The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Completion date: 6/17/08
Rating: <3
Number of pages: 241

The Road follows a father struggling to keep his young son alive as they try to make it to the South in what seems to be post-apocalyptic conditions, having only a shopping cart for supplies. They face many struggles along the way. They are forced to improvise masks in order to prevent breathing in the ash that practically makes up the atmosphere. The only humans that are left are cannibals, their 'food-source', and refugee scavengers looking for food. There is no sunshine, no plants, no animals, no food. The father coughs blood every morning and is aware of the fact that he is dying. He struggles to protect his son from attack, exposure, and starvation. In the end, all they have is each other.

The Road was a book that I had trouble putting down. The depth of the characters and the story was incredible. Both the boy and his father had many layers that you continued to see throughout the book. For instance, the boy's attitude and initial disposition makes him out to be well beyond his ten years, however once you actually scrape the surface of the boy's character, you see that he's just a scared little kid trying to be brave for his dad. Throughout almost the entire book, I just wanted to give the boy a hug.

This book had many themes and I got a lot out of it. You definitely saw courage, endurance, and fortitude. Through all that these men went through, they still worked to keep faith alive. Some nights it felt like it wasn't worth it, but they didn't give up. They met adversity straight on we need to adopt that same attitude.

There were some things about the book that were not my favorite. I didn't like Cormac McCarthy's rough writing style. In that, I mean that he didn't use quotation marks, he often left out some punctuation, etc. The story itself didn't leave for much complaint. I'm sure that when I read it again, I may be able to find it's flaws, but why look?

I just think that this book showed the struggles of the little family beautifully. You feel for these fictional characters. When they feel scared, you feel scared. When they feel hope, you feel hope, etc. etc. etc.

This is probably one of the best books I've ever read. McCarthy certainly did an excellent job. You may not feel the same way, you may think it's absolutely horrible in every way, but as for me, I could read it over and over again.

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(woo hoo! First review!)