Audio Book Review: No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy - Page 4


Bell finds himself continually one step behind Moss and Chigurh. This affords the sheriff the time to consider the crime and begin his own search for Moss. Meanwhile the businessman who first hired Chigurh hires Carson Wells a black ops ex-Colonel who's had experience with Chigurh previously, to recover the money. Wells quickly and easily follows Moss to a Mexican Hospital where Moss is recovering from a previous experience with Chigurh, offering to protect Moss from Chigurh in exchange for the money. Wells reasons that Chigurh will kill Moss whether Moss hands over the money or not. Moss declines and Wells returns to his hotel where he is promptly murdered by Chigurh, who seems a step ahead of everyone all of the time. The phone rings in Wells' hotel room after his murder and is answered by Chigurh who tells Moss that if he brings him the money, he will spare Moss's wife, but will kill him no matter what.

The story leads to its logical end with the exception that once Chigurh has completed his job, he is involved in a freak (coin-flip fate) car accident that results in Chigurh breaking his arm in a compound fracture. Chigurh escapes the scene leaving an empty ambulance arriving and perplexed set of onlookers.

Like in his Pulitzer-prize winning The RoadMcCarthy's language is as clean and dry as cattle bones in the Texas desert. This colloquial dialog propels large sections of the story, betraying McCarthy’s sensitive ear for regional speech and dialect so effective it would be easy for one to consider him the best living American writer at capturing the linguistic essence of a geographical region. If a literate public seeks a truly great American writer, they need look no further than Cormac McCarthy.

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Article Author: C. Michael Bailey

Arkansas son C. Michael Bailey has been in hiding since he revealed his family's abolitionist position prior to the War Between the States. He is a Senior Reviewer for All About Jazz and publisher of the webblog Kultur. Michael’s day job is spent as a clinical data analyst.

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