Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

10 reviews

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This will rip your heart out and tear it in two. One of the bleakest, most difficult to grapple with books I’ve ever read, but I could not put it down. Distinct and effective prose—worked so well to convey the feelings of the kinds of experiences the characters were going through. Oof overall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Cannibalism, Body horror, and Medical content

anafuentes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

beamishbooks's review

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

parathenormal's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Cannibalism, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, Violence, War, Medical content, Child death, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

bean_book's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Child death, and Suicide

Minor: Rape and Medical content

lilybear3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.75

I've been curious about this book for some time and I finally got around to it.  When reading and reviewing this book in 2023, it's important to remember this book was first published in 2006.  I didn't initially see why this book won a Pulitzer Prize, however, at the time and for all of it's hidden intricacies, it is great.

On the surface, the book is very straightforward and sentences are mainly stating what a character is doing or feeling, what the environment is, etc.  However, every now and then, we get a poetic and philosophical paragraph that wants the reader to stop and think.  This book is not a feel good book and there are some gruesome imagery at times, but it's not extremely pessimistic either.  There is hope, even if just a little.  Other themes are love, loss, grief, and humanity. 

I think this modern classic is really accessible, the writing isn't too complicated, except for a few words here and there that I didn't recognize.  I've seen other reviews question why there aren't quotation marks when characters are speaking and the lack of apostrophes in contractions like "cant."  These details are intentional.  As a reader, I could still understand who was talking based on how dialogue is laid out in other books.  I'm speculating here, but I think it represents the fall of structure and formality, almost all of humanity is gone.  It might also be hinting at the lack of education and need for written language.

I love a dystopian and I love that there are so many scenarios that fit that description.  There aren't a lot of details as to why the world has turned out this way, but I kind of like that the reader doesn't know and that is left to their own imagination.  I thought it might be a statement on environmental issues, but we just don't know.  Obviously, reading this in 2023 has made me compare it to more recent media like "The Last of Us," but I don't think that's a bad thing.  Both The Road and "The Last of Us" have similar themes, as mentioned above.

I could write an essay on this book.  I wasn't sure what I was walking into (I encourage you to do this with any book you read), but I ended up enjoying this a lot.  I couldn't put this book down.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Cannibalism

Minor: Animal death, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Pregnancy

mrm4games's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Pregnancy, Excrement, Murder, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Violence, and Vomit

mlewis's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Murder, Death, Sexual violence, Gore, Cannibalism, Body horror, Medical trauma, and Grief

cstein's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Prescient, disturbing, and sad, occasionally funny, often beautiful, full of (human) nature and faith. Images that stick in your head. Not as completely bleak as I feared and not as violent as some of McCarthy's other works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Child death, Confinement, Medical content, Violence, Cannibalism, Torture, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness

Minor: Ableism

owenwilsonbaby's review

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.

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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