The Future is Most Definitely Not Bright. (The Road - Cormac McCarthy)

Name: nickyturnill

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Product:	The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Date:	09.08.07 (201 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compelling and thought provoking Pulitzer Prize winner.

Disadvantages: Overly simplictic and impersonal language.

The Road’ an admittedly boringly titled book, written by Cormac McCarthy was published in 2006 and won the prestigious Columbia University Pulitzer prize this year.

Cormac McCarthy, an American writer, born 1933, has written many other books including his first novel The Orchard Keeper, which was published by Random House in 1965, All the Pretty Horses (1992) and No Country for Old Men (2005). The Road is the first of his books I have read and I read it in conjunction with my recently joined book club. The book generated some interesting discussions and it was in fact only later that we realised it had won the Pulitzer Prize.

‘The Road’ is set in a post-apocalyptic era in which the sun has been obscured by ash and the ground covered in its dirty residue. Most of world’s population has been wiped out. Murder and canabalism is rife because they is no longer any food supplies. The world is a dangerous place to be in. Being a central route The Road is particularly dangerous. The book deals bluntly and detachedly with tortour, canabalism, death and constant fear. This is a tale of survival in a world that has become a barren and desolute land where no-one can be trusted.

The narrative comes primarily from the perspective of ‘the father’ the main character along side his son, who is referred to simply as ‘the boy’ and who must be around ten. These two distinctly different characters are undertaking a journey along the road, across the mountains and to the coast. They don’t know what they will find there but they know they must keep moving. Winter is coming and they must find shelter and food. They have a gun with two bullets and a little tinned food, but their supplies are dwindling…

Although the cause of the calamity is never specifically stated, at many points the man’s thoughts dip into the past. He remembers a time before, when there was ample food and coca-cola, where the sea was blue and the sun shone brightly. He recalls the times when things were just beginning to get bad. Days when people fought in the supermarkets for the last of the food and queued for days for petrol. During these forays into the past we also learn about the boy’s mother. Although never stated her absence appears to be the result of her decision to commit suicide. It’s an option that the man has not ruled out for themselves.

The narrative throughout is detached and blunt told using an incredibly simple language. I illustrate this with a short quote which also demonstrates well the generally bleak tone of this novel.

“They squatted in the road and ate cold rice and cold bean that they’d cooked days ago. Already beginning to ferment. No place to make a fire that would not be seen. They slept huddled together in the rank quilt in the dark and the cold. He held the boy close to him. So thin. My heart he said. My heart.”

Although the language is simplistic the nature of this book means that it isn’t an easy reads and at times I found it shocking and horrifying.

One of the members of our book group was interested in the idea that perhaps the events portrayed in The Road aren’t actually as far from home as one might think. In a world where the West is generating increasing tension from less fortunate countries is it possible that we might enter another world war with more disasterous consequences than the previous two? A unsettling point but one that makes for an interesting discusion. In many respects this is certainly an excellent read for anyone looking for book group material.

Of the six other members of my book group I personally gave the most negative opinions of The Road. I disliked the simplistic language and I thought that on the occasion McCarthy used longer sentences these were often badly structured and I would have to re-read to make sense of them. I also disliked the impersonal nature in which the child was simply referred to as ‘the boy’ throughout. That said I read ‘The Road’ with fervour and found it compelling although somewhat traumatising. It is easily the bleakest book I have ever read and I can’t imagine I’ll find another book to beat this somewhat dubious honour in many years.

So, certainly not a happy read, not one for anyone feeling a bit blue. But I definitely recommend this book. Despite my criticisms The Road is an addictive and interesting read. I have never read anything with which I can begin to compare it which can only be the mark of a worthwhile read.

The Road was only available in hard back when I purchased mine and consequently I paid around 10 for my copy from Amazon including postage. The paper back version of the book was released in June 2007 and thus the price shoudl have dropped considerably.

Summary: The 2007 Pulitzer Prize winning novel about a desolate post apocalyptic world.