Summary:
“WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son’s fight to survive, this ”tale of survival and the miracle of goodness only adds to McCarthy’s stature as a living master. It’s gripping, frightening and, ultimately, beautiful” (San Francisco Chronicle). • From the bestselling author of The Passenger
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.
The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,” are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.”
From: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/110490/the-road-by-cormac-mccarthy/
Overview:
Like other works by Cormac McCarthy, The Road is described in rich detail, though in a largely journalistic fashion—without any real hint of emotional investment on the part of the narrator. McCarthy almost seems to go out of his way to ensure that the narrator does not become a character in the story, remaining nothing more than a reporter limited in scope to their omniscience. It is the stark and detached narrative voice that highlights the desolation of McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic landscape in The Road.
Thoughts:
I have always felt that I want to like McCarthy’s work more than I actually do. This isn’t to say that I did not enjoy this book or have not enjoyed other books he has penned. It is only to say that the narrative voice, discussed in the Overview section above, sometimes leaves the reader feeling equally detached. Empathy for the characters can become as hard for the reader to attain as it is for those left to wander blindly in the barren world of McCarthy’s creation. In the case of The Road, though, McCarthy hasn’t built his world in such a bleak manner without purpose. If the reader is willing to put in the work, to take on the same burden of despair as the characters in the story, there is a payoff—and a surprisingly emotional one at that. This Pulitzer Prize winning novel is not a difficult read because of its language. It doesn’t present hard-edged or abstract questions. But it is a demanding read, for what it does is ask the reader to experience the emptiness of a world gone over and to find humanity where it is all but forgotten.
Looking for more from Cormac McCarthy? Check out these books available at Town Hall Library.
