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owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"If you died I would want to die too."
"So you could be with me?"
"Yes. So I could be with you."
"Okay."
McCarthy is so incredibly talented. This was a horrifying book. I will never be the same.
Graphic: Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Slavery, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Suicidal thoughts
childofmongreldogs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There are some questions, though. While the boy's age isn't really stated, he seems to be very young in the ways in which he interacts with the world. It makes me wonder about what the world was like when he was small. He clearly understood how bleak everything was (the one question about his mother's disappearance) but he also seemed remarkably sheltered in other ways. The absence of most punctuation lacks clarity in a way that is more confusing than poignant. I will also say that it felt like none of this book was planned. Things happen, the characters react or underreact. There seems to be no direction. I don't know if it's reading into it to say that that might have been intentional since the two of them are wandering aimlessly with no plans beyond survival.
I still like The Road, however; I found that the minimalist way that it's been written really adds to the ambiance. There's a certain void to it, an empty flatness, that's reinforced by the stark punctuation and dialogue between the man and the boy. The stark contrast between the emptiness of the narrative that's pretty much void of description and the "purple prose" that seems to originate from a different perspective was an interesting choice. I actually enjoyed the characters and thought they did have a very strong personality between the two of them though I noticed some reviewers didn't see that.
Overall, lovely prose, painful emotions, and a heartbreaking ending that leaves the reader with the same sense of mystery made it a lovely read for me. I liked that the questions remained unasked and the novel refused to answer them.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Violence, Cannibalism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Child death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, and Animal death
book_loser's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Animal death, Murder, Grief, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Cannibalism and Sexual harassment
sophiejohn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and War
Minor: Rape
sophiegorecki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Cannibalism, Gun violence, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Death
icacola's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Cannibalism, Gore, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Rape and Animal death
clarissajs's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
0.5
I didn't find myself unable to put it down or impatient to get back to it. I think I just wanted to finish it so I could start a new book. I said to my partner last night that "I kept waiting for them to explain what happened leading up to this story, by the time I realised that wasn't going to happen, I had less than 100 pages left and thought I may as well finish it."
It was short, continuous and repetitive. You don't find out much about anything, the plot and characters are like poorly kept secrets, that you only get little bits of through the book. Overall, I would rate it as okay. I wouldn't recommend it.
This story could've been something amazing, it could have been a political statement on climate change or something (the world literally burnt). Instead, it left a lot to question and even more to our imaginations.
Moderate: Cannibalism, Death, Grief, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence