Book Review: The Road
A father and his young son walk alone through burned America, heading slowly for the coast. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. They have nothing but a pistol to defend themselves against the men who stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food–and each other.
–From Goodreads
Cover Inspection:
There are a ton of different covers for this book, the most recent being the movie tie-in cover. I like this one. It looks so bleak and desolate.
First Thoughts:
The book opens on a man and his son, no names. It’s eerie and fascinating.
***
My Review:
This novel touched me in a way that I truly don’t think I will ever loose. Others I knew who read this complained about the lack of names, the jumbled writing style, and the lack of punctuation. I’m telling you now, I didn’t notice a single bit of that. It’s impressive coming from someone like me who over analyzes everything. Trust me.
I fell into step with a nameless man and his son. All I could do is watch as they trudged along, sometimes finding what they needed to survive but most times not. Watching them slowly succumb to hunger and fatigue, with the hope of making it to the coast their one motivation. It was heart wrenching, it was gritty, it was eerily realistic. I can’t say enough how many times this book made me tear up. It’s a hard read.
If you enjoy dystopian fiction, and if you have a strong heart, I’d give this book a try. Like I said above, there are some things about it that might be distracting to you. However if you open your mind and let the story take you, you’ll fall under a spell. I can only hope that if the world does end, it’s not like this.
Book Details
Title: The Road
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Publisher: Picador
Pages: Paperback; 307
Source: Bookswim
Final Rating: 4 Keys to My Heart
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