16.3k reviews for:

The Road

Cormac McCarthy

3.92 AVERAGE

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

😭😭

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
fast-paced
dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
challenging dark sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book altered my brain chemistry. I think about it constantly. Just breathtaking

People like this book? It was repeatative (I get it, things were ashy and gray and they were always hungry), the characters were annoying and it didn't seem to have a lot of point. Did I miss something?
dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
dark sad slow-paced

I was ready to write something like “not as devastating as I remembered” but then I read the last 20 pages and wept. Good god.

The word “okay” has never been as load-bearing as it is here, exchanged as ritual. The dialogue is so starkly rendered, each word heavy.

“You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.”

“So be it. Evoke the forms. When you’ve nothing else construct ceremonies out of the air and breathe upon them.”