A review by martyjohnson
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

The Road was such an interesting read for me. It really pushed me to look inward, and I struggled through it - not because it was a bad book, but because it was tough to read. Still, I couldn’t put it down. Cormac McCarthy’s writing is sparse and heavy, perfectly matching the bleak, post-apocalyptic setting.

The man just couldn’t bear to let his son suffer. One of the key parts of the book was how he always gave the boy the pistol when he went out to loot or search, in case he didn’t come back - so the boy could take his own life rather than face cannibalism or torture.

By the end, he knew he was going to die, and his final message to his son was actually hopeful. I didn’t get the sense that he died scared or unfulfilled, just that he gave up his life so his son could survive.

As someone who dreams of fatherhood someday, that really moved me. I couldn’t fully relate to the man, but I could understand and empathize with his sense of purpose and duty to protect his son.

His wife had chosen suicide rather than live in the world as it was, but he couldn’t do that;

he felt he had to keep his boy alive no matter what.

I also loved that the boy found “the good guys” at the end. It was such a powerful way to close the book after the heartbreak of the man’s death and all the fear that the boy wouldn’t make it. I honestly thought it was going to end in a double suicide, but this was so much better.

It’s unlike anything else I’ve read; stripped down, raw, and emotional. Definitely one that will stick with me.