A review by surdiablo
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

dark emotional 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? No

3.0

So I admittedly had a rough time liking this initially, not because I minded the lack of punctuation or anything similar, I just couldn't connect with it emotionally. The slow, monotonous pacing didn't help either as it felt like it was going nowhere for a while, besides showing how bleak and miserable the world is. However, it picked up around 40% and I found myself interested in it for the most part. This book is unequivocally the embodiment of bleakness, yet it surprisingly manages to instill a sense of hope all the while. Make no mistake, this book can leave you torn apart. There were several gut-wrenching moments, and even though I had already seen the movie and knew what was in store, the ending was emotional. I can see why this one is polarizing aside from the writing style, as people may find the plot or character development lacking, but I think McCarthy crafted a compelling journey that we were meant to take alongside the duo, and it's doubtful any other book can the beat the experience it provides in that sense. It's a beautiful yet disturbing novel that you may or may not click with, but it's also rather short so I would recommend giving it an honest try and not putting it away immediately if you are taken aback by the writing style.

<b>“He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like ground-foxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.”</b>

“He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like ground-foxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.”
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