The very first sentence not only sets the mood for the novel, but also gets our undivided attention. ″I sent one boy to the gas chamber at Huntsville″. First, these words refer to death penalty; needless to say it is a very controversial subject. Also, the reader understands that a young man was killed. Unless one is a soulless human being, one will want to read on and know why such a tragic event occurred. As one reads on, one comes to understand that a sheriff has a lot of experience, but is still baffled by the young man he has sent to die. He cannot feel empathy for the young man, and we soon start to identify to this sheriff and also feel troubled, disturbed by the lack of emotion of the young man.

This book is narrated in both the third person and the first. There are three narrators: an old sheriff that has seen it all, a younger sheriff that thinks he has all the experience in the world but is about to be proved wrong, and a third person narration associated to the tale of Moss, a young hunter who is somewhat inexperienced in life. One narration that really struck me was the old sheriff’s. He impersonates the older generations and shows their consternation towards the younger ones.

This story is set in a small town in the middle of nowhere next to the American-Mexican border. This setting sets the mood for the story and really affects all the characters, but one. There is no opportunity, no hope for progress, nothing. Stagnation. That may explain why Moss, the hunter, takes the money when he finds it, without fully weighing the consequences. He naively sees that luck as an opportunity for a better life.

Although the reader can’t really identify with any of the characters, we fell empathy for them. There aren’t great descriptions of characters, but we learn about them from the way they handle situations and from their past experiences. Lewellyn Moss is the protagonist of this story. He doesn’t have any notable qualities, he has no education, he