Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

58 reviews

beamishbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

One of the best fictional books I've ever read, maybe the best.
DEFINITELY the best dystopian tale.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Vomit, Murder, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Terminal illness, Gore, Abandonment, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Violence, and Animal death

aburnss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

 I initially picked up "The Road" as a recommendation from Lisa. I knew going in that it was a dark dystopian read, but I was still surprised with the depth of emotion the book evoked.

"The Road" follows a father and son as they make their way south following a road, amidst a horrifyingly bleak start to a post-apocalyptic winter. While we know little about what caused this ending of normal society, the characters are faced with a level of desolation that is difficult to comprehend.

The world is covered in ash with fires everywhere. The lack of sun and fires have killed nearly all vegetation and animal life. Humans have long been in starvation and the few remaining alive live in terror of roaming cannibalistic groups.

The desperate fight for survival and slow starvation as the book progresses is heart-wrenching. The author expertly demonstrates the fierce love between parent and child in the backdrop of the most bleak of circumstances imaginable. It is difficult to say I enjoyed reading this book, but it was so well written. The desperation and horror grew with each chapter.

The lack of quotations in the dialogue between characters was a masterful choice. Humans in this world had lost everything. Conversation was plagued with the constant lurking of death around the corner and the lack of quotations made the huge difference between normalcy and this horror all the more apparent. 

Several scenes stuck out to me.

The discovery of the locked cellar with emaciated humans tied up for slow consumption. The discovery of the underground bunker and excruciating decision / necessity to leave it. The orchard full of old dry apples and eating and drinking until bloated. The father's desperate instructions to his son on how to use the final bullet to kill himself if he were to be discovered. The naked abandonment of the thief on the road.. and the son's realization that they had indeed killed him.

Each as or more heart breaking than the last, this was not a good book to read before bed. 

This book puts the human condition into dramatic perspective. The issues that plague our minds frequently are so inconsequential compared to the bleak and dying world of "The Road". I won't be forgetting this story any time soon. The writing is beautiful, immersive, and perfectly builds a horrifying dystopia. I would recommend this read to anyone wanting to explore familial bonds in the most traumatic setting possible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Suicide, Cannibalism, Death, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Rape

Minor: Slavery

This book is a dystopian and horrifying world where all manner of dark things happen to and around the main characters.

hnolen1's review against another edition

fast-paced

3.75

This was a blind date with a book situation and advertised as “a father son adventure.” I suppose that’s true, but was a rather cruel description if I do say so myself. 

This book was a very fast read, and seems a bit topical here at the end of 2023. I enjoyed the language and descriptions, but I absolutely had nightmares from it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gun violence, Violence, Slavery, and Cannibalism

stephanielee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

1.5

I read this book based on a recommendation off TikTok. She had other books that she rated high as I had so I figured this one couldn't be terrible. I was wrong. I will say that once I finished and reflected on this book is the only reason I gave it 1.5 starts. I should've added it to my DNF pile. This is the story of a man and his young son walking across the US after there was some sort of massive devastation that caused a lot of fires. The man knows that one day his kid will be alone and we get flashbacks of the man's wife and some interactions between them. It is supposed to be how the father and son are sustained by love in a hopeless world but the father always seemed to be on the brink of just giving up and didn't really seem to love his son all that much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Violence

lyfeistrip's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Body horror, Genocide, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Slavery, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Cannibalism, Sexism, Cursing, and Terminal illness

rhianonw's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Blood

Minor: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Animal death, and Suicide

rainerasnic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, Gore, Death, Animal death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Slavery

superb_piano9536's review against another edition

dark hopeful tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

The Road is a hard look at the grit required to cling to hope in the cold, dark hellscape of the world to come. Strip away the dystopian embellishments to the story and you may find uncomfortable parallels to the world of the here and now too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Torture, and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicide

queerloras's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Death, Grief, Violence, Child death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Slavery

bluejeepbaby's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Violence, Cannibalism, Gun violence, and Gore