The Road

I remember the first time I heard of Cormac McCarthy. I was in the library (well, yeah) and I over heard someone talking about the Cohen brothers doing another movie. Being a fan of the Cohen brothers (Miller's Crossing is one of the best written gangster movies ever) I told myself that it was okay to eavesdrop on this little conversation. The man who was talking to the librarian said that it would be based on the novel No Country For Old Men which I immediately went to look for in the stacks. I didn't find it because it was underneath that man's arm, but I did see that he had written other books. I looked at the jackets of a few, but when I quickly scanned The Road, I was truly intrigued.

The book is all about an unnamed man and a nameless boy who are father and son at the end of the world. There is some event that took place that set the earth on fire. They are trying to live among the ashes and with the last gasp of humanity without losing their soul in the process. It is the most gripping, harrowing, haunting book I have ever read. Really. McCarthy's style may take some people a little familiarity, but his sparse sentence structure and poetic imagery are not to be missed. This book won the Pulitzer Prize and for good reason.

Why You May Like It:

Apocalyptic tales always fascinate (and I won't lie, scare) me so I am drawn to them anyway. The difference here is a real examination of what that world would really be like perhaps after an asteroid collision, maybe nuclear fall out. It doesn't matter. What stands out is the interaction of the father and son. Pure poetry.

The pace is immaculate. Theirs is a desperate race to the coast, which only the father has ever seen and knows not whether their chances for survival will improve. It is a last hope in a hopeless land. They encounter humanity on the downward slope along the way, some cannibals as all livestock is gone, but mostly thieves and bands of militants.

What You May Not Like:

Like I mentioned before, McCarthy's style may take a little getting used to. He writes with an almost Biblical phrasing in some parts and borders on outright poetry in others. There are no quotation marks, only paragraph indents to mark speech. I think this is brilliant because it makes the reader truly read and understand what is going on, but some may find this maddening.

His over all view of what humanity would do in the face of the apocalypse is grim to say the least. There is light for every dark, but only a pen light's worth. The author does not skimp on suffering for anyone. There is an example of a baby being turned on a spit like a turkey in one chapter. I say this to warn the squeamish.

All in all, this is one of those books that you need to read, if you want my opinion (if not, don't read the blog). People will look back at this book and it will be taught in English classes in high schools. Parents may need to sign consent forms, but maybe not. This a classic piece of literature and should be read by audiences smart enough to know what he is trying to say. This has also been made into a movie, though I have not seen it yet. Hopefully, the makers of that movie took a cue from the Cohen brothers and didn't change much from the book.

Keep on reading!