I was looking for something to read in an airport bookstore the other day. I really liked the movie " No Country For Old Men " and decided I would read the novel on the airplane. As I was about to buy it, another title from the author, Cormac McCarthy, caught my eye. The book was " The Road ", and, on a whim, I chose it over the other. Wow.
If you have never heard anything about this book, look it up right away. It has been a long time since I've read something that affected me so dramatically. I couldn't put it down and finished it in a little over three hours. It is simply amazing.
It is a story about a father and son's fight to survive a post-apocalyptic United States. The book gives clues, but never comes right out and states what happened to destroy the world. Whatever it was, it is all encompassing and terrible. The feeling's of despair and danger are omnipresent and suffocating. It is a wonder that they wake up every morning. The dangers of this new world are far more horrifying than any villain or situation I have ever heard of. There is absolutely nothing left alive in this new existence. Only roving bands of cannibals or their victims who survive by scrounging the leftovers of a dead world.
As bad as this sounds, the relationship between the father and son gives you a real sense of the power of love and the gift of sacrifice. The only thing in the world these two have is each other. The prose is stark and minimal and yet the beauty of the language shines through. This book is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word. I finished the book on Monday and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. It is one of those rare novels that impact the way you see things around you. Do yourself a favor and read this book.
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