My coworker provided me with a copy of this book and told me that I had to read it. He knew I was a pretty big fan of the movie, though not really a huge fan, and he knew I had mentioned that Cormac McCarthy was being talked about much more often in reference to his body of work. Much like “The Road,” this book took approximately 4 to 5 hours to read and it went by exceptionally quick. Even if I was not familiar with the plot from having seen the movie, I would definitely classify this book as a real page turner.

The novel follows roughly the same plot as the book and concerns the activities of three central characters, Llewyn Moss, Anton Chigurh, and Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, as they deal with events caused when Moss happens upon a drug deal gone bad while out hunting and takes a satchel with over $2 million in cash.
Much like in the movie, I was rather unconcerned with the fate of Moss (he does seem a bit smarter in the book than the movie, but it is hard to root for him because at base he simply stole money) or Chigurh (he is a sick and demented sociopathic killer, even though he is the ultimate believer in destiny). For me, the much more interesting characters were Sheriff Bell of Jewel County and Llewyn Moss’ wife, Carla Jean.

Carla Jean was a fascinating character in the book (I thought she was played brilliantly in the movie too) with much more depth than you might imagine. Married at 16, now age 19 when her husband arrives with this satchel of cash, she is a big believer in destiny. She knew she was destined to be with Llewyn, she knew that when she took the job at Wal Mart, but it is ultimately destiny that is her undoing. The body count is pretty high in this book, but for whatever reason, her death was certainly that most difficult for me to reconcile.

More than Chigurh or Moss, though, the book is ultimately about the folksy Sheriff Bell. It is obvious that McCarthy knows folks like this, and without a doubt, just people most certainly do exist. He certainly thinks the world is indeed going to hell in a hand basket. One of my favorite exchanges in the book is when he is conversing with someone who is concerned about the ability for her children to have an abortion and he matter of factly responds that the way the world is going, there should be little doubt that there will be no problem in being able to have an abortion. He knows the danger of drugs and believes that if Satan were thinking of something to bring the human race to its knees, he’d certainly pick narcotics. In a lot of ways, he simply seems like he is a man trying to do his best to make sense of the depravity and violence that is simply everywhere.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Tremendous depth, haunting images, great use of switching from the first person in Sheriff Bell and the inner monologues of Moss to the third person. Just a tremendous read.