Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

63 reviews

owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

"What would you do if I died?"
"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.

---

Content Warnings

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

paulina_w's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Blood

childofmongreldogs's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My first reading was definitely a more enjoyable experience. (Enjoyable in the sense that I didn't see some of the more flagrant flaws in the writing as opposed to the content matter which is mostly unenjoyable and pretty bleak.) 

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

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

bobcat_98's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, and Violence

nstew16's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

The most incredible ending that I've read in a long time. One of very few that actually brought me to tears.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Suicide

eininthebird's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

ellenmurr16's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Death, War, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Abandonment

Minor: Cannibalism

marisabenn's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Such a dark book, but a beautiful story. I love this book so much. The writing style is so unique and poetic. I read this once a year. A favorite for sure. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, and Gore

coco_5's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

though it has misogynistic undertones, it was a rlly great read, so i try to separate the author from the book as a whole

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Rape