No Country for Old Men

By: Cormac McCarthy

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Cormac McCarthy, best-selling author of National Book Award winner All the Pretty Horses, delivers his first new novel in seven years. Written in muscular prose, No Country for Old Men is a powerful tale of the West that moves at a blistering pace.

Llewelyn Moss is hunting antelope near the Texas-Mexico border when he stumbles upon several dead men, a big stash of heroin, and more than two million dollars in cash. He takes off with the money, and the hunter becomes the haunted. A drug cartel hires a former Special Forces agent to track down the loot, and a ruthless killer joins the chase as well. Also looking for Moss is the aging Sheriff Bell, a World War II veteran who may be Moss' only hope for survival.

Raw and lean, No Country for Old Men is another masterpiece from one of America's acclaimed novelists.

©2005 Cormac McCarthy (P)2005 Recorded Books, LCC

Critic reviews

"No Country for Old Men gets off to a riveting start as a sort of new wave, hard-boiled Western....Harrowing, propulsive drama." (The New York Times)
"A mesmerizing modern-day western....While the action of the novel thrills, it's the sensitivity and wisdom of Sheriff Bell that makes the book a profound meditation on the battle between good and evil and the roles choice and chance play in the shaping of a life." (Publishers Weekly)
"Shades of Dostoyevsky, Hemingway, and Faulkner resonate in McCarthy's blend of lyrical narrative, staccato dialogue, and action-packed scenes splattered with bullets and blood. McCarthy fans will revel in the author's renderings of the raw landscapes of Mexico and the Southwest and the precarious souls scattered along the border that separates the two." (Booklist)

The Coen Brothers are so good it's spooky

If you liked the movie, you'll love this audio book. It is very well read and you will re-live every scene in the movie in your head. The narrator's voices really have a lot of depth and authenticity. You will realize just how good the Coen brothers are when you see how well they adapted this book. Awesome!

A masterpiece of horror, tension and philosophy.

What did you love best about No Country for Old Men?

The author doesnt spoon feed you everything. The ambiguity of alot of things make it easier to relate to. If you were in the situation you wouldn't get all the answers spelled out for you. I really felt like i was there

I also enjoy all the philosophical exposition. It was just enough to shape your thinking for the events of the book

What other book might you compare No Country for Old Men to and why?

I would compare it to the Film The Counselor. Lots of philosophical rants but the story itself is just one angle of an event. It really helps illustrate the panic when its told through a few lenses rather than an omniscient stand point.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably Wells and Moss talking in person. This did a really good job of establishing all my favorite elements of the story and its characters. Well's professionalism through his demeanor, Moss's downward spiral through his scrambling and Anton as a force of nature through Well's opinion of him.

If you could take any character from No Country for Old Men out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Anton Chigurh. His disposition and views are interesting. His mentality seems to be that of a animal with detective and military training.

Any additional comments?

No additional comments. I don't want to hold anyone up from starting this book.

Not really for young men either.

This incredibly violent story contemplates generational change, the meaning of existence, and morality.

McCarthy's command of language is again put to good use; in this book his descriptive language is not always on display, but when it is used, it is achingly beautiful. Meanwhile, he writes sparse but devastating dialogue. If McCarthy's books fall in a spectrum of language, "All the Pretty Horses" might define one side while "The Road" would define the opposite. The language in this book is right in the middle.

Tom Stechschulte has the perfect voice for this novel; his gruff delivery sounds spot-on for most of the characters. He doesn't try too hard to make different voices for each character, and this approach is correct for most narrators.

excellent

Apt review of the human condition. should be required reading as a young adult. the world doesn't change we do.

Not so much the story but the philosophy...

The story is true McCarthy. Violent, dark and wrought with despair. It is the views and the thoughts of the sheriff that make this truly eloquent, especially in the last pages of the novel. As a person who is getting older it is easier to align some of the sheriff’s thoughts on mankind with you’re own.

Much stronger than the movie. At once intense, adventurous, & a philosophical reflection on the terrible soulless violence...

The book is a reflection on the state of our times through the eyes of a crusty, aging West Texan sheriff. His conclusion that all the new totally conscienceless, soul-less violence is so unintelligible because there are a new type of people now...
His reflections on how all of our choices, not fate, have led each of us to where we have come...
The most evil and honest person in the story (Shuger) is somehow the most rational & deliberative (not to say good).

A credit well spent.

Great book with a good narrator. I struggled for a little at first, McCarthy really loves the word "and", but it ends up being a fine piece of literature.

great read

great read. definitely worth the listen. definitely has the reader going for it too. recommend.

Great Narration

Great Narration, Great story, I really enjoyed this read. I also enjoyed watching the movie after I finished the book.

A good story, well-written and very well-narrated

The characters in this novel have depth, and even though you don't like some of them, you still want to know more about them. The plot is about money, crime, love, passion. The theme is the eternal unity and difference of good and evil, and the setting is Texas. Everything fits together very well. The characters and the plot are as big and diverse as the setting, and the theme is recurrent and thought-provoking. The narration is superb. You can't miss here. But one thing could be irritating, having to do with resolution. But don't let that stop you. If you like adventure, mystery, and a philosophical exploration of good and evil in our time, listen to this book!