Saturday, February 13, 2010

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

America has burned to the ground, the land is freezing cold, black ash mixed with snow falls upon the few survivors in this dark and postapocalyptic tale which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2007. The Road by Cormac McCarthy was a spectacular reading experience, and I am left wondering why I did not read it before now.

Nothing is alive anymore, no trees, no birds, no fish, no flowers except those few unlucky human survivors who have formed small communes across the land, not welcoming any strangers. The Man and his son The Boy are wandering the land, heading for the ocean while trying to avoid the packs of road rats (cannibals) roaming the desolate and soot ridden land in search of anything to eat. The Boy is everything to The Man and vice versa. They are searching for people like themselves - good people - but as their journey continue, it is getting harder and harder to believe that there is actually much humanity left on this desolate and dark earth.

The Road is read as part of the 2010 Global Reading Challenge.

11 comments:

bermudaonion said...

I'd like to read this, so I can see the movie. I like to read the book first, whenever possible.

serendipity_viv said...

As Kathy said above, I would love to read it before I see the film. I didn't realise what it was about, as I had only ever seen the cover. I hope by the end they find what they are looking for.

Dorte H said...

Hm. I am glad you liked it,and there may even be lots of crime in it, but probably not enough detection for my taste :D

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I loved the book, even though it was so dark. I have not seen the movie though.

Maria Grazia said...

This novel was so depressing but so beautiful! Unforgettable. I read it last year and still remember the great emotions it gave me. I promised myself I wouldn't see the film. I don't thinks I could bear to see the terrible world described on a huge screen. Neither on a small screen.
Glad you liked it!

mimbles said...

It didn't do it for me, not really sure why, but I struggled to finish it and I usually like post-apocalyptic novels. I did find the punctuation quirks rather irritating and that kept throwing me out of the story but I don't think it was only that, the story just didn't grab me and I don't think there's anything particularly amazing about Cormac's writing.

I'll probably see the movie eventually though, if for no other reason than Viggo Mortenson :-)

Heidenkind said...

Sounds cheery. O.o

Darlene said...

I read this a few years back and it is a very powerful read. Definitely one that has stayed with me.

Anonymous said...

I'm with the first two. I need to get my hands on this one so I can watch Viggo in the movie!

Beth F said...

My husband really loved this one. I have to get to it before the movie.

Eva @ One Swede Read said...

Lots of people keep recommending it to me, but I've always gotten the impression that it's quite depressing. However, quality is always quality, so I'll try and get a copy soon.