The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Xavier from Austria

Just read this book for the third time and it never fails to evoke the very strongest emotions. Love, fear, anger, hope all war with each other. What never fails to surprise me is that a book as bleak and unendingly desolate as The Road leaves me full of hope for the future. I think this is because there is immense love within each family that will hopefully ensure that each parent will do whatever they can to offer an improved life to their child. And this I hope will lead to the human race being less destructive with each new generation. I know that it was likely a super volcano that caused the environment the Man and the Boy struggled to survive in but the cause is not really relevant, and living in harmony with the planet must be achieved.

2013-04-30

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Dark Santa from Nowhereland

This is a book you've got to read in one sitting. It may be depressing, but it's a depressing life they live, and there is some hope at the end, though I do not wish to ruin it for people. You care about these nameless people, these wanderers who travel a darkened road. You can't help but picture yourself in their shoes. Throughout the entire journey (because it's not a tale; it's something you live) I pictured it as myself and my younger brother, and you can't help but feel all sorts of emotions. When they are at their worst, you feel bleak, give up any hope. When their luck comes through, it's not joy you feel, but a sense of distracted joy, that you know you can't have it this way forever, and you have to keep thinking ahead. The only bit I didn't like about this is how McCarthy writes his books. I've never been a fan, but his style worked. No sense of correct grammar and a bare writing style that reflects how the world has been stripped down and devoid of almost anything resembling what we are used to. Still, it was damn annoying.

2012-03-01

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Gary from V

A novel that creates so much anguish, absolutely no joy and tortures your soul. The story itself is simply amazing, yet it's hard to enjoy a read that has no joy at all. This is definitely a read worth reading (though not for the faint of heart). It will likely keep you awake for days, I myself have been kept awake. I like the father-son archetype, and the political viewing along with it's message on bravery, the story itself is almost unreadable.

2012-03-01

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Trent from Atlanta

Quite simply, this is the most beautiful book I have ever read.

2012-03-01

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John from Detroit USA

I agree... Read this book twice consecutively. Not a big fan of fiction but like the post apocolyptic genre...This is a top 3 book for me. McCarthy wastes not one space in his prose. There are single lines that completely envelop the reader. "Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.." One of the best lines I've ever read. Beautifully written.

2012-03-01

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Mark from Scotland

It is true that this book is possibly the most bleak and depressing read ever. Saying that I read it in a few days as it had me completely enthralled. I loved every page and having a young son of my own, I connected with everything. Although the story was totally heartbreaking, the moments of love, happiness and survival made it worth while. Also I'm not much of a blubber but I cried like a baby reading this.

2012-03-01

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Josh from Australia

Some people may argue a present degree of masochism here, but I'll say this much - I enjoyed The Road. I enjoyed it thoroughly. So many dystopian fictions tie their subtext or "moral" to shoddy, ham-fisted religious messages that cheapen the value of life and experience against the specific creed it's marketing. The Road, with McCarthy's concise, moving prose tells a story that is universally human; painful, gripping, confronting and tragically beautiful. While this might be splitting hairs, John Hillcoat directed the film adaptation and I believe it was produced by Nick Wechsler, Paula Mae Schwartz and Steve Schwartz. Also, it was released in late 2009 and Hollywood producer Harvey Weintsein (to my knowledge) had nothing to do with it.

2012-03-01

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Mike from Dublin

I agree, a 10/10 book. I first came across Cormac McCarthy's name when I noticed that one of my favourite films, No Country for Old Men, had been adapted from a book he had written. I wouldn't call myself a massive fan of post-apocalyptic literature and I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed (if that is right word) this book. This book has never left me and I still feel a slight heart-ache every time I think about it. Simply written. Simply brilliant.

2012-03-01

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