Having read quite a bit of Cormac McCarthy in the past, my faves being Suttree and Blood Meridian which I truly believe is an out and out masterpiece.

When I approached this particular work, my hopes weren't that high. It wasn't the sort of genre I expected McCarthy to venture into. I thought it would be like countless other crime novels - dull and predictable.

Thankfully, my initial assumptions were wrong. I ended up being extremely impressed. The story was taut and completely gripping. The Texan landscape took on a life of its own, becoming a character in the narrative.

And then there's Anton Chigurh, the badass hitman, the malevolent bird-shooting villain, the prime psychotic sociopath. He is one of the greatest villains I have ever encountered. What's truly remarkable is that at no point do you have the slightest inkling of how the last third of the story will unfold.

Moreover, it's cleverly crafted. Even though the central theme seems to revolve around Llewelyn Moss, the man who stumbles across a botched drug deal and steals the money, thus attracting the ire of Chigurh, the actual focus is on the county sheriff, Ed Tom Bell. He's an old timer who struggles to keep up with the ever-changing times. His head often seems half buried in the past as he reminisces about the bygone days and tries to make sense of it all.

This novel goes far beyond the realm of a standard thriller. McCarthy has completely nailed it in creating a dark and engrossing crime novel that not only met but exceeded my expectations.

That McCarthy sure does like to explore the darkness!!

His work takes us on a thrilling journey into the aftermath of a deal that has gone horribly wrong. Set in a small, dusty town, it is filled with mysterious and compelling characters who are swaddled in violence, death, and despair.

The story unfolds in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat, eager to discover what will happen next. The vivid descriptions of the town and its inhabitants bring the setting to life, making you feel as if you are right there in the midst of the chaos.

Oh Joy!!!! This is a truly great read that will leave you with a sense of satisfaction and a desire to read more of McCarthy's work. Four Stellar Stars, Yo.

When I was deeply engrossed in reading this book, I couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance between the killings described within its pages and those in the Bible. In fact, I thought to myself, "No Country for Old Men" and the Bible seem to be cut from the same cloth. The only difference is that one is far more graphically detailed than the other. When reading the Bible, one truly has to exercise their imagination. However, McCarthy, in this book, fills in all the gaps, leaving little room for our imagination to run wild.

I recall reading a story about a woman who lived among a particular tribe. One day, a man from another tribe闯入 and raped her. In retaliation, her people massacred every single member of his tribe, including men, women, and children. Does this sound familiar? In this case, the murderers were the Israelites, God's chosen people. They believed it was justifiable to kill because there was a reason, but whatever that reason was, I remain ignorant. I simply couldn't fathom the justice in such actions.

The murderer in McCarthy's book behaves in a similar fashion. He heartlessly kills innocent people, showing no remorse or compassion for his victims. He is a true psychopathic killer. If one wants a psychopath to understand their pain, they have to look into their eyes. But for this very reason, they won't. I wonder, did God look into the eyes of those He had ordered to be killed? Did He feel any sympathy for them?

Moss, the protagonist of this book, resides in a small desert town in Texas with his wife. He has a passion for hunting antelopes. On this fateful day, while out hunting, instead of bagging an antelope, he stumbles upon trouble. He reaches for his binoculars and scans the land for antelopes, only to discover three vehicles with dead bodies strewn across the ground.

Remember Lot's wife in the Bible? She was explicitly told by an angel of God not to look back. If she did, she would meet her doom. Moss, however, instead of fleeing the scene, looks back. He simply can't control himself, much like Lot's wife couldn't. Moss ventures down to inspect the dead on multiple occasions. The first time proves to be a fatal mistake, and the second time is just plain foolish. But I'm not suggesting that he meets his end in the story; I'm just making an observation.

One man among the dead is still alive and pleads for water, much like Lazarus in the New Testament, who was in hell and begged for water. When Lazarus asked for water, God didn't respond. Maybe He didn't even bother to look into his eyes to witness his suffering. I really don't know. Moss, on the other hand, unfortunately, doesn't have any water to offer, otherwise, he would have given it to the dying man.

After that, Moss checks out the vehicles and discovers heroin. He leaves the heroin where it is and follows a bloody path, where he finds another dead man and a significant amount of money. He takes the money, returns to his truck, and then heads home to his wife.

At that moment, I thought to myself that his wife was as good as dead. She should have left him when he disclosed the discovery of the money. Perhaps she should have left him a long time ago. Life often presents us with only one fleeting opportunity, and sometimes we fail to recognize it.

Moss leaves his wife at home and decides to revisit the scene one more time. But by now, it seems almost pointless. Whatever unfolds from this point forward appears to be determined by fate.

Cormac McCarthy is always faithful to his writing style and genre. His work is a form of surreal prose, a paradigmatic neo-Western. The characters, despite their toughness, have hidden social commentaries that invite the reader to discover them. And perhaps one of the best descriptions of absolute evil is in the person of Chigurh.

A man steals a suitcase with millions. An assassin hunts him down. A sheriff tries to find the culprit who spreads death in the desert and every small town. A seemingly simple case turns into a domino of revelations and killings under the scorching sun and the shadow of the American dream. His prose is terse, with continuous breaks that are not artificial like those in other good works, but rather those that make books a reference of a dying genre.

Note: I think that Taylor Sheridan, the screenwriter of masterpieces such as Sicario, Wind River, and Hell or High Water, takes McCarthy's books as gospel. The thematics, the characters, and the harsh portrayal of the inhospitable American border are so similar.

Old age has one distinct advantage, and that is it doesn't endure for an overly long period.

As we journey through life, the stage of old age inevitably arrives. However, it is consoling to know that it is a relatively brief phase.

During old age, people may face various physical and mental challenges. But the fact that it doesn't last long gives a sense of hope and perspective.

We should cherish the time we have in old age and make the most of it. Instead of dwelling on the limitations, we can focus on the remaining opportunities to enjoy life, spend time with loved ones, and pursue our interests.

Moreover, knowing that old age is not an endless stretch can also encourage us to take better care of ourselves in our earlier years. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle and making wise choices, we can potentially delay the onset of age-related issues and have a more fulfilling old age.

In conclusion, while old age may bring its share of difficulties, the knowledge that it doesn't last long can be a source of comfort and motivation. Let us embrace this stage of life with grace and make the most of the time we have.

No Country for Old Men is undeniably one of the greatest horror stories ever told.

At this juncture, it has become a cliché, yet the comparisons drawn between this story and John Carpenter's Halloween are indeed accurate.

We have a nearly unstoppable killer, fixated on catching his target. An older authority figures witnesses the carnage left in the wake of this intense game of cat and mouse. The ambiguous ending portrays the killer himself as representative of a transgressive new age, a harbinger of something far larger and much worse.

I would contend that No Country for Old Men is also a twin to the book Moby-Dick.

In numerous ways, both books are long form poetry. Moby-Dick is like Shakespeare, while No Country for Old Men is akin to Leonard Cohen.

There is a profound generational hurt echoing through each character in No Country for Old Men. A darkness calls to them from both the past and an uncertain future, like two sides of a coin. This duality, linked by their lives, hunts them from both ends.

The style and mood of No Country for Old Men are broad and bleak, with the most deliberately effective prose. But like Moby-Dick, there is also a romantic nostalgia for a dying age facing an unstoppable change. The death of a world is found in the circling drain of unbridled ambition, in the hunt for a monster.

And No Country For Old Men features two characters who encounter something much bigger and more terrifying than they could ever imagine. One refuses to see the threat and races towards it, while the other takes a step back, sees the bigger picture, and realizes the horror of what they are facing. They understand that some mountains are not meant to be climbed.

Which brings us to our white whale, Anton Chigurh. He is the main antagonist of No Country for Old Men and one of the most horrifying villains in the history of fiction. He is an iconic nightmare of our age. Chigurh is terrifying not just because of his actions but what they mean to him.

To Anton, killing is an act of apotheosis, a paradox, a dark enlightenment. He is like a cosmic horror in his faceless simplicity. Sometimes a thing or a person can be so vacant that they appear endless, like a mirror that can only reflect itself. It is an uncanny abyss that looks straight through you because you are not relevant to it. You are less than yourself, empty space. To a creature like Anton Chigurh, we live only to be removed. He is not murdering us; we are fated to die. So, in a way, from his perspective, it is as if we never existed at all.

Murder is to Chigurh what gravity is to a black hole. It is a form of both self-creation and escalation. The process by which he uses it to mythologize his own place in the world is an act of unrelenting evil.

This is not mere crime fiction. It is not a story about a criminal investigation. This is a story about a monster.

People often get confused because they expect the satisfying finale of crime fiction when they read this book. They anticipate the conclusion of chaos defeated and, more importantly, understood and rationalized. But this is horror, and sometimes the only rationale that can survive in the face of a monster is: "be afraid".

Anton is as grotesque and supernatural as any vampire or dreaded nameless god. To kill innocent people without remorse or guilt is senseless and shocking, but Anton uses murder to transcend. Such a perspective flattens life, crushes existence into a worthless infinite hegemony, and renders the universe into a state of absolute zero dimension.

He embodies the concept of the coin flip, heads or tails, all or nothing, because to him, they are the same. He is the void.

The reader's reaction to Anton Chigurh is primal. His character makes the reptile brain twitch. As soon as he talks, as soon as he starts circling a target, the warning bells go off. The audience realizes they are not in the room with a human being but with some remnant of an ancient, unchanged predator. A beast with its own set of rules for living that are in diametric opposition to our entire existence.

The audience is in the presence of something alien, yet also something their own evolution has taught them to identify in a fleeting glimpse. Anton Chigurh is both new and ancient, unrecognizable and instantly recognized. A fear not learned but remembered.

We meet Anton Chigurh, and our instincts scream: "Run." To heed that warning isn't cowardice; it is wisdom. Evolutionary wisdom. The wisdom of the survivor. Old wisdom.

10/10 Cormac is a God.

Llewellyn Moss stumbles upon a pickup truck at some point along the Texas-Mexican border.

In the back of the truck, there is an abundance of heroin and over two million dollars in cash. Surrounding it are dead bodies. Moss makes the fateful decision to take the money, and thus begins the intense pursuit, both by the forces of law enforcement and the criminal underworld.

Yes, I indeed saw the movie, and I was thoroughly enamored with it. However, the book was equally special. Even having seen the movie did not in any way diminish the experience of reading the book.

I adored the depth that was given to the main characters, namely Moss, Bell, and Chigurh. The dialog was also a delight. But above all, I was captivated by the slow revelation of a motive for the theft that delved much deeper than a simple "it seemed like a good idea at the time." It was a truly great read!

The Texas-Mexico border in 1980 was a lawless place, and it still is today. The drug war rages on, and the violence shows no sign of stopping. Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men" is a brilliant novel that captures the essence of this dark and dangerous world.

The story follows a sheriff named Ed Tom Bell as he tries to track down a drug dealer named Anton Chigurh. Chigurh is a cold-blooded killer who uses a coin toss to decide the fate of his victims. The novel is full of tense standoffs and chilling dialogue, and it keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from beginning to end.

McCarthy's writing style is unique and captivating. He uses long descriptions and minimalist dialogue to create a sense of atmosphere and tension. The characters in the novel are well-developed and complex, and the reader can't help but root for them even though they know that their fates are sealed.

Overall, "No Country for Old Men" is a must-read for fans of crime fiction and anyone who wants to experience the power of great writing. It's a novel that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.

11/13/22 note: Fwiw, I'm almost done with his newest, the Passenger. So far, overall, it's ambitious and I like it a lot, with some reservations.

Non-stop reading is truly a wonderful experience.

When you pick up an excellent book, it has the power to transport you to different worlds, introduce you to fascinating characters, and expand your knowledge and imagination.

You can get lost in the story, completely immersed in the words on the page.

Time seems to fly by as you turn each page, eager to find out what happens next.

An excellent book can also have a profound impact on your emotions.

It can make you laugh out loud, bring a tear to your eye, or leave you with a sense of inspiration and motivation.

Whether you're reading for pleasure or for self-improvement, non-stop reading of an excellent book is a great way to relax, unwind, and enrich your life.

So, the next time you come across a great book, don't hesitate to pick it up and start reading.

You won't be disappointed.

“That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees,
—Those dying generations—at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect”--W.B. Yeats, “Sailing to Byzantium”

“It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart”--Anne Frank

I have been pondering this statement from Anne Frank’s Diary recently. As I read Cormac McCarthy, whose Blood Meridian reveals that the Conquering of the West by white people was a series of vicious and bloody events. However, I'm not kidding when I juxtapose McCarthy with Frank, despite their apparent differences. I know he doesn't believe what Frank says. But I still want to know from this outspoken critic of the decline of the human race if he thinks Goodness can save the world. Blood Meridian features The Judge, an articulate nihilist bringer of Death. There isn't much hope in the past some might imagine returning to. His The Road depicts a post-apocalyptic world where a father takes care of a son to the bitter end. Maybe it's a small ray through the radiation haze, but there's still not much hope in the future. Yet I'm always seeking some glimmer of hope in McCarthy, some sign of remaining Goodness in the human race.

Violence is always present in McCarthy's works. This is how the country was made and how it continuously gets unmade. No Country For Old Men features three military veterans who have all been traumatized by the violence of war. We're in Texas in 1980, and it's just the beginning of the overwhelming presence of narcotics and the violence associated with that aspect of our decline. One of those boys, a welder named Llewellyn Moss, discovers a pickup truck surrounded by a group of dead men. A stash of heroin and two million (2.4) dollars in cash are still in the back. Moss takes the money, but an enforcer/bounty-hunter/incarnation of Evil, Anton Chigurh, is determined to get it back and kill everything in his path. The third main character, Sheriff Tom Ed Bell, one of the “old men” of the title, is resolved to slow down all this mayhem. If Chigurh is Evil, Bell is Good.

That goodness, those Frankian ideals, are present in the loving relationship between father and son in The Road, although they seem almost overly naive after reading Blood Meridian. And in No Country For Old Men? It's there in the sweet and almost sentimental relationship between Bell and his wife. It's there when Moss picks up a hitchhiker, a teenage girl, and gives her money to get her to California as he is on his way back to his wife. There's goodness, I guess, in the reflections on how only Satan himself could have invented narcotics and the societal destruction it has caused. It's present in the very essence of Bell. And no, I can't get the movie version of Bell, sweet and crusty Tommy Lee Jones, out of my head even as I listen to the superb audiobook reading of the book by Tom Stechschulte.

This is not McCarthy’s greatest work, but it is up there. It's a crime novel that also becomes a profound exploration of the soul, morality, and the human spirit over the course of the book. Where Blood Meridian is Biblical in its poetic prose, the writing in Old Men is stripped down, with an ear for tight-lipped Texas dialogue and philosophizing that only a master like McCarthy could achieve. It's as brutal as Jim Thompson and Stephen King, but with a reflection on human nature. And these characters, Chigurh (no relation to sugar in the least) is one of the literary crime monsters, Bell is one of the great cops, Moss is a good man Anne Frank would approve of who made a mistake I would probably have made myself. And I love Bell’s wife, Moss’s wife, and the hitchhiker. They are unforgettable characters.

Oh, if I had to find something critical to say, I might admit that both Bell and Chigurh are somewhat cliched representations of Good and Evil. Allegory. I might have wished for a little less folksy old fart cultural reflection on the level of “the good old days” and “we’re all going to Hell in a handbasket.” But then again, as a daily aging old fart myself, I kind of agree with that. And on the whole, I was moved by it, maybe especially Bell’s wartime confession. The great movie version, with those great actors in the central roles, I'm going to see it again, yeah.

Somewhere out there is a true and living prophet of destruction and I don't want to confront him. I know he's real. I have seen his work.
…
“You’re asking that I make myself vulnerable and that I can never do. I have only one way to live. It doesn’t allow for special cases. A coin toss perhaps. In this case to small purpose. Most people don’t believe that there can be such a person. You can see what a problem that must be for them. How to prevail over that which you refuse to acknowledge the existence of. Do you understand? When I came into your life your life was over. It had a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is the end. You can say that things could have turned out differently. That they could have been some other way. But what does that mean? They are not some other way. They are this way. You're asking that I second say the world. Do you see?”

No Country for Old Men is set in 1980, along the Texas-Mexico border. Llewellyn Moss stumbles upon the aftermath of a botched drug deal. Just a short distance away, he discovers a dead man with a satchel holding a whopping $2.4 million. When Moss makes the fateful decision to take the money, he unwittingly makes himself a prime target for those who want their cash back. Chief among them is the terrifying “prophet of destruction,” Anton Chigurh. The question then becomes, can Sheriff Tom Bell safeguard Moss and his wife from the dire consequences of his actions?

The story of No Country for Old Men is relatively straightforward. A simple man compromises his principles and is forced to go on the run, while he, his pursuers, and the law engage in a tense cat-and-mouse chase. Sheriff Bell offers a running commentary and a particular moral perspective, all the while bemoaning how the drug trade has wreaked havoc on Southern Texas. However, what truly elevates this novel from good to unforgettable is the villain, Anton Chigurh. Chigurh has an almost superhuman capacity for violence. He is armed not only with numerous traditional guns but also a stunbolt gun that he uses with alarming frequency, from opening locked doors to shooting human heads. He is completely remorseless and unrelenting in his pursuit. But he also has a moral code of his own, and when he deems someone worthy, he will give them a slim chance at avoiding death by means of a coin flip.

Cormac McCarthy passed away about a month ago (Rest in Peace), leaving behind an extraordinary body of work. While I might have preferred the moral complexity and ambiguity of Blood Meridian, No Country for Old Men is a more accessible story. It is well worth reading for the character of Anton Chigurh alone. Highly recommended.

I truly appreciate the subtleties and nuances that are present in a McCarthy novel. His distinct voice, the vivid settings he creates, and the incredibly real characters that seem to come alive within the recesses of his mind are all remarkable. However, there is one thing that I simply cannot abide by, and that is when people claim that he only writes westerns. Such a simplistic categorization does a great disservice to his body of work.

Take, for example, "No Country for Old Men." While it's true that McCarthy makes use of some familiar stereotypes, such as the easy-going sheriff, the bumbling hero, and the creepy psychopath, he does so in a way that few other writers can. He breathes life into these characters, endowing them with a depth and substance that makes them truly unforgettable. With his words, he painstakingly paints a world that is fully realized, a world that is multilayered, complex, and entirely unique.

Even though his writing style is often sparse in most of his books, readers are still treated to a literary canvas that is rich and detailed. If you've seen the Coen brothers' movie adaptation of this novel, you already have an inkling of how creepy Anton Chigurh is. But trust me, the book portrays him as even more disturbingly creepy. In essence, if we were to reduce this novel to just a simple western where a man stumbles upon some loot that isn't his and then has to fend off other men who want it, including a very bad dude, then "The Old Man and the Sea" would be nothing more than a story about an old guy fishing. The key here, my friends, is the layers. There are countless layers of meaning and depth in McCarthy's work. So, do yourself a favor and read the book. And then, go out and explore the rest of Cormac McCarthy's novels. I guarantee you won't be sorry. What have you got to lose?

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED