The Road
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4.2 • 661 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece. A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food-and each other. The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.
Customer Reviews
Bleak but Interesting Book
The way that the book is written is like very few novels by way of the writing style alone. That said, it is terribly bleak and depressing
Too vague?
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book, but at the end I felt like I needed just a bit more world building to fully appreciate it. The brutal, gritty interactions between the two main characters, and their interactions with others on the road always leaves you on the edge of your seat, but at sometimes it felt like the outcomes were unrealistic. There was always a sense of impending doom but the situations would always work themselves out a little too easily. Just a few sentences here and there about how the world ended up this way really would have tied it together for me. Also, why did they not stay in the bunker? I’m sure they could have found a way to cover their tracks and cover the hatch so no one would know whey were there. Instead they stay for a handful of nights and keep moving. All and all i enjoyed it, just felt like a few things were missing.
A Fantastic Dystopian
I fell in love with dystopian literature after reading 1984 by George Orwell. It is still my favorite genre, but I am pretty picky about what I read. I do not just pick up any dystopian novel off the shelf. It has to be a story that sticks with me long after I finish it. The Road definitely did that.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is just getting into dystopian fiction. It is deeply philosophical, incredibly emotional, and worth every second.
If you are looking for your next dystopian read, put The Road at the top of your list. Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize for a reason.