No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

I really enjoyed this book. Probably just as much as I enjoyed the movie, as they are almost exactly the same thing. If you haven't seen the Cohen Brothers film yet (provided that you're interested), I highly recommend reading the book first. That way you'll have a better understanding of the story's central meaning. At any rate, it's short. It should only take you about an hour or two longer to read than it would to watch the film. What could it hurt?

"No Country" takes place in a small town of Texas circa 1980. A sociopath killer has just escaped from jail named Anton Chigurh (Sugar?/ No. Chigurh), and Sheriff Bell is loosing faith in his deteriorating county. One night Llewellyn Moss, a married hunter, stumbles upon a drug trade site in the middle of the country to find several dead bodies, a truck bed of cocaine, and one suitcase full of money. Moss decides to take the suitcase, which in turn sparks a main conflict: Anton Chigurh is linked to the money, and he wants it back. A bloody and thrilling chase ensues.

One of the things I enjoyed about this novel was McCarthy's deadpan, simplistic writing style. Much akin to Hemingway, McCarthy writes with as little detail as needed. Along the same lines, McCarthy creates realistic dialogue between his characters that would otherwise be considered repetitious and dull in most literature. Also to be noted: he does not use quotations or apostrophes ('cant' instead of "can't") in dialogue. While I didn't quite enjoy this element of his style, I was surprised to find it less distracting than anticipated.

The real protagonist, Sheriff Bell, is the deepest character of the book. He has his own monologue after every chapter to discuss. He talks about his family, his thoughts on the county, and the ugly evolution of mankind. Bell feels that the times are passing him with a darker breed of human that cannot be helped by his authority of the law. His message seems to be one of hopelessness. It's sad, but I could definitely sympathize with his thoughts.

"No Country" turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Before reading the book and after having seen the film, I was expecting just an entertaining and superficial thriller. McCarthy really surprised me. I look forward to delving into his award-winner "The Road" before summer ends.