Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

36 reviews

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cannibalism and Sexual harassment

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

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Content Warnings

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

laurenparham's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pedophilia

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

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Cannibalism

esw's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I usually have read a fair share of dark books, but this was BLEAK. It was the book equivalent of watching someone pass away in front of you. Personally, I didn't enjoy reading this book at all just because of how bleak it was. 
However, the concept is very fascinating, and there are moments where the father/son duo have cute interactions. 

Edit: I've come back and changed my rating. Not that I've re-read the book, but simply that I respect the book where my initial ranking was based on fierce emotion. Yes, it's very bleak, though I would say I enjoyed this more than Blood Meridian. It's Prose was good if a little hard to read, and it wanted to make me sad and it delivered. I may not read this book again, but I absolutely respect it as a work of art.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Slavery, Suicide, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury