Cormac McCarthy The Road

A

AxeKnot

Has anyone else here read this book?

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If so, what did you think of it?

thought it was incredible, felt like you were there with them throughout their terrifying journey. Ever wondered what people and the Earth would be like after a nuclear war?

Also, can anyone recommended any other McCarthy books? I've read Blood Meridian.
 
pretty dreary eh? beautiful tale of a father son relationship though. I really hope the world doesnt end up like that. would you eat dead people?
 
Cormac McCarthy is one of my favorite authors. All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, both were really good stories and written with that same sparse style.

The Road was heavy, and having a couple kiddos of my own about the same age as the guys son made it feel very poignant for me. I just powered through that book cover to cover because it was just too much anguish to take on and digest. I have often wondered what the world would be like for survivors of something like that... if you enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction then you might really like:
"The Earth Abides", George Stewart, 1949
"The Stand" Stephen King, 1978
"Warday" by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka 1985
"The Last Ship" by William Brinkley 1988

I have read a lot of these kinds of books.


Treebing: No, I don't think so.
 
thanks, will look into those books.

also read the Road very quickly, in 3 days after work, first time i've ever done that with a book.

Treebing - no, i think i'd rather die in a nuclear war than live in the hell of the aftermath.

What makes you laugh is all those people who built bomb shelters and stocked up on canned food during the cold war, they thought they'd pop up after a couple of years and everything would be great.
 
I think this was my least favorite Cormac McCarthy. I liked it, but it seemed very . . . contrived. At some points, it seemed like he was just going for shock value. I don't really know why, I just thought he didn't create a world so much as play on emotions. Kinda like how I feel about the Oscars--the movies that win always seem to be the ones I don't like because I feel manipulated into some emotion rather than feeling the emotion coming naturally out of a genuine story. I'm still on the fence a bit because I wonder why my experience is so different from all the reviews I've read. I'll probably read it again someday to see if I feel the same. I'm in no hurry, 'cause, man, it was bleak.

I liked the Border Trilogy a lot. No Country For Old Men was good, too. But I think my fave was an early one--Sutree. It's set in Appalachia post-war. The depression wasn't really over yet (there), so it's not a bright, peppy book any more than his others. But there are some really funny moments in it. Check it out.
 
Sutree? i'll check it out, thanks.

I thought The Road was very different to the epic Blood Meridian, suppose the main reason why i liked the Road was because McCarthy didn't shy away from describing what people really would be like in that situation.

In the book the father and son would indeed be in the minority, in that with the father's guidance the son would not fall into cannibalism, murder and hopelessness, although sometimes it seemed the other way round with the son being the moral authority, like when he tried to help some of the other misfortunates they encountered on the road.

The way it was written really did pull me into this dark, bleak and stagnant post apocalyptic version of our world, sometimes it felt like you were sitting right there with them at the fire.

The sad thing is, there are people living just like this in many parts of the world today where there is rebellion and civil war.

Also think McCarthy was trying to make us realise how lucky we are.
 
I enjoyed "all the pretty horses" as well, think its on the book shelf behind me. Will have to look into the others after I finish catching up my back log of magazines and a new book.
 
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