Richard Bachman
07/19/07 -- Blaze by Stephen King / Richard Bachman
07/18/07 -- Rage by Stephen King / Richard Bachman
07/11/07 -- The Assault on Reason by Al Gore
06/27/07 -- E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation
by David Bodanis
06/23/07 -- A Walk in Woods by Bill Bryson
05/21/07 -- Call of the Wild by Jack London
05/12/07 -- The Once and Future King by T.H. White
05/04/07 -- I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
04/20/07 -- The Vile Village by Lemony Snickett
04/13/07 -- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
03/18/07 -- It by Stephen King
02/16/07 -- Play Money by Julian Dibbell
02/02/07 -- World War Z by Max Brooks
01/29/07 -- The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
01/11/07 -- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
01/04/07 -- Gerald's Game by Stephen King

2006

12/30/06 -- The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science
in the Twentieth Century by David Saulsburg
12/26/06 -- Attack of the Bacon Robots by Jerry Holkins & Mike Krahulik
12/13/06 -- Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson
11/28/06 -- The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman
11/24/06 -- Made in America by Bill Bryson
11/21/06 -- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
11/07/06 -- Lisey's Story by Stephen King
11/05/06 -- Digital Imaging Workshops: Step-by-Step Lessons on
Editing with Adobe Photoshop Elements by Rick Sammons
10/29/06 -- Nickel and DImed: On (Not) Getting by in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich
10/24/06 -- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
10/19/06 -- Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb
09/23/06 -- The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
09/18/06 -- Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Digital Photography
by Rick Sammons
09/15/06 -- Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
08/17/06 -- Flight of the Night Hawks by Raymond Feist
08/11/06 -- Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
08/07/06 -- Getting Things Done by David Allen
07/21/06 -- Myth Directions by Robert Asprin
07/14/06 -- Myth Conceptions by Robert Asprin
07/12/06 -- Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin
07/08/06 -- Spam Kings: The Real Story behind the High-Rolling Hucksters
Pushing Porn, Pills, and %*@)# Enlargements by Brian S.
McWilliams
07/06/06 -- Needful Things by Stephen King
06/16/06 -- I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson
06/09/06 -- The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century
by Thomas Friedman
06/01/06 -- The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio
05/19/06 -- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
by Gregory Maguire
04/29/06 -- The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
04/29/06 -- Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
04/29/06 -- Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream
by Barbara Ehrenreich
04/23/06 -- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
04/17/06 -- The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin
04/13/06 -- Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
04/07/06 -- Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
04/03/06 -- Foundation by Isaac Asimov
03/30/06 -- The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
03/27/06 -- Down Under by Bill Bryson
03/25/06 -- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
03/08/06 -- Chance: A Guide to Gambling, Love, the Stock Market and Just
About Everything Else by Amir Aczel
03/07/06 -- Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson
03/02/06 -- A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
02/18/06 -- Cannon EOS Digital Rebel Field Guide by Charlotte K. Lowrie
02/22/06 -- The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket
02/18/06 -- Consuming Kids by Susan Linn
02/17/06 -- A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
02/07/06 -- Cell by Stephen King
01/27/06 -- The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket
01/25/06 -- Tommyknockers by Stephen King
01/17/06 -- Planet Simpson by Chris Turner
01/12/06 -- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

2005

10/24/05 -- Learning to See Creatively by Bryan Peterson
10/15/05 -- The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket
10/10/05 -- The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

12/08/05 -- A Feast For Crows by George R. R. Martin
11/16/05 -- Blink by Malcom Gladwell
11/12/05 -- Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
11/07/05 -- For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
10/27/05 -- Christine by Stephen King
10/11/05 -- Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
10/11/05 -- The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
09/24/05 -- The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
09/23/05 -- Firestarter by Stephen King
09/15/05 -- The Dead Zone by Stephen King
09/09/05 -- The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
by Motly Crue
08/31/05 -- Doloris Claiborne by Stephen King
08/26/05 -- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
08/18/05 -- Galactic Pot Healer by Philip K. Dick
08/16/05 -- Minority Report and Other Stories by Philip K. Dick
08/11/05 -- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
08/10/05 -- Personalty Psychology in the Workplace by Brent Roberts and
Robert Hogan (Editors)
08/10/05 -- The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
08/05/05 -- A Brief History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
07/23/05 -- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
07/22/05 -- Nothing's Sacred by Lewis Black
07/20/05 -- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
07/18/05 -- The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman
07/01/05 -- The Psychology of the Psychic by David Marks and
Richard Kammann
06/28/05 -- Intelligence: A Brief History by Anna Cianciolog and
Robert Sternberg
06/24/05 -- The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman
06/22/05 -- The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
06/15/05 -- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
06/13/05 -- The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
06/11/05 -- The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
06/08/05 -- The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
06/06/05 -- The Zen of CSS Design by Dave Shea and Molly Holzschlag
06/06/05 -- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
06/02/05 -- Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
05/30/05 -- Exile's Return by Raymond Feist
05/27/05 -- New Introductory Photography Course by John Hedgecoe
05/27/05 -- The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
05/25/05 -- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
05/24/05 -- The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
05/23/05 -- Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
05/10/05 -- Bone: One Volume Edition by Jeff Smith
05/13/05 -- Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide by Eric Meyer
05/10/05 -- Rose Madder by Stephen King
04/29/05 -- Carrie by Stephen King
04/29/05 -- Sea of Silver Light by Tad Williams
04/26/05 -- The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
04/19/05 -- The Wide Window by Daniel Handler
04/18/05 -- The Reptile Room by Daniel Handler
04/13/05 -- The Bad Beginning by Daniel Handler
04/12/05 -- Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
04/07/05 -- Atlas Shrugged by Ayne Rand
02/07/05 -- The Pilgrim's Regress by C.S. Lewis
02/02/05 -- The Trial by Franz Kafka
01/22/05 -- The Pearl by John Steinbeck
01/21/05 -- Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
01/18/05 -- Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
01/06/05 -- Cluster Analysis by Mark. Aldenderfer & Roger Blashfield
01/04/05 -- Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
by Daniel Goleman

2004

12/30/04 -- A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
12/23/04 -- The Science of Good & Evil by Michael Shermer
11/22/04 -- A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
10/24/04 -- America (The Book) by the staff of The Daily Show
10/23/04 -- Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
10/17/04 -- The Dark Tower by Stephen King
10/11/04 -- A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
09/15/04 -- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
09/12/04 -- How Would You Move Mount Fuji? : Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle
by William Poundstone
08/17/04 -- Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
08/12/04 -- Job Analysis: A Guide to Assessing Work Activities by Sidney Gael
08/06/04 -- Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
08/01/04 -- Shardik by Richard Adams
07/30/04 -- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
07/24/04 -- Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
07/14/04 -- A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guinn
07/10/04 -- Blackwood Farm by Anne Rice
07/05/04 -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
06/18/04 -- EEO Law and Personnel Practices by Arthur Gutman
06/17/04 -- Song of Susannah by Stephen King
06/16/04 -- The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
05/30/04 -- Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg
05/28/04 -- With a Tangled Skein by Peirs Anthony
05/27/04 -- Faerie Tale by Raymond Feist
05/02/04 -- Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian
04/15/04 -- Einstein Never Used Flash Cards by Roberta Golinkoff,
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, and Diane Eyer
04/10/04 -- Statistical Power Analysis by Kevin R. Murphy and Brett Myors
04/04/04 -- How to Talk to Your Baby by Dorothy and Kevin Dougherty
04/03/04 -- Honored Enemy by Raymond Feist and William Forstchen
03/26/04 -- Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
03/16/04 -- Bearing an Hourglass by Piers Anthony
03/05/04 -- Desperation by Stephen King
03/02/04 -- Contact by Carl Sagan
02/26/04 -- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
02/21/04 -- The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkein
02/20/04 -- Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
02/10/04 -- Riding the Bullet by Stephen King
02/07/04 -- Adventures in a TV Nation by Michael Moore and Kathleen Glynn
02/06/04 -- Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
02/05/04 -- Anthem by Ayn Rand
02/01/04 -- What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff, et al.
01/24/04 -- Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
01/16/04 -- The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
01/15/04 -- Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
01/13/04 -- 1984 by George Orwell
01/07/04 -- Tales of the Unusual by H.G. Wells
01/05/04 -- Animal Farm by George Orwell

2003

12/31/03 12/31/03 -- Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
12/27/03 -- Wizard & Glass, by Stephen King
12/22/03 -- The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King
12/18/03 -- The Waste Lands, by Stephen King
12/14/03 -- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
12/05/03 -- A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
11/29/03 -- King of Foxes, by Raymond Feist
11/27/03 -- Dude, Where's My Country?, by Michael Moore
11/26/03 -- Mountain of Black Glass, by Tad Williams
11/16/03 -- The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
10/29/03 -- Heart of Winter, by Robert Jordan
10/27/03 -- What to Expect when You're Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff, et al
10/13/03 -- The Little SAS Book, by Lora Delwiche and Susan Slaughter
10/10/03 -- On Writing, by Stephen King
09/18/03 -- The Drawing of the Three, by Stephen King
08/17/03 -- The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkein
08/08/03 -- The Regulators, by Stephen King
08/03/03 -- The Matrix and Philosophy, by William Irwin (Editor), et al
07/25/03 -- Talon of the Silver Hawk, by Raymond Feist
07/22/03 -- Masters of DOOM, by David Kushner
07/20/03 -- The Expectant Father, by Armin Brott
07/16/03 -- The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
07/14/03 -- Where Do I Put the Decimal Point?, by Elisabeth Ruedy, et al
07/12/03 -- Hearts in Atlantis, by Stephen King
07/06/03 -- The People's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkein, by Erica Challis (Editor), et al
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