CALL ME SNAKE

I’ve been so busy, of late, that it took me two months to read a 300-page book. My 8-year-old daughter, who can read a book a day, teased me mercilessly over my slow pace. I took on this book, No Country for Old Men, because I heard it was better than the movie. It was a frustrating work for me as I thought it was beautifully written in stretches. In fact, almost every single page was beautifully written. Yet as a whole, for me, it didn’t add up. The main theme, so far as I could tell, as expressed by the sheriff (played in the movie by Tommy Lee Jones), was that our country was going to hell and a handbasket. Things were going from bad to worse and there ain’t nothing we can do about it. This was a constant refrain that went on for page after page. And while I agree that may well be true, after awhile I got tired of this steady, unwavering whine. Which is why ultimately I cannot recommend the book, despite the fact that it is filled with beautiful prose. Another complaint is that one of the main characters is knocked off in a most undramatic form, almost in a footnote, which to me was a curious choice by the author. Still I’m sure the book is doing fine, especially in view of the movie’s success, and there’s ain’t nothing my measly two cent’s worth ain’t gonna do about it. And no amount of belly-achin’, no matter how hyperventilated, ain’t gonna change that.