Cotton Eye Joe

I've just finished No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, so that counts as my seventeenth read. Pity nobody pays for me doing this. Anyways, it took about one and a half days. I read most of it yesterday, and a little bit the night before, and about forty pages today. It was double-spaced, or close to that, so I'm not sure of the exact length. I came across it in the library by accident, though I remembered the title and that it was adapted to screen.
I wouldn't say it's an easy read because it is more or less about killing without giving a second thought, but it is quite exciting and pretty hard to put down. The protagonist is Llewelyn Moss, a Vietnam veteran, who one day goes hunting and finds the scene of a drug transaction, with about eight corpses and 2.4 million dollars. After he takes the money a run for dear life begins, which takes him to countryside motels and gun fights. His main foe is Chigurh, a mirthless hitman, also referred to as a psychopath. The story is set in Texas, I think in 1980, as there is one scene in which they toss a coin from 1958 and the guy says it's been waiting twenty-two years.

The plot follows Moss and Chigurh and the investigation run by Sheriff Ed Tom Bell. Each chapter begins with a part in italics, which turn out to be the thoughts of Bell. Other than the current investigation we can read his thoughts about his life, being a sheriff, and the degradation of the country in general. As some critic put it, it is about "the moral degradation of the legendary American West." Well, I'm sure it would deserve a whole term at university to discuss whether the West was ever so legendary, whatever is meant by that.
I liked the dialogues and the whole narration. I wouldn't say there was redundancy in it, though of course there was suspension and switching between what Moss knew and what the investigation found out. The characters were authentic and I liked them too, except for Chigurh who was sinister beyond human capability. And when I read a story I would like to be sure that the bad boys are punished in the end. The writer used phonetic transcription and typical vocabulary of the South-west (as far as I can tell), which made the book more realistic and authentic. Even the names sounded genuine, as for example Carla Jean, the young wife or Loretta, the sheriff's wife.
At first I thought Moss was the main character but towards the end it became clear that it was meant to be the sheriff. In his own way he raised important issues concerning America, the world wars, and the future as well. He was a sympathetic character, though it became clear even to him that he was no longer fit for his job and the direction the world was going to.
All in all, I'm glad I read the book and I might as well watch the film, despite the fact that I don't usually like male-centered worlds, be it book or film.
Finally, let me list some words I found useful and/or interesting in relation to the book:

• blaspheme: the speak about God or the holy things of a particular religion in an offensive way; to swear using the names of God or holy things,
• weld: to join pieces of metal together by heating their edges and pressing them together,
• hick: a person from the country who is considered to be stupid and to have little experience of life,
• transponder: a piece of equipment that receives radio signals and automatically sends out another signal in reply,
• scrupulous: careful to be honest and do what is right,
• abrupt: speaking or acting in a way that seems unfriendly and rude; not taking time to say more than is necessary,
• skedaddle: to run away hurriedly,
• tourniquet: a piece of cloth, etc. that is tied tightly around an arm or leg to stop the loss of blood from a wound,
• aggravate: to annoy somebody, especially deliberately,
• sniper: a person who shoots at somebody from a hidden position,
• trough: a long narrow open container for animals to eat or drink from.

As I was lazy I focused on the meaning that I think was closer to the context the word appeared in.
Let me conclude with a quote from the book, which is not a proper way to conclude anything, but I don't care.

This country will kill you in a heartbeat and still people love it. (p. 271)

P.S. Javier Bardem won the Oscar for Actor in a Supporting Role playing Anton Chigurh in the film version.