jeffstatt- I am a BIG Cormac McCarthy fan... I am more of a fan of his novels set in the Tennessee region [Suttree, Child of God, Outer Dark, The Road] as opposed to his "Border" novels [All the Pretty Horses, Cities on the Plain, The Crossing, Blood Meridian, No Country]. He has written a few plays as well. His most recent, The Sunset Limited, is really thought-provoking. Blood Meridian is considered by many to be one of the greatest American novels ever written and it is indeed a fascinating epic. It deserves an HBO mini-series treatment by the makers of Deadwood... It’s kinda funny- his stories like Child of God and Outer Dark could be excellent horror movies that would make the Saw movies look like after-school specials. Horrific stuff…
The Coen's No Country for Old Men was incredibly faithful to the novel with the exception of the Sheriff Bell ruminations that you mentioned which wouldn't translate to the screen in any satisfying way. Not only are those monologues a full 1/3 of the novel, but not having Bell's thoughts did change the tenor of the movie and shifts its narrative [and maybe even moral and thematic] center. I think the fact that they are largely absent from the film is part of what has led many viewers to feel so dissatisfied with the death of Moss and the conclusion of the movie. In the novel it is much more clear that Bell is the real main character and that the story is more about how he changes internally throughout the film... The real climax is the moment of truth when Bell is in the motel room with Chigurh and Bell refuses to face him. I don't think this is as clear in the movie as it is in the novel, but that is when Bell knows that he needs to quit...
It's interesting that NCfOM was originally written as a screenplay and McCarthy went back and added the Bell monologues...
I can't wait for The Road... as much as one cannot wait for a film about the apocalypse and cannibalism…