No Country for Old Men

Cormac McCarthy

Dec 2010 · Pan Macmillan

About this ebook

Savage violence and cruel morality reign in the backwater deserts of Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men, a tale of one man's dark opportunity – and the darker consequences that spiral forth.

Adapted for the screen by the Coen Brothers (Fargo, True Grit), winner of four Academy Awards (including Best Picture).

'A fast, powerful read, steeped with a deep sorrow about the moral degradation of the legendary American West' – Financial Times

1980. Llewelyn Moss, a Vietnam veteran, is hunting antelope near the Rio Grande when he stumbles upon a transaction gone horribly wrong. Finding bullet-ridden bodies, several kilos of heroin, and a caseload of cash, he faces a choice – leave the scene as he found it, or cut the money and run. Choosing the latter, he knows, will change everything.

And so begins a terrifying chain of events, in which each participant seems determined to answer the question that one asks another: how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?

'It's hard to think of a contemporary writer more worth reading' – Independent

Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.

Praise for Cormac McCarthy:

‘McCarthy worked close to some religious impulse, his books were terrifying and absolute’ – Anne Enright, author of The Green Road and The Wren, The Wren

'His prose takes on an almost biblical quality, hallucinatory in its effect and evangelical in its power' – Stephen King, author of The Shining and the Dark Tower series

'In presenting the darker human impulses in his rich prose, [McCarthy] showed readers the necessity of facing up to existence' – Annie Proulx, author of Brokeback Mountain

Ratings and reviews

Some Excellent passages, mostly from the diary of Tom Bell, such as: ''She kept on, kept on. Finally told me, said: I dont like the way this country is headed. I want my granddaughter to be able to have an abortion. And I said well mam I dont think you got any worries about the way the country is headed. The way I see it goin I dont have much doubt but what she'll be able to have an abortion. I'm goin to say that not only will she be able to have an abortion, she'll be able to have you put to sleep. Which pretty much ended the conversation.''

The book starts sorta slow, but we rapidly get more and more entangled in each of the characters paths. You feel as if you were a witness to all of it. Very good descriptions, straight to the point. There's also a lot of instances for raising questions about human nature, moral responsibility, free will, and other core puzzles of our existence.

Sparse, intelligent characterisation and portrayal of place. Thoroughly absorbing.

About the author

Cormac McCarthy was the author of many acclaimed novels, including Blood Meridian, Child of God and The Passenger. Among his honours are the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country for Old Men – the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. McCarthy died in 2023 in Santa Fe, NM at the age of 89.