This is a very violent book, which tells the story of three men whose lives become entwined when one of them – Moss – comes upon the scene of a drug deal gone wrong. At the scene, he finds a case full of cash, and the split second decision to take the money changes his life forever. Chigurh is the hit man sent to recover the cash from him – and he is a cold hearted and sinister character. Ed Tom Bell is the Sheriff on the trail of both men – hoping to save one and stop the other.
The three main characters are vividly brought to life, and are believable (all too much so, in Chigurgh’s case). I had a genuine sense of unease while reading the book, and no idea how things were going to turn out.
The book is written with a total lack of emotion with events described very coldly, regardless of how violent or disturbing those events may be. This is not a criticism; somehow the lack of compassion for any of the characters makes it all the more sinister and disturbing. I found the timeline slightly confusing at the beginning, but soon got past that.
I would also mention that there are no speech marks to show when characters are speaking. Regular readers of Cormac McCarthy will no doubt be familiar with this, but it may bother some readers.
I would recommend this book to most people, but not those of a nervous disposition!
(For more information about the author, please click here.)
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Click here for my review of the 2007 movie adaptation.
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I recently saw the movie and would like to see the book to see how it compares. I also have read "All the Pretty Horses" by McCarthy and would like to read the other two in the Border Trilogy as well as "The Road," which I took out of the library, but for some reason, never got to reading. I think a lack of compassion for characters is the way McCarthy writes, from what I've heard. If looking for a warm and fuzzy book, he's definitely not the author to whom you want to turn. But if you're looking for a good read, he definitely is.
I think it's the complete lack of sentimentality that makes his writing so good – yeah, like you say, a complete lack of passion. It works for him. I think the DVD is out on 12th May over here in the UK, and I will definitely be getting it!
Let me know what you think of the movie…if you can remember to get back to me by then. 🙂
[…] here for my review of the […]