The Road

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Review-A-Day

"It's an adventure, believe it or not — the sort of book that, if only for the relentless clarity of the writing, the lucid descriptions of the grasses, the mud, the thorns, and the very arc of the road that cuts through all that, presents a clear and episodic progress from one small terror to the next. Forget comfort and possession. Postapocalypse or not, it's classic McCarthy....You should read this book because it is exactly what a book about our future ought to be: the knife wound of our inconvenient truths, laid bare in a world that will just plain scare the piss out of you on a windy night." Tom Chiarella, Esquire (read the entire Esquire review)

"The love between the father and the son is one of the most profound relationships McCarthy has ever written, and the strength of it helps raise the novel — despite considerable gore — above nihilistic horror....Fans of McCarthy's brutal world view may not approve, but other readers will welcome the unexpectedly hopeful ending." Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor (read the entire CSM review)

"The Road is a much more compelling and demanding book than its predecessor....The new novel will not let the reader go, and will horribly invade his dreams, too....It is an interesting question as to why McCarthy succeeds so well. The secret, I think, is that McCarthy takes nothing for granted." James Wood, The New Republic (read the entire New Republic review)

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pkdubreuil, January 6, 2013 (view all comments by pkdubreuil)
Well written.

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Sue Bond, January 1, 2013 (view all comments by Sue Bond)
Simple and powerful prose that made me read the novel all the way through in one go. The Road is the first novel of Cormac McCarthy's that I read, and I came to it with my partner's strong recommendations for his other books, particularly Blood Meridian. It is a tough story of the end of human civilisation as we know it, told through the characters of a father and his son, and I was right there with them in the blackened remains and the frightening encounters with other humans mostly stripped bare of their humanity. Absolutely devastating; I will never forget it.

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Vschoen, March 30, 2012 (view all comments by Vschoen)
“The Road”, written by Cormac McCarthy is a novel that tugs at the harsh reality of the outcome of a destructive society. In this post-apocalyptic novel, two protagonists struggle to survive as they embark on a seemingly never-ending journey. As a reader you will be introduced to the conflict of good vs. evil and what is justifiable in the midst of ‘life or death’ situations. The audience will discover the definition of perseverance and will be able to visualize the depth of a father-son relationship. The novel was a wonderful novel that taught me many life lessons. I would recommend you read it although you must be aware that the novel is very depressing and is quite violent in some scenes.

The novel ”The Road” begins with a father and a son in the midst of an extremely horrific setting with “Everything paling away into the murk. The soft ash blowing in loose swirls over the blacktop,” (McCarthy, 4). The novel progresses as the man and the boy travel the country on foot in order to escape unfriendly people and unwelcoming situations. Along their journey they encounter cannibalism, hypothermia, and extreme malnutrition. Not only is their journey significant for how it reflects modern-day society, but their journey also gives the reader a strong appreciation for shelter, food, water, and clothing.

“The Road” reflects society as a ‘dog eat dog’ world; everyone looking out for themselves or their loved ones and caring little about those who they don’t affiliate themselves with. A secondary theme is the conflict between determining who is ‘good’ in the world and who is ‘bad’. The struggle between good and evil is utterly difficult. Is the man who steals their clothes in order to stay warm an evil person? Is the group who kills a dying man in order to eat his flesh to fuel their hunger a bad group of people? You as the reader have the liberty to decide what is justifiable in a twisted world. You may also begin to question the actuality of human nature and how one will do anything to survive including putting someone else in misery. Where is the line drawn and how does our society in the 21st century reflect these selfish motives?

It is important to take notice that there are no chapters in this novel, nor are there any sections. McCarthy chooses to organize different thoughts, the changing of scenery, and t coming of a new day through page breaks. There are also no quotations in the dialogue. For example,
“It’s okay
Please, Papa. Please.
It’s okay.
No it’s not.” (McCarthy, 134)
Although, the story is still very easy to follow and very rarely does the style inflict confusion. The story is told chronologically although flashbacks do occur causing the plot to bounce around a few times. The flashbacks take the reader to a time that is still post-apocalypse; leaving the reader with no insight into how the world came to perish. One can identify this novel with other futuristic novels. For example, Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, also showcase a distorted future occurring as a result of society’s materialistic desires, narcissistic motives, and warped morals.

Overall, this is a wonderful novel that will give you a gripping vision into the world’s possible future. The novel will teach you many new and important ideas into the harsh reality of our society in this day in age. The comments on egocentric personalities and the difference between good and evil is a heart-quenching story that will force you to question life’s current state. If you enjoy reading about futuristic novels and are not threatened by the depressing themes the novel centers around, then “The Road”, written by Cormac McCarthy, is most definitely a novel for you. Enjoy your reading!

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780307387899

Author:

McCarthy, Cormac

Publisher:

Vintage Books USA

Author:

Various

Subject:

Literary

Subject:

Fathers and sons

Subject:

Voyages and travels

Subject:

General Fiction

Subject:

Literature-A to Z

Copyright:

2007

Edition Description:

Trade paper

Series:

Vintage International

Publication Date:

20070331

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

Grade Level:

General/trade

Language:

English

Pages:

304

Dimensions:

12 x 9 x 5 in 9.74 lb

0 stars - 0 reviews

$5.95 In Stock

"Review A Day" by Tom Chiarella, Esquire, "It's an adventure, believe it or not — the sort of book that, if only for the relentless clarity of the writing, the lucid descriptions of the grasses, the mud, the thorns, and the very arc of the road that cuts through all that, presents a clear and episodic progress from one small terror to the next. Forget comfort and possession. Postapocalypse or not, it's classic McCarthy....You should read this book because it is exactly what a book about our future ought to be: the knife wound of our inconvenient truths, laid bare in a world that will just plain scare the piss out of you on a windy night." (read the entire Esquire review)

"Review A Day" by Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor, "The love between the father and the son is one of the most profound relationships McCarthy has ever written, and the strength of it helps raise the novel — despite considerable gore — above nihilistic horror....Fans of McCarthy's brutal world view may not approve, but other readers will welcome the unexpectedly hopeful ending." (read the entire CSM review)

"Review A Day" by James Wood, The New Republic, "The Road is a much more compelling and demanding book than its predecessor....The new novel will not let the reader go, and will horribly invade his dreams, too....It is an interesting question as to why McCarthy succeeds so well. The secret, I think, is that McCarthy takes nothing for granted." (read the entire New Republic review)

"Review" by Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review), "Even within the author's extraordinary body of work, this stands as a radical achievement, a novel that demands to be read and reread....A novel of horrific beauty, where death is the only truth."

"Review" by Janet Maslin, New York Times, "The Road offers nothing in the way of escape or comfort. But its fearless wisdom is more indelible than reassurance could ever be."

"Review" by Los Angeles times, "One of McCarthy's best novels, probably his most moving and perhaps his most personal."

"Review" by Chicago Tribune, "I'm always thrilled when a fine writer of first-class fiction takes up the genre of science fiction and matches its possibilities with his or her own powers....[A] dark book that glows with the intensity of his huge gift for language."

"Review" by Boston Globe, "[B]eyond the inherent technical difficulties of concocting the unthinkable, McCarthy has rendered a greater and more subtle story that makes The Road riveting."

"Review" by Entertainment Weekly, "[O]nly now, with his devastating 10th novel, has [McCarthy] found the landscape perfectly matched to his cosmically bleak vision....[E]xtraordinarily lovely and sad...[a] masterpiece... (Grade: A)"

"Review" by Chicago Sun-Times, "The setup may be simple, but the writing throughout is magnificent....McCarthy may have created a world where things are reduced to their essence, but he continually surprises by finding a way to strip them further."

"Review" by USA Today, "The wildly admired writer Cormac McCarthy presents his own post-apocalyptic vision in The Road. The result is his most compelling, moving and accessible novel since All the Pretty Horses."

"Review" by Houston Chronicle, "[F]or a parable to succeed, it needs to have some clear point or message. The Road has neither, other than to say that after an earth-destroying event, things will go hard for the survivors."

"Synopsis" by Ingram, National Bestseller

Pulitzer Prize Winner

National Book Critic's Circle Award Finalist

A New York Times Notable Book

One of the Best Books of the Year:
The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, The Denver Post, The Kansas City Star, Los Angeles Times, New York, People, Rocky Mountain News, Time, The Village Voice, The Washington Post

A man and his young son traverse a blasted American landscape, covered with "the ashes of the late world." The man can still remember the time before. The boy knows only this time. There is nothing for them but survival — they are "each other's world entire" — and the precious last vestiges of their own humanity. At once brutal and tender, despairing and rashly hopeful, spare of language and profoundly moving, The Road is a fierce and haunting meditation on the tenuous divide between civilization and savagery, and the essential, sometimes terrifying power of filial love. It is a masterpiece.