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erinyj's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
chanelchapters's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I hadn't seen the movie before reading the book, completely took all suspense out of it. That said, if I HADN"T known what was going to happen I would have loved this, Chigurh is a character I won't soon forget. And although I really hate McCarthy's non-use of quotation marks, I still love his writing, every character had their own unique voice and his pace was excellent. Great movie and great book.
joseph_fertitta's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.25
kate_kd's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
soap13's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
4.0
You often see people compare books and the movies that are made from them. This is something that has happened to this book, with the book, perhaps surprisingly, coming off second.
This book isn't as bad as many people say it is. The best dialog is lifted from the book, and while nearly every character (except the sheriff) is a bit "cardboard cutoutish," I don't necessarily think that that's a bad thing.
The book is about an old time cop's attempt to understand what the hell is happening in his county when drugs really hit the area in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Each chapter starts with a reminiscence, and the chapter kind of sort of addresses the issues he raises in the reminiscence. Through the chapters, however, runs the story of a guy's discovery of some drug money, and his increasingly forlorn attempts to avoid the guy who is trying to reclaim it.
As I said, I don't think the book is as good as the film (the book doesn't have quite the pacing that the film does), but it's not that bad either. You just need to think of it as a guy reminiscing about the past, rather than a linear thriller. You'll enjoy it better if you take that approach I think.
This book isn't as bad as many people say it is. The best dialog is lifted from the book, and while nearly every character (except the sheriff) is a bit "cardboard cutoutish," I don't necessarily think that that's a bad thing.
The book is about an old time cop's attempt to understand what the hell is happening in his county when drugs really hit the area in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Each chapter starts with a reminiscence, and the chapter kind of sort of addresses the issues he raises in the reminiscence. Through the chapters, however, runs the story of a guy's discovery of some drug money, and his increasingly forlorn attempts to avoid the guy who is trying to reclaim it.
As I said, I don't think the book is as good as the film (the book doesn't have quite the pacing that the film does), but it's not that bad either. You just need to think of it as a guy reminiscing about the past, rather than a linear thriller. You'll enjoy it better if you take that approach I think.
lordchampion666's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is a unique and engaging story but the lack of intelligent decisions by the characters gets really frustrating. I found myself rooting against the main character frequently because of how stupid his choices were.
Shegur is one of the best villians I've ever read about. He operates with an extremely strict moral code and almost operates more like a force of nature than a human being. This makes him more terrifying than the average villian because there isn't any hope of reasoning with him or negotiating.
The way McCarthy writes is descriptive but the prose isn't very complex. The sentences run on and are connected by 3 or 4 uses of "and" frequently. This made the writing feel immature and I think reading this book physically would have been difficult because of that, in addition to his lack of puncutation.
Additionally, he will change perspectives without giving any indication of who is speaking or what group of characters he has moved on to. I thourougly enjoyed the story but I dont know if the quality was worth the struggle required to read his writing.
Shegur is one of the best villians I've ever read about. He operates with an extremely strict moral code and almost operates more like a force of nature than a human being. This makes him more terrifying than the average villian because there isn't any hope of reasoning with him or negotiating.
The way McCarthy writes is descriptive but the prose isn't very complex. The sentences run on and are connected by 3 or 4 uses of "and" frequently. This made the writing feel immature and I think reading this book physically would have been difficult because of that, in addition to his lack of puncutation.
Additionally, he will change perspectives without giving any indication of who is speaking or what group of characters he has moved on to. I thourougly enjoyed the story but I dont know if the quality was worth the struggle required to read his writing.
unexplainabl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Really went in expecting to not like this. It's really far out of my comfort zone but I ended up liking the characters and overall story.
One thing I really wasn't a fan of was the writing style. No dialogue tags and minimal commas led to sentences with 'and' in multiple times. Which made for a frustrating read at times.
One thing I really wasn't a fan of was the writing style. No dialogue tags and minimal commas led to sentences with 'and' in multiple times. Which made for a frustrating read at times.
cjbarton01's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
manadabomb's review against another edition
5.0
This book is basically: No Country for Old Men tells the story of a drug deal gone wrong and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama, as three men crisscross each other's paths in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas.
I've had the movie for about a week and felt that I really needed to read the book first. Luckily, my friend had it and loaned it to me.
I've read The Road and was dumbfounded by the bleakness of it. No Country for Old Men dumbfounds me with the violence. Admittedly, the very first chapter made me a little ill, but I kept going because, ill or not, I was sucked in.
There are really only 3 real characters in this book: Moss, Bell and Chigurh. Bell is the sheriff of a small Texan town. Moss is the man who finds bodies and money in the desert and decides to take the money but leave the bodies. Chigurh is just evil incarnate. And he wants the money. Personally, while other characters are mentioned and mostly fleshed out, they don't matter. It all boiled down to Moss, running for his life, being chased by Chigurh, who in turn is being tracked down by Bell.
I don't want to give anything away about the outcomes of the 3 characters so, generically, I'll say:
The amount of evil is frightening. The amount of evil contained in Chigurh makes me desperately hope that no one in real life is like this (although I know there are).
The calmness and tenacity of Bell was admirable. Until you get his backstory and then, you understand where he was coming from but wonder how admirable he really is.
Moss. Dammit man, why did you take the money???
At one point, I was angry enough with the turn of events to put the book down for the night and not get back to it til the next day. As in life, this isn't a pretty ending. It's not wrapped up neatly with a bow. Really, it's not wrapped up at all.
I'm still angry with the outcome but then, that's when you know the book is pretty dang good, isn't it? When it ignites you for days after you've put it down.
Can't wait to see the movie now :)
I've had the movie for about a week and felt that I really needed to read the book first. Luckily, my friend had it and loaned it to me.
I've read The Road and was dumbfounded by the bleakness of it. No Country for Old Men dumbfounds me with the violence. Admittedly, the very first chapter made me a little ill, but I kept going because, ill or not, I was sucked in.
There are really only 3 real characters in this book: Moss, Bell and Chigurh. Bell is the sheriff of a small Texan town. Moss is the man who finds bodies and money in the desert and decides to take the money but leave the bodies. Chigurh is just evil incarnate. And he wants the money. Personally, while other characters are mentioned and mostly fleshed out, they don't matter. It all boiled down to Moss, running for his life, being chased by Chigurh, who in turn is being tracked down by Bell.
I don't want to give anything away about the outcomes of the 3 characters so, generically, I'll say:
The amount of evil is frightening. The amount of evil contained in Chigurh makes me desperately hope that no one in real life is like this (although I know there are).
The calmness and tenacity of Bell was admirable. Until you get his backstory and then, you understand where he was coming from but wonder how admirable he really is.
Moss. Dammit man, why did you take the money???
At one point, I was angry enough with the turn of events to put the book down for the night and not get back to it til the next day. As in life, this isn't a pretty ending. It's not wrapped up neatly with a bow. Really, it's not wrapped up at all.
I'm still angry with the outcome but then, that's when you know the book is pretty dang good, isn't it? When it ignites you for days after you've put it down.
Can't wait to see the movie now :)