Mini Review: “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy
Brad’s Note: One new feature I’ll be implementing on this site, starting with this post, is posting reviews of books I have recently read. While some books I review may have been out for a while, I will also try to review some new releases as well.
Before I start, I have to admit something: I was reluctant to read this book. Why? Probably because it was released when I was in my last year of college and I was completely engrossed in my classes at the time. Not much of an excuse, I know, but better late than never, right?
Also, I should point out that this post probably does not qualify as a review. It’s more of a few general thoughts about the book I had. I just don’t want to be too misleading in the title of this post.
The Road (aff link) written by Cormac McCarthy, is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel about a post-apocalyptic world where a man and his son are trying to get to the coast because the man thinks they have a better chance for survival there.
One facet of the novel that really struck me was the vagueness of everything: None of the characters are given names, no cities are named, the ocean they are trying to reach isn’t even named. To add further to this vagueness is that very few details are given as to what the apocalyptic event was. Based on limited descriptions and a little outside reading, it appears to have been an impact event, like that of an asteroid.
The vague sense the novel gives the reader is enhanced further by the continuing descriptions of a world covered in ash. Even the sun and the sky are partially blocked by a lingering cloud of ash that, I assume, has enveloped most of the earth. The result of the catastrophe is pretty clear: Everything has pretty much died, or is in the process of dying and/or decaying. And with food sources extremely limited, the few survivors around have resorted to cannibalism just to stay alive (a few gruesome scenes really drive this point home).
The father and his son are shown mostly through their actions. Dialogue is sparse and utilitarian. Any other characters that appears throughout the novel appear only briefly and are looked at with suspicion by the two main characters. Of course, I think anyone would be suspicious of people if there was a good possibility that the person could kill you, steal your meager supplies, and then eat you for dinner.
The ending of the novel provides a bit of closure, but still leaves enough to the imagination that you’ll be thinking about it long after reading the last page. I won’t spoil the ending for those few people out there who still haven’t read it. But it’s a novel I feel confident at recommending to anyone looking for something good to read. It is probably a fitting book to read during autumn, when everything is dying and decaying. The Road is also a fast read, which in no way diminishes the story, but the language and short paragraphs will let you clip right along.
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