No Country for Old Men - post I

The great thing about reading other lit blogs is that you get all sorts of suggestions of books and authors that left to your own devices you might never read. Cormac McCarthy falls into that category. But the one most people have been talking about is The Road but sadly true to form the local library has a waiting list on it. So rather than give up on the idea of trying some McCarthy out I checked out No Country for Old Men.

A third of the way in and it is a book with a great pace but not always that easy to follow. There are no quote marks and working out sometimes not only who is speaking but being addressed is difficult. As it can be on occasions working out who just got shot.

The idea is simple but you have no idea how it is going to end. A criminal who is quite happy to kill anyone for almost no reason Chigurh kills a deputy then goes on a killing spree connected to a drug deal that appears to have meant to have been a double cross with the Mexicans bringing the drugs being killed before the $2m could be handed over.

The problem is that before Chigurh can get his hands on the money a local out hunting gets their first. But no sooner has he got his hands on the money than his life turns upside down and it becomes a matter of time before Llewelyn is tracked down.

In the meantime the chapters are introduced by memories from an old sheriff who is presumably the person who feels the sentiments expressed in the title. He struggles to come to terms with the rate of the killing but seems to have an ability to guess exactly what has happened and is not far behind the money or the killer.

More tomorrow…