No Country for Old Men review:5 stars (McCarthy's best work to date.) - This was a tough book to put down. I read it in about 2 sittings. I do have to say that the last 50 or so pages weren't as riveting as the rest of the book, but it is still a must read if your into Cormac McCarthy. Definately a bit darker than his other work, but not over the top.3 stars (Blood Meridian Lite) - First off, this book gets its title from the first line of the Yeats poem "Sailing to Byzantium" I haven't seen this, apparently significant, fact mentioned in any of the other reviews.- So, there it is.-It would behoove one then to read or reread this poem before reading this book.

That being said, I simply am unable to recommend this book as a work of great literature.-Fast-paced and page-turning action interspersed with sophomoric interior monologue what your heart desires? Then, it's for you. Otherwise, it's no more than a watered-down version of Blood Meridian. The "psychopathic" Chigurh, for example is so obviously a pale shadow of The Judge in Blood Meridian that it's more than embarrassing to read the passages concerning him. He even uses the exact wording as The Judge concerning not paying in the "right currency" The "right currency" is blood, of course. The comparison between the two characters is effective comparison between the two books: Chigurh is already boxed into the meaningless diagnosis of "psychopathic," whereas The Judge is the driving force behind the Delphic magnificence of Blood Meridian. Don't buy this? Try thinking of Chigurh as Delphic, in that adjective's original sense. It simply won't work.

Point of fact, this is just the latest installment in McCarthy's downward spiral since he wrote Suttree, his greatest novel, perhaps the greatest novel in all Twentieth Century American literature, and his discovery of megastardom with The Border Trilogy. Whenever I contemplate this slow decay, I am reminded of the poem penned by Malcolm Lowry after he managed to get his Twentieth Century masterpiece, Under the Volcano, published:

Success is like some horrible disaster
Destroying the house of the soul,
Exposing that you have worked for only this.
O, that I had never suffered this treacherous kiss
And had been left forever in darkness
To founder and fail

Perhaps I should be giving McCarthy the benefit of the doubt. The book was originally 600 some odd pages long. Who knows what lurks in those 600 odd pages? His current agent, Amanda Urban, and her agency, ICM, brook no complex, sinuous masterworks. Trust me: I have a letter from her anent my first novel (still unpublished) informing me that I am a "great writer" but that my work is "unmarketable." But I have to deal with what's received the imprimatur. I conclude, sadly, that it isn't worth the read.



3 stars (Blood Meridian Lite) - First off, the title for this book comes from the first line of the Yeats poem "Sailing to Byzantium." I haven't read any other review that bothers to mention this rather, it would seem, significant fact. -So, there it is.-One might do well to read or reread that poem before embarking on this book.

The above beng mentioned, I simply can't recommend this book to anyone in search of literature. - Fast-paced, page-turning action and sophomoric interior monologues? Then, it's for you. - Otherwise, this book is simply a pale shadow of Blood Meridian.

Chigurh, the "psychopathic" killer, is such an obvious, watered-down replacement for The Judge in Blood Meridian that he's much more than an embarassment in this novel. - He even uses the exact wording as does The Judge about the "right currrency" not being money. It's blood, of course. But Chigurh is no Judge. He's already boxed into this meaningless diagnosis of "psychopathic" near the beginning of the book; whereas the Judge is the moving philosophical protagonist in Blood Meridian and remains a Delphic figure to the end. Without The Judge, there would be no Blood Meridian.-If you don't buy all this, try thinking of Chigurh as Delphic, in that adjective's original sense. It quite obviously just won't do.

McCarthy should have ceased writing after Suttree, to my mind his greatest work, perhaps even the greatest postwar American novel of the Twentieth century. His books have diminished increasingly in quality since he found megastar success with The Border Trilogy. I am constantly reminded when contemplating McCarthy's downward spiral of the poem penned by Malcolm Lowry after he succeeded in publishing his 20th Century masterpiece, Under The Volcano:

Success is like some horrible disaster...
Destroying the house of the soul, exposing that you have worked for only this.
O, that I had never suffered this treacherous kiss, and been left in darkness to countinually founder and fail.

Perhaps I should give Mcarthy the benefit of the doubt, as the novel was originally 600 pages before cutting. Who knows what lurks in those cuts? His current agent, Amanda Urban, and her agency, ICM, brook no long, meandering works of art. Trust me: I have a letter from her in re my first novel (still unpublished) informing me that I am a "great writer" but that my work is "unmarketable."

But I don't have the 600 pages. All I have is what got the imprimatur here, and it simply isn't worth the read. All I can say, sadly, is to return to those books for which McCarthy will be remembered: Blood Meridian and Suttree.
No Country for Old Men Features:
Author: Cormac Mccarthy
Fiction - General
General
Fiction / Literary

No Country for Old Men is the Hardcover version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 14.97USD.