Book Review: No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy


Is it a Cormac McCarthy thriller or a deconstruction of genre fiction through the art of Cormac McCarthy? Either way, "No Country for Old Men" is an immensly readable book that stil retains everything we expect from McCarthy. Brutal violence is everywhere. Characters are overwhelmed by a world gone-bad and their own possible complicity in it. And it ends in a fashion that would likely surprise a traditional genre reader but should be no shock to a McCarthy fan. The book could serve as a good introduction to McCarthy or for those intrigued by "The Road" but might want something, say, a little less depressing.

For me, I don't finish any book in a week (especially these days), but this book held me in its grip from the moment I picked it up to merely see if I wanted to read it next.