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No Country for Old Men
by Cormac McCarthy

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12497.No_Country_for_Old_Men?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="No Country for Old Men" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1166503883m/12497.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12497.No_Country_for_Old_Men?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">No Country for Old Men</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4178.Cormac_McCarthy">Cormac McCarthy</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7898554?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 4 of 5 stars "You can't go to war without G-d." So says Cormac McCarthy. The concept that G-d has a vested interest in war is as ancient as war itself. Fore did G-d not say to the Israelites as they prepared to enter Canaan: "My terror I send before thee, and I have put to death all the people among whom thou comest, and I have given the neck of all thine enemies unto thee. (EX 23:27)." It is not only in Judaism that a deity steps to the plate in the eternal struggle between men. In the Greek classic "The Iliad" Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite play as prominent (if not more so) a role in deciding the battle's fate as Odysseus, Hector, Achilles, or a large wooden horse. It is not news that before facing the uncertainty, which lies latent in war, man looks to find an ally in G-d. 
 
 However, what if G-d does not take a hand in war? How does one go into battle w/o a principle and fundamental faith? A very good and pertinent question-especially with the mindset behind our current military involvement. When man looks at his destiny outside of what G-d’s providence has determined for him, a very strange and scary existence takes shape. While I have no doubt many a soldier has pondered over this, it was Napoleon Bonaparte (emerging from the Enlightenment, where fundamental theological beliefs were called into question) who succinctly summarized this concept: "God is on the side with the most artillery." Thus implying that, indeed, we form our destiny. We create the reality of our lives. This is a terrifying concept for the soldier venturing into the chaotic expanse of the battlefield. Fore, if the buck stops with me, maybe the bullet will too. 
 
 But, it is not just in the midst battle where one feels lost without a Divine Providence. The struggle of everyday’s existence can be combat in itself. As the Russian playwright Chekhov says: “Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.” The choices we may make on a day to day basis carry a significant weight when they alone form our tomorrow. It is this notion that McCarthy drives across in this saga of how life’s yesterdays yields to make today. Chance does not bring you to the bed of a cheap motel where you stare at a neon illuminated ceiling. Nor does bad luck put you at the working end of a silenced .22. It is the choices you make that chisel your sculpture of reality from the blankness of the broad, granite world. When one looks with an incisive eye, the destiny of decisions can be made clear. However, an insightful eye is rare. For this reason McCarthy employs Carla Jean’s grandmother in the archetypal role of the old (often sick and/or crazy) soothsayer (it is not by chance she is referred to as an “old woman” on p. 202 when she makes the inference that she deserves no credit for predicting the course Moss and Carla Jean’s relationship would take-the course of events where clear as day).
 
 Many are unwilling to accept the notion that G-d is not laying a path for us; as is the case for the retired Sheriff Deputy Ellis. He waits his entire life for the arrival of G-d. He never comes. When the reader meets Ellis he is old, sick, and alone. Maybe this is the existence that waits those who spend their life waiting for a destiny, rather than creating one.
 
 Ultimately, this novel weaves a tale of masculine brawniness in a world where destiny is created-not found. It is a harsh and cold world where scruples of sensitivity have no place. It is a border town world, where life bends only in the direction we are willing, and able to take it.
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/240761?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Adam's review
rating:

"You can't go to war without G-d." So says Cormac McCarthy. The concept that G-d has a vested interest in war is as ancient as war itself. Fore did G-d not say to the Israelites as they prepared to enter Canaan: "My terror I send before thee, and I have put to death all the people among whom thou comest, and I have given the neck of all thine enemies unto thee. (EX 23:27)." It is not only in Judaism that a deity steps to the plate in the eternal struggle between men. In the Greek classic "The Iliad" Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite play as prominent (if not more so) a role in deciding the battle's fate as Odysseus, Hector, Achilles, or a large wooden horse. It is not news that before facing the uncertainty, which lies latent in war, man looks to find an ally in G-d.

However, what if G-d does not take a hand in war? How does one go into battle w/o a principle and fundamental faith? A very good and pertinent question-especially with the mindset behin...more "You can't go to war without G-d." So says Cormac McCarthy. The concept that G-d has a vested interest in war is as ancient as war itself. Fore did G-d not say to the Israelites as they prepared to enter Canaan: "My terror I send before thee, and I have put to death all the people among whom thou comest, and I have given the neck of all thine enemies unto thee. (EX 23:27)." It is not only in Judaism that a deity steps to the plate in the eternal struggle between men. In the Greek classic "The Iliad" Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite play as prominent (if not more so) a role in deciding the battle's fate as Odysseus, Hector, Achilles, or a large wooden horse. It is not news that before facing the uncertainty, which lies latent in war, man looks to find an ally in G-d.

However, what if G-d does not take a hand in war? How does one go into battle w/o a principle and fundamental faith? A very good and pertinent question-especially with the mindset behind our current military involvement. When man looks at his destiny outside of what G-d’s providence has determined for him, a very strange and scary existence takes shape. While I have no doubt many a soldier has pondered over this, it was Napoleon Bonaparte (emerging from the Enlightenment, where fundamental theological beliefs were called into question) who succinctly summarized this concept: "God is on the side with the most artillery." Thus implying that, indeed, we form our destiny. We create the reality of our lives. This is a terrifying concept for the soldier venturing into the chaotic expanse of the battlefield. Fore, if the buck stops with me, maybe the bullet will too.

But, it is not just in the midst battle where one feels lost without a Divine Providence. The struggle of everyday’s existence can be combat in itself. As the Russian playwright Chekhov says: “Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.” The choices we may make on a day to day basis carry a significant weight when they alone form our tomorrow. It is this notion that McCarthy drives across in this saga of how life’s yesterdays yields to make today. Chance does not bring you to the bed of a cheap motel where you stare at a neon illuminated ceiling. Nor does bad luck put you at the working end of a silenced .22. It is the choices you make that chisel your sculpture of reality from the blankness of the broad, granite world. When one looks with an incisive eye, the destiny of decisions can be made clear. However, an insightful eye is rare. For this reason McCarthy employs Carla Jean’s grandmother in the archetypal role of the old (often sick and/or crazy) soothsayer (it is not by chance she is referred to as an “old woman” on p. 202 when she makes the inference that she deserves no credit for predicting the course Moss and Carla Jean’s relationship would take-the course of events where clear as day).

Many are unwilling to accept the notion that G-d is not laying a path for us; as is the case for the retired Sheriff Deputy Ellis. He waits his entire life for the arrival of G-d. He never comes. When the reader meets Ellis he is old, sick, and alone. Maybe this is the existence that waits those who spend their life waiting for a destiny, rather than creating one.

Ultimately, this novel weaves a tale of masculine brawniness in a world where destiny is created-not found. It is a harsh and cold world where scruples of sensitivity have no place. It is a border town world, where life bends only in the direction we are willing, and able to take it.
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message 1: by Chris

12/15/2007 01:46AM

Hey,
Nice response. Didn't you write on this topic before as well or am I imagining things. Interesting subject matter and an important question to pose.

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message 2: by Adam

12/15/2007 02:18AM

I noticed an error and corrected it...you should be asleep. Or not...

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message 3: by Chris

12/15/2007 02:43AM

You too.

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message 4: by Ophelia

03/22/2008 05:25AM

Hello Chris,

I read your review with interest. I like what you write about God/ absence of God, chance and free will in your posting.

I belong to another site, BOOKTALK.ORG, which is about to begin the discussion of "No Country for Old Men".

Would you (and/or other persons reading this) like to join our discussion?

Ophelia.

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message 5: by Chris

03/22/2008 02:56PM

Hey Ophelia,
Sure. Sounds super!
Chris

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