NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MENI had a really hard time following the story line. With hardly any distinctive quotation marks and punctuation, I couldn't tell right away who the narrator was for each chapter until half way through each one. There were no quotation marks, so at first I didn't know where dialog began or ended. I know this is an artistic style of writing, but personally I have a hard time following it.

And my apologies again to all those who raved about this book, because the story was fantastic. What helped me a lot was watching the movie a few days after finishing the book, and it helped put the chapters together for me. As I watched the movie, I saw that the script followed almost to a tee the original book, including a lot of the dialog. This is the type of book that I think one needs to read more than once to really appreciate it. I do recommend the book to those who are true book fans, and who can appreciate a different style of writing.

With all that said, here's a short summary of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN: Chigurh is a loner, a man that has only one business in mind - killing. Moss is a man that happens to come upon a stash of money in the millions, and while he is perfectly aware that there must be someone out there looking for it, he doesn't immediately know that one of the many who want that money back is Chigurh. Moss also is about to find out how good Chigurh is when it comes to getting what he wants, and getting rid of people who get in his way or detract him from a job well done. There is also the sheriff who knows Moss is on the run, and that Chigurh is on Moss's trail. It's a race against time as the sheriff tries to prevent another killing.

This is one very violent story, and while I said I had a difficult time with the writing style, it is still a very good tale and one that I will not forget for many years to come. One thing that stands out is the highly descriptive writing. One can picture in detail every thing that is happening. I suggest that all who read this book watch the movie as well, because both complement each other. I rarely will watch a movie and read a book that the movie was based on, mainly because it's rare to find a movie turn out as good as the original book. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is an exception.

Cormac McCarthy is considered middle-aged man who is growing disillusioned about his job and finds himself in the middle of a crime spree that's the worst in his career.More significantly, Moss is also being hunted moving story; the ending, however, is a bit of a letdown.For this reason, I am giving this book four starts, albeit a high four stars.If you like action stories with a more "literary" bent, this is a good choice.

No Country for Old Men begins promisingly enough. After a brief rumination about sending a killer to death row a stone killer who proceeds to dispatch (while wearing handcuffs, no less)first the deputy who has arrested him and then an unlucky motorist whose car he subsequently absconds with. The two killings are bloody and brutal and readers are surely in store for a modern-day shoot-`em-up with a literary flair. It is Cormac McCarthy, after all.

We then meet another character, one Llewelyn Moss, who happens upon a drug deal gone bad. Along with some dead bodies (and one live one), Moss finds a truckload of heroin and a satchel containing several million dollars. He takes the money, heads home, hides it under a bed, and then returns to the area about twelve hours later with a jug of water because he feels guilty about abandoning a thirsty drug dealer. Of course, he runs into the owners of the money, they give chase, and the game is afoot.

Chigurh is hot on Moss's trail, leaving numerous dead bodies in his wake. Sheriff Bell is after the drug dealers and tries to save Moss from the deadly clutches of the bad guys (including Chigurh) after him. Moss gets shot. Chigurh gets a load of buckshot in his leg. There's a bloody shootout involving Chigurh and numerous bad guys. In the midst of all this mayhem, the narrative is interrupted every so often won truths with whoever will listen.

McCarthy manages to paint a vivid picture of Texas at the Mexican border, but when two of the main characters in the book disappear and the reader fails to care, something is very wrong with the narrative. especially when Sheriff Bell's musings increased from a page and a half to four pages. There's only so much homespun philosophizing one can take.