Llewelyn Moss just walked straight into a nightmare. He stumbled on the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong – dead men, a truck full of drugs, and a bag full of cash. After taking the cash and hiding it, Moss returns to check on a wounded man he’d discovered, but ignored earlier. He finds him dead…and someone watching him from afar. Now Moss is running from an evil he doesn’t even understand for certain – the chase is on.
Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men is a modern-day western novel with the title inspired by a WB Yeats poem “Sailing to Byzantium”. Where classic westerns may involve cow theft or train robbery, this novel includes the more modern threat of drug trafficking. Written originally as a screenplay, this novel has a very different tone and style that some of McCarthy’s other works. This is a novel about the danger in the Southwest most Americans choose to ignore and the brazen violence south of the border.
I give No Country for Old Men 4 out of 5 stars. Maybe due to the fact it was originally a screenplay but shifted to a novel, this book had some style challenges leaving it feeling scattered and unfocused. I also had trouble connecting with the characters here. Beyond the character development, McCarthy needed to focus in on the details of the law enforcement activities – there were a few scenes that do not fit with standard investigation protocols. I was surprised at how much I did enjoy this book even with these challenges!
If you liked The Blight Way we read earlier this year or Lonesome Dove we read last year, you may enjoy this book. I love westerns as much as I love Southern Gothic novels and this feels like a mix of the two. With details of drug deals, murder, and other criminal activity, I would suggest this book for more mature audiences over 16.
I chose No Country for Old Men for the Read With Lindsey Reading Challenge prompt “set in Mexico”. While not entirely set in Mexico, the middle of the story is set south of the border. We are reading books set in Mexico in honor of the Battle of Puebla Day, otherwise known as Cinco de Mayo. I know the movie adaptation of this novel is a cult classic, but I haven’t seen it yet. What great books are you reading this week?
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Rich People Problems, Kevin Kwan
- Current audio book: Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Legends of the Fall, Jim Harrison
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