A review by zakcebulski
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0


query: how does the never to be differ from what never was?

This is a re-read, again. I read this book when I was probably around 16-17 for the first time. It served as my first exposure to Cormac McCarthy's writing style, and the specific feel of bleakness which he writes so exquisitely well.
Upon a re-read it became immediately apparent to me that I was not mature enough when I read this book for the first time to truly understand it.
Upon finishing this book on my re- read, I cam to understand that this is one of the easiest 5 star ratings which I could give.

I was absolutely enamored by the horrifically bleak shell of a world which McCarthy constructs.
This book is fairly simple- it takes place from the perspective of a man and his son who are traversing through a post-apocalyptic world via the titular road. Throughout this trek the son and the man, who are never named aside from "the man" and "the boy" must struggled to scavenge to survive. Along the way they grapple with the depleted food stores, clothing reserves, and the elements, as well as cannibalistic and murderous survivors. And, the ever so rare, but still there, "good people".
The plot, to me, is so simple but it works so perfectly- there is not really a plot aside from "survive". At earlier points in the book the man discusses his intention of "going south". We, the readers, are never told why it is that south is the way to go, and eventually, this is all dropped and the man and boy just must continue on the road.

I think that the setting of this book may be one of the most terrifying that I have read about. The constant lack of any viable sustenance caused me great anxiety when it was alerted that there was nearly no food left. This gave a good urgency to their continued desire to walk the road in hopes of their next un-promised meal.
The landscape is covered with ash, bleak, destroyed, rotting- every instance of the world feels dangerous.
When rain starts in the book, you feel a tangible level of dismay because you know the uncomfort that the characters are going to be in.
I can't help but drool over McCarthy's prose in this book. It is absolutely fucking gorgeous. If ever there was a book wherein I would recommend for how to write descriptions, it would be this book. The way that he commands the language to convey some truly abhorrent events that stick with you, he does with an ease that is incredible to try and comprehend. There are many passages within this book where I found myself rereading over and again solely because I was so caught up in his prose. I love how he struck such a balance between exposition and withholding descriptors. We never learn what the cause of the end of the world is/ was, there are clues here and there, but, McCarthy leaves that up to the reader to form in their mind.
I adored how the man is shown to by a handsy/ resourceful man solely through his actions- we are never explicitly told this. Books that treat the reader like a damn competent reader are so refreshing.  

The characters in this book are very limited for their development, though, I struggle to hold that against the book. I think, rather, that this is a stylistic choice to allow the reader to form their own images of the characters. The man, to me, represents the view of the "old world", the one who is jaded and cynical while still holding on to a hope that he ignores so that he can continue on. The boy, who knows nothing except for this world, represents the innocence wherein the man tries to shield him from this world while still trying to harbor hope or "carrying the flame".
I thought that these characters were fucking amazing. I loved how the boy was still so worried about other people- an allegorical view that suggests that people are inherently good, as the boy acts as such, even in such a horrific world. There are cannibals, there is depiction of a decapitated infant's body being roasted on a spit- this is truly stomach churning stuff. But, the man still implores on the boy to carry the flame of hope.
The man is wise to the world, but, he still acts in ways that attempt to teach the boy right and wrong. The man's grapples with his own rapidly approaching mortality are vivid and are uncomfortable, but, are well constructed as he tries to distance himself from the boy when he is dealing with fits of coughing and depreciating health. The man's wife and the boy's mother kills herself in one scene, and it is depicted as though a forgone conclusion. She kills herself with a piece of obsidian glass, but, she speaks to the husband as though he is the crazy one for choosing to continue. I thought that this argument about the ethical and moral side of suicide was interesting as it was sad to read. 

I thought that this book was absolutely fucking fantastic. It is bleak, depressing, anxiety inducing, and well paced to the point where I could have kept reading if there was no end. There are topics of discussion regarding implications surrounding nihilistic views of life, why continue to harbor hope when it is clear just surviving is hopeless,  the inherence of good and evil, and what it means to be a person. This is the type of book which sticks with you long after you have read it. I think that this book is extremely philosophical, and definitely something that though I would caution myself against recommending to everyone, if I saw someone picking this book up, I would envy their experience in reading such an amazingly crafted work. 



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