“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy – The Path Never Traveled
It can be argued that The Road is his one of his more successful novels, and for such a title, its premise is quite simple: a father and son crossing a post-apocalyptic world in hopes of reaching the coast.
They have a pistol, some clothes, scavenged food, and each other. They do not know what awaits them once they reach the coast, nor do they know how far they will make it on this journey, for the cold and desolated wasteland known as Earth is patrolled by a brutal, cruel and lawless gang of “raiders” (for lack of a better word). There are no rules, no guarantees, just a very long road on which the unexpected and the unknown await all those who want to cross it.
They have a pistol, some clothes, scavenged food, and each other. They do not know what awaits them once they reach the coast, nor do they know how far they will make it on this journey, for the cold and desolated wasteland known as Earth is patrolled by a brutal, cruel and lawless gang of “raiders” (for lack of a better word). There are no rules, no guarantees, just a very long road on which the unexpected and the unknown await all those who want to cross it.
There has been a surprising rise in the number of post-apocalyptic books in the past few years, and from what I can tell, many of them borrowed various elements from this precise book.
For starters, the whole concept of two lone travelers going through a totally desolate wasteland was masterfully implemented; on many occasions you can truly feel the sharp and dangerous isolation the father and the son are suffering from. McCarthy does a fantastic job at helping us get into the atmosphere, providing detailed and moving descriptions of what is perhaps one of humanity’s greatest fears.
The always-present elements of danger, such as the gang, the extreme cold and hunger are depicted in such ways that they feel like the grandest enemies anyone ever had to face throughout humanity’s entire history.
As you could have expected, the relation between the father and the son stands as the primary point of focus in this novel. Through their discussions the author seems to meditate on and examine the various capabilities of human beings.
As you could have expected, the relation between the father and the son stands as the primary point of focus in this novel. Through their discussions the author seems to meditate on and examine the various capabilities of human beings.
He looks at how they are capable of extreme and total desolation, how they are often resilient beyond imagination, and how they are capable of fulfilling emotional wants to keep each other alive even in the most despicable of circumstances.
All in all, The Road is quite a wide novel in terms of the themes it explores, but the author manages them all well making the story entertaining and though-provoking at the same time.
If you would like to explore the post-apocalyptic Earth from a more philosophical and emotional perspective, this is definitely a book you will want to check out.
 | Cormac McCarthyPersonal site Cormac McCarthy is a novelist, playwright and screenwriter hailing from America. He is most famous for delivering books centered on southern gothic western and post-apocalyptic themes, most notably winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Road and seeing his book, No Country for Old Men, turned into a very successful movie. |
Excellent review of a complicated, multi-layered story. I would like to add that McCarthy's writing style for this book is interesting in it's own right--limited punctuation, no quotation marks, the protagonist and his son are simply referred to as "the man" and "the boy." I think this minimalist style nicely fits a story world where options, resources and odds of survival are also minimal.
ReplyDeleteHello Richard, thanks for giving your opinion on my review of the book as well as the story itself. I do agree that McCarthy's minimalist style went quite well with the plot, helping to bring the spirits of loneliness and destruction to life. It truly is amazing how something so simple can give way to layers and layers of complexity.
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