Wednesday, Dec 3, 2008

Book Review: The Road

The Road leads to…?

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For the Book Awards II Challenge and the Lit Flicks Challenge, I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy.  I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I ordered it.  In reviewing his list of published works, I see that he wrote No Country for Old Men and All the Pretty Horses.  I believe that I have heard great things of these stories.  In any event, my blogging friend, Lisa, didn’t tell me anything about the book so that I would have a clear-minded, no preset view.  Then, I ran into this very nice lady at a party and she raved about the book.  But, she didn’t tell me much about it.  So, other than the fact that it was a Pulitzer Prize winner, I didn’t have much expectations on the book.  Usually, I jump to the computer and start my review right away once I’ve finished a book… this one… I sit and ponder… how and I going to review this one?

The Review:

Title:  The Road

Author:  Cormac McCarthy

Author’s Website:  http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/

Publisher:  Vintage International, a Division of Random House, Inc.

Publisher’s Website:  www.vintagebooks.com

Type:  Fiction

Number of Pages:  287 paperback

ISBN #: 978-0-307-27792-3

In my opinion, this book is about the condition of human nature when faced with the certainty of death and the total devastation of life as you knew it.  Think about it.  What if you lost everything you knew about this beautiful planet and saw nothing but a charred skeleton of Mother Earth with no remaining life existing thereupon it?  What if the colors, smells, and everything that we take for granted about our planet is replaced with only shades of black and the smell of death and fear?  I think about it and I can’t imagine how I would find the will to survive in such conditions, as such, I can understand why the mother of “The Man’s” boy “jumped ship” on them.  But, I may be getting ahead of myself.

For those 3 people who most likely haven’t read this book (sorry about the sarcasm… but, I’m feeling as though I may be the only person left on the planet who hasn’t read it), the tale of this novel is one that is difficult to describe without giving away too much of the ending and the “good parts” of the story.  The best way that I can describe what this book is about is the story of a man and his son, faced with a future on earth described hereinabove while attempting to find food, water, and shelter while on the road to the coast.  As the waters, rains, streams, lakes and snows are filled with ash, there is a lack of potable water.  In addition, as the earth has been thoroughly burned, there is no plant life nor animal life to sustain human life.  Now, what I didn’t understand is what happened to the earth to create this situation.  The reader is not informed of that.  Was it the biblical apocalypse?  In addition, why did some people survive and others not?

Cormac McCarthy

Now, in speaking of the survivors… McCarthy sets forth the distinction between good and evil, dark and light.  The “good ones,” “carry the fire.”  The “bad ones” are cannibals, thieves, and murderers.  The reader accompanies the man and his son across the burned terrain on their goal to reach the ocean.  What happens to them along the way, what they witness, who they meet, and how they survive is the nuts and bolts of this novel.    Some of the visualizations that I received in reading this work are images that I’d rather not be in my head at any given point.  But, they do make me want to continue to strive towards salvation and entry into the Kingdom of Heaven because God KNOWS that I could never face the atrocities of living on earth post-apocalypse.   

The ending, for me, leaves a lot to be desired.  This shall not be misinterpreted to say that I’m not glad that I read the book… I am.  There are components of this story that made me think about deep, heavy issues.  Some of those issues include being faced with the death of my child, having to murder another human in the face of survival, and the basic elements of human kindness.  The quotes of the book stated herein reflect what about the book that I did like and/or forced my thoughts.

Favorite Quotes of the Book:

“And the dreams so rich in color.  How else would death call you?  Waking in the cold day it all turned to ash instantly.  Like certain ancient frescoes entombed for centuries suddenly exposed to the day.”

“If you break the little promises you’ll break the big ones.  That’s what you said.”  “I know.  But I won’t.”

“What in God’s name are you talking about?  We’re not survivors.  We’re the walking dead in a horror film.”

“He tried to remember the dream but he could not.  All that was left was the feeling of it.  He thought perhaps they’d come to warn him.  Of what?  That he could not enkindle in the heart of the child what was ashes in his own.  Even now some part of him wished they’d never found this refuge.  Some part of him always wished it to be over.”

“People were always getting ready for tomorrow.  I didn’t believe in that.  Tomorrow wasn’t getting ready for them.  It didn’t even know they were there.”

“When we’re all gone at last then there’ll be nobody here but Death and his days will be numbered too.  He’ll be out in the road there with nothing to do and nobody to do it to.  He’ll say: Where did everybody go?  And that’s how it will be.  What’s wrong with that?”

“When your dreams are of some world that never was or of some world that never will be and you are happy again then you will have given up.  Do you understand?  And you can’t give up.  I won’t let you.” 

Sher’s “Out of Ten” Scale:

Truthfully, I am dreading this part of MY standard review.  I have absolutely no idea how to rate this book.  I kept reading because I wanted answers… I wanted to know the truth about the boy and if he was an angel/savior/son of God with a purpose…. never really got that answer.  The ending didn’t help much.  I wanted to know what caused this entire mess… never got that.  The way that the book is written is with incorrect grammar, so getting used to the rhythm of the book took some adjustment.  The lack of names for these characters bothered me.  Some of the vocabulary words in the book, I’ve never heard before.  As I was on vacation, I didn’t have a dictionary handy so that was frustrating.  The lack of richness in the communication between the man and his son left much to be desired.  I mean, he taught his kid all of these things about the earth and now all they say is “Okay.”  “Okay.”  BUT, there are some things in this book that make you think hard and long.  Some of the quotes and lessons in the book are stunningly brilliant, at least for me.  SOOOO…. (ugh, hate to give this rating)…. I am giving it a 7 out of 10.  You must think I’m crazy giving a PULTIZER PRIZE WINNING BOOK a 7.  I feel horrible saying it. 

On the Library Thing & Amazon.Com Rating:  ♥♥♥

Where To Buy The Book:

Click here to purchase this book for $7.99 at Amazon.Com

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