No Country For Old Men

“It’s a life’s work to see yourself for what you really are and even then you might be wrong.”

4/5 ⭐

One of the most hopeless books I have ever read but told in such a haunting and engrossing way that I couldn’t help but love it. It tells the story of a hunter who stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong. Amongst the wreckage he finds a bag full of money, which he takes. That decision sets off a violent chain of events that can’t be contained.

The intensity doesn’t let up from that moment on, but it isn’t until the last third of the book that it earns its 4/5 stars. Here, at the end of so much violence, we slow down to contemplate. McCarthy wrestles with notions of free will vs fate, good vs evil, and the impossible task of adapting to an ever-changing world. McCarthy paints a bleak picture of the country, the direction it is headed, and our inability to stop it.

I found reading this book today, compared to its published date of 2006, especially interesting in a way I don’t quite know how to describe. I think McCarthy spent so much time on the seemingly endless violence so that by the end the readers felt hopeless and desensitized and were prepared for the moral wrestling and life-contemplating of the final act. But as I read this book, I felt like I didn’t need the priming, I already feel hopeless and desensitized about the violent state of our nation.

In terms of style, McCarthy is distinct: no quotation marks, minimal punctuation, short sentences, etc. Also, almost all the dialogue is in a hyper-stylized Texan dialect. So be prepared for something unique that may take a minute to get used to. It isn’t confusing, but just feels like you are listening in to a real conversation on the back porch of a rancher’s house.

All in all, if you want something uplifting, avoid at all costs, but if you want to contemplate your life, your decisions, and wonder if they matter, read on!

Some underline-worthy quotes:

“You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.”

“Sometimes people would rather have a bad answer about things than no answer at all.”

“There is no description of a fool that you fail to satisfy. Now you’re goin to die.”