|
an amazing book 
McCarthy was recommended to me by many people over the years,
but I somehow never got around to reading any of his novels until now. "The Road"
was certainly a good place to start. The narrative is sparse, it is not
clear what happened to the world, or indeed where the Man and the Boy
are heading. What they hoping to achieve, beyond surviving to the next
day? Yet, the world that McCarthy creates seems real. It is perhaps exactly
because he stripped it bare, and the only thing he left was the thing that
matters most - the bond that we have between one another.
This is the first book I read by McCarthy, but I will definitely read more.
Bleak story of hope
There is little I can add to the many accolades and positive reviews for this book, but I feel compelled to comment on it anyway.
Cormac McCarthy's vision of a dark netherworld brought on by an unnamed catastrophe is so addictive, you won't be able to put it down. It remained in my bathroom for days while I tried to devote time to another, much bigger and more time-consuming, book that I was supposed to be reading instead, but eventually the wrenching story of The Road won over all else. Every spare moment I had, I picked it up, and while I have said many times how slow a reader I am, I finished it in 2 days.
Two people, a man and his small son, creep through a world deadened by nuclear winter, brushing off ashes falling like snow and curling together in hidden spots amongst the dead trees at night, wary of every human encounter, working their way with dogged hope toward the South and possible deliverance. Their adventures along the way are gripping, haunting, and sad; the total devotion to each other is the sole uplifting spirit in the whole story. It is clear that the father will do anything to protect the boy; and in a world where everything that survives has gone feral and vicious, his tender attentions to his son speaks worlds of the power of love.
You will feel drained by this book - but somewhat hopeful as well. If such a thing ever happens, I would hope that there are more people like the father in this book than most of the people they run into. Absorbing, compelling, rich in dialogue between two scared people dependent completely on each other, and full of inventive solutions by the boy's father, the action in the book is evocative enough to visualize, real enough to feel. It is one of the best books I have read in a long time.
stark and stunning
i've wanted to see this movie, but haven't gotten around to it. someone told me the book was really worth reading, so i picked this up in an airport when i was on a trip without a book; and i devoured it in 24 hours. it's a stunning, bleak, sparse telling of a post-apocalyptic landscape and the relationship between a father and the young son he's trying to protect. the relationship between the father and son is at time heartbreaking (the lengths the father goes to, and the numbness, fear and acceptance of what shouldn't be that overwhelms the boy), and at times relationally rich and beautiful. it's not one of those adventure stories that makes me want to experience their adventure, to be sure; but the hope the father holds onto, in the midst of impossible challenges, lifts the story up well beyond a scenario that would otherwise be merely brutal, indulgent storytelling.
In my top 5
I read this book over a year ago and I'm still thinking about it. Moved me deeply
Wonderful
I could not put this book down. I drew me in like no other book ever has. The ability of McCarthy to capture beauty in the midst of a crushing reality gives hope to the innate ability of mankind to overcome his base and savage instincts.
|
|
