The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road was written by the same author who wrote No Country for Old Men (of which I saw the movie version). The Road has the same kind of barren, minimalist feel that NCfOM has. And the same kind of hopeless feeling, as well.

The Road is a post-apocalyptic tale about a man and his son trying to survive in a barren waste. Starvation and cannibals are a constant threat. They are following a road from north to south to avoid the approaching winter. No plant or animal life remains except for the few human survivors of a planet-wide catastrophe (the author does not elaborate on the cause...it could either be an asteroid of a nuclear winter).

The love that the man and his son share is very moving and at some points it almost brought me to tears. In the face of hopelessness, the two of them have each other and it is enough. It sustains them and keeps them pushing on in what seems like a pointless effort. The man's purpose in life is to protect the boy and he does it well. When they are almost dead with starvation, they at least know that they are not alone.

The ending is not happy but it is not hopeless, either: other "good guys" are found in a world full of ruthless, hungry animals who once were human. In the end, the story shows that honor and goodness can remain even when pushed to the extreme limits when the willingness is there to hold on to it. In the end, that is all that the survivors have.

This book won a Pulitzer prize and apparently there is a movie version - I have to find it, ASAP!

This is a good read...probably to become a modern classic. But be warned, it is not an escapist, good-time read.

Until next time,
Laurie