The Road by Cormac McCarthy tells the story of a man and his son as they make their way along a road towards the coast through a ravaged landscape. Along the way, they occasionally encounter other people in various states of decrepitude and/or savagery. A worldwide catastrophe has destroyed everything to such an extent that there is little or no evidence that there can ever be any kind of recovery and the few people and resources left are declining rapidly. Nothing much actually happens and the story is unrelentingly grim, but there are two aspects to this novel that make it one of the most worthwhile experiences of my reading life.

The first is the relationship between the man and the boy (as they are referred to throughout the book). The man's fear for the safety of his son is palpable and justified. His love for the boy and the boy's loyalty to and love for his father are beautifully realised and severely tested as the story progresses.

The second aspect is the devastated landscape itself, which is described in great detail and assumes a strange beauty that is truly horrifying. The sheer scale and finality of the catastrophe (which is never explained, and rightly so) is overwhelming to the reader.

The final paragraph is so achingly beautiful, it actually brought a tear to my eye. I'm a fan of McCarthy's work generally and love his spare and pared back prose. This is what some readers don't like about his work. However, for all his simplicity of language, there is a lyricism to the imagery of this novel that makes it his very best work and one you should most definitely read.

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The Road – EM Cunningham – 10 March 2010, 2:26 PM

Agrre fully - I haven't liked all of McCarthy's work ( I know, I'm a philistine) but I loved 'The Road' - the bleakness of the post-Apocalyptic situation suited his prose style and there isn't a wasted apostrophe in the whole novel. As the novel ultimately sends a message of hope I was actually uplifted by it. Quite often McCarthy's work can be without redemption and I find that unrelenting viewpoint hard to take. If you liked that you may also like 'American Rust' Philip Meyer.

writing4all – 10 March 2010, 5:38 PM

I do think there is a very slight element of hope at the end alright. I'll check out American Rust.

purplek – 10 March 2010, 8:58 PM

Listening to the audiobook of it at the moment and though grim, its powerful and frightening and written in a prose that echoes the setting.

writing4all – 12 March 2010, 9:36 AM

Yes, there's an almost poetic quality to the prose.

RiteyMcWriterson – 13 March 2010, 12:40 AM

I don't think I've ever been happier to read of two people finding food, or getting a roaring fire going or even being able to fall asleep. I don't have a kid but I almost felt like I did at times. Or certainly what it must be like to have one. Hugely vicarious novel for me. The sense of the fathers duty, and his awareness of it is enormous throughout. Incredible book!

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