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This book ripped my heart out. I read it when my daughter was very young, and I felt the father’s pain acutely. I forget what a lot of books are about over time, but I will never forget this one. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable to read, and the writing style is strange, as other reviewers note, but the story comes through, and, as I mentioned previously, rips your heart out.
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
tense
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:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was dark. I knew it would be going into it but holy shit. McCarthy paints a horrible, vivid, realistic picture of the apocalypse.
The man and the boy walk through the carnage of the world. The amazing thing to me is how this boy, born after the destruction of the Earth, has so much goodness within him. His compassion is jarring against the horrific backdrop, but in the framing of the story, McCarthy makes it make sense. This boy, who has never seen the world before it was destroyed, still carries hope that there is good out there somewhere.
The relationship between the father and son made this book. I mean, obviously. There isn’t much plot outside of their relationship. It was just them encountering horrible things or exactly the right thing right when they needed it.
As far as the writing itself went, I liked it overall. McCarthy managed to find the exact specific word for everything so I ended up having to look stuff up in the dictionary quite a lot. (lol) Using that method, he’d sometimes string together some of the most beautiful sentences I’ve ever read. Other times I’d just end up confused but that’s probably just a me problem.
I really enjoyed the dialogue in the book. Especially that of the boy. It felt very realistic.
I loved the way the two expressed their love for one another: the father through fierce protectiveness and selflessness and the son through his sheer goodness. It seemed that all the man loved in the world was the boy (understandably) but the boy had love for everything.
The ending was so sad but I was anticipating it the entire book. I knew one of them would die and it being the father was the more bittersweet option.
The boy will carry the fire.
The man and the boy walk through the carnage of the world. The amazing thing to me is how this boy, born after the destruction of the Earth, has so much goodness within him. His compassion is jarring against the horrific backdrop, but in the framing of the story, McCarthy makes it make sense. This boy, who has never seen the world before it was destroyed, still carries hope that there is good out there somewhere.
The relationship between the father and son made this book. I mean, obviously. There isn’t much plot outside of their relationship. It was just them encountering horrible things or exactly the right thing right when they needed it.
As far as the writing itself went, I liked it overall. McCarthy managed to find the exact specific word for everything so I ended up having to look stuff up in the dictionary quite a lot. (lol) Using that method, he’d sometimes string together some of the most beautiful sentences I’ve ever read. Other times I’d just end up confused but that’s probably just a me problem.
I really enjoyed the dialogue in the book. Especially that of the boy. It felt very realistic.
I loved the way the two expressed their love for one another: the father through fierce protectiveness and selflessness and the son through his sheer goodness. It seemed that all the man loved in the world was the boy (understandably) but the boy had love for everything.
The ending was so sad but I was anticipating it the entire book. I knew one of them would die and it being the father was the more bittersweet option.
The boy will carry the fire.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated