No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy

There was no thought-provoking philosophy to chew on in this book. But I loved it because I was invested in what happened but there was no “satisfactory” ending. That left an impression because that was most of life anyway. No meetings on top of the Empire State Building or riding into sunsets.

I learnt something else about the books I like from reading this one. They have a limited number of main characters but each is developed so well that I’m invested in them. This book has three main characters. A regular guy who happens upon a lot of money connected to drug deal gone very wrong. An aging small-town Sheriff with a WWII past he is trying to shake off. And a cartel assassin with a code of ethics and method to his villany.

You can feel Sheriff Ed Tom Bell’s resigned voice as he bemoans how the doings of the cartels are beyond his understanding of human behavior. As he investigates the drug deal-related massacre he finds himself focused on saving Llewelyn Moss, the regular guy on the run with the drug dealers’ money. Also hunting Moss is the assassin Anton Chigurh. Chigurh’s actions, like letting his victims toss a coin to decide their fate and using a portable version of a tool used in slaughterhouses, defines the darkness and cruelty the Sheriff alludes to. Yet, Chigurh sees the world as a place where people don’t keep their word and sees himself as a promise-keeper.

I read this book after I saw the movie and Javier Bardem’s portrayal of Chigurh, especially his one-on-one conversations with his victims, is every bit haunting as the one in the book.