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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A visually powerful book - if I were a filmmaker, I'd feel virtually compelled to turn this into a movie. So I feel for the Coen brothers. I haven't seen the movie, so I can't compare the two, but the book was gripping.
That said, by the end, the plot starts to feel a little thin, and the theme of societal corruption by drugs feels a little like a 90s D.A.R.E. fever dream. Basically, don't read the book for its nostalgia for imaginary super predators - read it for the classic western visuals.
That said, by the end, the plot starts to feel a little thin, and the theme of societal corruption by drugs feels a little like a 90s D.A.R.E. fever dream. Basically, don't read the book for its nostalgia for imaginary super predators - read it for the classic western visuals.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
crazy book. not really my style and i found it hard to follow at times
"No Country for Old Men" is the first McCarthy I've read. I had "Blood Meridian" on my list for months but every time I went to check it out from the library someone else already had it.
If you've seen the Coen film of the same name it doesn't stray from from the book. The best lines in the movie are lifted straight from the book.
"No Country" is a violent story but it isn't gory. There is no extended passage detailing the effects of violence or its physical aftermath. Sometimes, even the violence itself is "off camera" but that doesn't provide a lot of relief. The violence is a theme in the story and not just a tool of the writer. Violence as an act of evil. Violence as a way of life. Violence and its impact on society.
Love, family, money, honor, history, all have a place in "No Country." We hear a lot of how one character in particular is thinking, seeing, and feeling about events. Sheriff Bell is the wise, aging, philosopher. He is the moral voice in the story and he finds himself at sea in a changing world. I didn't give "No Country" five stars because his homey wisdom is laid a little too thick.
McCarthy's writing is absolutely hypnotic. He focuses a lot of seemingly unimportant details. Pulling the the side of the road and consulting a map is a whole paragraph. The overall effect for was to make everything more real, more grounded in the day to day reality we all live. Even serial killers have to consult a map once in a while. I felt like it left me with the sensation of being a first hand participant in a traumatic event. Afterwards, one can recall, unbidden, some odd seemingly unrelated detail in the time just before such an event. That's what McCarthy seems to be doing with these little details.
His writing is as sparse and laconic as the speech of any old timey, western sheriff from central casting.
I did wonder going into "Old Men" how I would feel about McCarthy's well known practice of using minimal punctuation. It does change the reading experience quite a bit but it is easy to adjust to and I soon didn't even notice the difference. I wouldn't like it if everything was written that way but McCarthy makes if feel more like actual conversation with what is said combining more seamlessly with what is being thought.
I'd highly Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men" to anyone who likes crime fiction or modern westerns. It's also time well spent for anyone who enjoys a master novelist working their word magic.
If you've seen the Coen film of the same name it doesn't stray from from the book. The best lines in the movie are lifted straight from the book.
"No Country" is a violent story but it isn't gory. There is no extended passage detailing the effects of violence or its physical aftermath. Sometimes, even the violence itself is "off camera" but that doesn't provide a lot of relief. The violence is a theme in the story and not just a tool of the writer. Violence as an act of evil. Violence as a way of life. Violence and its impact on society.
Love, family, money, honor, history, all have a place in "No Country." We hear a lot of how one character in particular is thinking, seeing, and feeling about events. Sheriff Bell is the wise, aging, philosopher. He is the moral voice in the story and he finds himself at sea in a changing world. I didn't give "No Country" five stars because his homey wisdom is laid a little too thick.
McCarthy's writing is absolutely hypnotic. He focuses a lot of seemingly unimportant details. Pulling the the side of the road and consulting a map is a whole paragraph. The overall effect for was to make everything more real, more grounded in the day to day reality we all live. Even serial killers have to consult a map once in a while. I felt like it left me with the sensation of being a first hand participant in a traumatic event. Afterwards, one can recall, unbidden, some odd seemingly unrelated detail in the time just before such an event. That's what McCarthy seems to be doing with these little details.
His writing is as sparse and laconic as the speech of any old timey, western sheriff from central casting.
I did wonder going into "Old Men" how I would feel about McCarthy's well known practice of using minimal punctuation. It does change the reading experience quite a bit but it is easy to adjust to and I soon didn't even notice the difference. I wouldn't like it if everything was written that way but McCarthy makes if feel more like actual conversation with what is said combining more seamlessly with what is being thought.
I'd highly Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men" to anyone who likes crime fiction or modern westerns. It's also time well spent for anyone who enjoys a master novelist working their word magic.
its a western with some more modern twists i liked it a lot
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
UGH the McCarthy’s dialogue is unreal!!! What craft. And even with such sparing detail, I was able to envision it all so well. My only gripe is how stupid and simple all the women are in this book. Such a shame for such a good book.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First Cormac McCarthy book. Was not disappointed.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
McCarthy creates one of the darkest, most chilling portrayals of a psychopath in No Country for Old Men. This story will stay with me because of McCarthy’s economical but vivid prose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes