#6 in Thriller
No Country for Old Men
- 324
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
About the book
No Country for Old Men is a 2005 novel by American author Cormac McCarthy, who had originally written the story as a screenplay. The story occurs in the vicinity of the Mexico–United States border in 1980 and concerns an illegal drug deal gone wrong in the Texas desert back country. Owing to its origins as a screenplay, the novel has a simple writing style that differs from McCarthy's earlier novels. The book was adapted by the Coen brothers into a 2007 film of the same name, which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.3 across 644 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 78% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Thriller average of 7.5. That is how 8.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.2 | 37 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.3 | 607 | 94% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“I started reading this book about 9:30 this morning. Intended to take an hour, ended up finally finishing it around 12:05. I feel like crying. I just want to sit for the rest of the day and not do or say or think anything, but just cry a little. It's a feeling like you've been punched in the chest for no good reason except that you believed the world was an okay place but it's really not, and I could say a bunch of self-indulgent pretentious things here, but what good would it do? I mean, I like reading things that make me feel, but I think I got a bit more than I bargained for here. And it…”
“I read this book over a 3 days period while sat at the pool on holiday, McCarthy is very clever in how he sets up the scenes as he refuses to give you the endings you want, and example of this is how we see a moral side of Moss finally open up to the girl. Usually, you’d expect a final dramatic showdown, instead we learn of the brutal death of the two through the eye of Bell, which removes all senses of personality from Moss, who until this point was the main antagonist. This scene hits harder as this is where Moss became less of “the man with the money” and more a real person with morals, …”
Frequently asked
What is No Country for Old Men rated?
8.1 out of 10, from 644 reader ratings across 2 independent sources.
Is No Country for Old Men worth reading?
Readers give it 8.1/10 from 644 ratings, which puts it ahead of 97 % of the Thriller shelf.
How long does it take to read No Country for Old Men?
About 6 hours at an average reading pace — 324 pages.
Where does No Country for Old Men rank?
#6 in Thriller on the current snapshot.
How long is No Country for Old Men?
It has 324 pages — shorter than 80% of the ranked books in Thriller.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Thriller — with scores between 8.0 and 8.3, closest to this book.
