No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN can be understood through the characters of Anton Chigurh, Llewelyn Moss, Carla Jean Moss or Sheriff Bell.

If we were to chose to see the story as one about Anton Chigurh, it's a story about power, about violence. It's a suspenseful thriller. Chigurh is an antagonist with near supernatural power–not all that different than the antagonists we find in the horror genre.

If we were to chose to see the story as one about Llewelyn Moss, it's a story about the power of consequence. About how our choices can direct us down a path we never intended to be on. About how easy it is to ruin our own lives.

If we were to chose to see the story as one about Carla Jean Moss, it's a story about victims. About how our fate, whether we want it to be or not, is tied to the people we decide to love.

I chose to see the story as one about Sheriff Bell. It's the story about the wisdom of an old man. Someone who has lived his life, who has walked down the same path on which I find myself. Someone who can tell me a little bit about what's to come.

Cormac McCarthy might be the only author I know who can kill off the central characters, end the story, finish the plot, and then include another chapter--and make that extra scene work. Sheriff Bell's monologue is almost like an addendum to a finished work. And it's my favorite part of the book. It works because the story is about an old man and what his character has to offer the reader.





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