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Cormac McCarthy: The Road

lenny nero

New Member
This one is coming Sept. 26th. I can't believe he's got a new one coming out so fast after No Country for Old Men, it's usually years between books with this guy. Publisher's Weekly says:
Starred Review. Violence, in McCarthy's postapocalyptic tour de force, has been visited worldwide in the form of a "long shear of light and then a series of low concussions" that leaves cities and forests burned, birds and fish dead and the earth shrouded in gray clouds of ash. In this landscape, an unnamed man and his young son journey down a road to get to the sea. (The man's wife, who gave birth to the boy after calamity struck, has killed herself.) They carry blankets and scavenged food in a shopping cart, and the man is armed with a revolver loaded with his last two bullets. Beyond the ever-present possibility of starvation lies the threat of roving bands of cannibalistic thugs. The man assures the boy that the two of them are "good guys," but from the way his father treats other stray survivors the boy sees that his father has turned into an amoral survivalist, tenuously attached to the morality of the past by his fierce love for his son. McCarthy establishes himself here as the closest thing in American literature to an Old Testament prophet, trolling the blackest registers of human emotion to create a haunting and grim novel about civilization's slow death after the power goes out.
One of my fave authors tackling a post apocalyptic theme, needless to say but, I can't wait.
 
I can't believe it took me so long to finally get around to reading my first Cormac McCarthy books (All the Pretty Horses, Cities of the Plain, The Crossing) since simply everyone kept on saying how amazing he is (which he is), but this one sounds pretty depressing.

You read it first.
 
Booklist said:
A man and a boy, father and son, "each the other's world entire," walk a road in "the ashes of the late world." In this stunning departure from his previous work, McCarthy (No Country for Old Men, 2005) envisions a postapocalyptic scenario. Cities have been destroyed, plants and animals have died, and few humans survive. The sun is hidden by ash, and it is winter. With every scrap of food looted, many of the living have turned to cannibalism. The man and the boy plod toward the sea. The man remembers the world before; as his memories die, so, too dies that world. The boy was born after everything changed. The man, dying, has a fierce paternal love and will to survive--yet he saves his last two bullets for himself and his son. Although the holocaust is never explained, this is the kind of grim warning that leads to nightmares. Its spare, precise language is rich with other explorations, too: hope in the face of hopelessness, the ephemeral nature of our existence, the vanishing worlds we all carry within us. McCarthy evokes Beckett, using repetition and negation to crushing effect, showing us by their absence the things we will miss. Hypnotic and haunting, relentlessly dark, this is a novel to read in late-night solitude. Though the focus never leaves the two travelers, they carry our humanity, and we can't help but feel the world hangs in the balance of their hopeless quest. A masterpiece.

Sounds damn good.
 
At a scant 241 pages, with very widely spaced paragraphs, I got through this one in one sitting. McCarthy creates his most hellish world yet. You don't so much read this one as endure it. Defenitely one of his best. I would rank it second to Blood Meridian in my list of faves by him. Highly recommended.
 
I think it's interesting that both Roth (who is usally rather verbose) and McCarthy, two of America's best living novelists still working today, have both written sparse, bleak novellas this year. Perhaps they're just attempting to make up for Pynchon's inevitable hunk of a book.
 
The Road by Cormac Mccarthy has gotten so outstanding reviews. I want to know if anyone here has read it? The book is about: A father and son journey through post-apocalypse America.

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My favorite so far this year. And it's so late but I'll try....

The Road is post apacolyptic, yes, it's sparse, yes sort of, and it's dark, yes, yes, all of that is true. But it's way beyond those descriptors for the savvy reader. This story is about the power of pulling what is good from the blasted to everywhere shards of the utter worst that man is capable of. I'm sure there are many stories that attempt to pull this off, but this one does so flawlessly. There simply is nothing for you to do but hurry to read it!
 
Warning - may contain some minor spoilers. Forgive me if I overused the spoiler boxes, but you can't be too careful.

I posted some comments to another book discussion board, but thought I’d post something similar here (but edited). As I’ve stated in other threads here, I’m really glad to have read the book and consider it my favorite read of 2006. I especially enjoyed the writing itself, because there are some really beautiful phrases in here. I read the story with a horrible sense of dread, nearly afraid to turn the page to see what might happen next. And I feared how the book would end. It’s amazing how vested you become in these two characters. “Each the other’s world entire.” The relationship between father and son was realistic and very touching.

It’s the boy who broke my heart many times over in this story. In a civilization that had vanished, this child fought to redefine what was good and evil, and right and wrong. What tore at me most was
the fear experienced by the boy whenever they’d have to go into a house. I wonder where his fear first originated? His fear and the way it was written made me cry -- I almost couldn’t stand it. It also made me incredibly sad when he threw the flute away. It was like he was also throwing away what it represented.
In his narrow life there was no room for humor, or play, or imagination. Many of the things that define childhood were stripped from him even before birth.

A discussion on another board raised the question of whether
the moral principles of the father deteriorated throughout the story due to the struggle to survive and protect his son. I personally think he was consistent. What may have changed was the boy’s idea of his father.
At certain points we are definitely seeing the father through the son’s eyes.

This is a very emotional book that I think will haunt me for a while. I recently picked up “No Country for Old Men”, which I look forward to reading.
 
I'm currently "reading" this in audio book. I picked it up on whim because the library was closing and I NEEDED something to listen to in the car. I'd say I'm about a third of the way through. To be more specific I'm at the point when
the man and the boy are hiding in the woods watching the "army" with the red scarves march by, shortly after the man visits the orchard with the displayed heads.

I can already tell you that it is the best audiobook I've "read" this year and I've just finished another excellent one (Saturday by Ian McEwan). I am certain that the book would be a great read, but there is something about how the narrator (Tom Stechschulte) reads McCarthy's rough prose that just makes it for me. I won't bother with plot points now since I clearly have a lot of the book to go, but for those of you who enjoy audiobooks I highly suggest The Road as recorded by Recorded Books.
 
It has made most other novels I have read in recent years seem pale and trite by comparison. There is something truly wonderful witnessing a writer tackle greatness for no other reason than having the rare ability to attempt it. It is as complete an artistic vision as I can think of. Elegant, unrelenting and finally moral, couched in language and phrasing that is pitch perfect. This is a great novel.
 
SFG it will be interesting to hear what you think of this novel. Jughead, I truly appreciate your assessment. Can you imagine the intellectual build up that it would take to express such grand thoughts in such compelling fashion? I'd love to hear McCarthy interviewed and probed on this. Better yet, have a beer with him and soak up some of his wisdom. I know absolutely nothing about McCarthy but am sure curious. Certainly he writes as someone who has not only studied life but is busy living it as well. What do you think? I want to read more of his work but am worried that anything else might be a let down.

"Elegant, unrelenting, and finally moral"- your description is memorable. I have thought on this story a little bit every day since finishing it a couple of months ago. What was your impression of the closing paragraph?
 
The book moved to its conclusion with a slow determination that simply made the final paragraph more heartbreaking when it arrived. Necessary, self-determining and not surprising, yet still heartbreaking. The final judgement and nod to perseverence and the human spirit in the last paragraph was, to my thinking, the only logical end to the story. However, even though you knew it was coming you held out hope for a better fate. The ability of Mccarthy to carve hope out of such a story, to sustain the pace and be true to his vision, simply wonderful.

I have also had the book dancing around in my head since I read it and little ideas keep crawling back, scenes, the sons dialogue, and on and on.

As for reading his other works, don't worry about a let down. They are all worth the time. I have been a big fan of his for years. it is worth reading his books in chronological order because they do all work towards where he is as a writer and a stylist now. The Border trilogy is fantastic, Blood Meridian many would argue is his best work including The Road. I disagree but also understand why many would make the case. I have a soft spot for Sutre because it was the first McCarthy book I read and I remember being blown away by the writing. I also loved Child of God because of it's themes and moral compass. hell, it's Mccarthy - read them all.
 
The ability of Mccarthy to carve hope out of such a story, to sustain the pace and be true to his vision, simply wonderful.

That's exactly what I took from it as well. I'll just have to read his others. Someone cautioned me before reading The Road about the violence and dark themes McCarthy weaves. Certainly that's all there, but I found his writing starkly beautiful, like looking upon a massive old tree that stands alone in a field.
 
Certainly he writes as someone who has not only studied life but is busy living it as well. What do you think? I want to read more of his work but am worried that anything else might be a let down.

I'm not the most creative person, but I find it interesting to look at those who do great things as it pertains to their interest and passion. Some are motivated through some privation, either real or perceived. You mentioned something that looks to be the most important element in my honest opinion. There appears to be an authenticity of sorts that just can't be taught in an MFA program or through sheer talent in many individuals who are "the best." It also explains why some people succeed when they lack every other advantage they could possibly have, that others do, such as wealth, education, and connections. I will definitely pick this one first to read when my book crate arrives.:D I will be on the lookout for this trait when reading.
 
So, I just finished the recorded version of this book tonight and passed it right on to my husband. He's only listened to half of a CD and is hooked as well.

Although I really enjoyed the writing and the story (particularly the dialogue, which others have mentioned), I think I was a little bit let down by the ending. I suppose it was
a happier ending than I had anticipated, but I found that to be a let down. I was expecting that the father would shoot his son before he died so that the boy wouldn't have to starve. I just didn't see the father being selfish enough to trust that his obviously young son could survive on his own. I also found the appearance of the kind stranger to be just too coincidental. I suppose that I could rationalise it as part of their "always being lucky" or by going with the theory that the boy really is something special and there really is a god looking after him.
Perhaps I will be willing to accept one of these theories after I've let it all sink in a bit.
 
I felt the ending was the only possible resolution.
The father spent the book attempting to instill value for life and morality in his son. To have shot him when there was still a sliver of hope for him would have betrayed his morality, and on a grander scale, the morality of humankind. The death of the wife, and the reasons and rationale for her dying were set up as the opposite to the fathers belief and faith. By books end he had no choice but to let his son live. As a father he had delivered him as far as he could in the world, given him the correct morals and values, and like all fathers had to let go.

All this talk of the book prompted me to scan a couple of passages again and now I have found myself re-reading it already with a more concentrated consideration of the philosophy and symbolism of the book; it's vitriolic assesment of current western culture and its parallels to the architecture of western religion. Like all of McCarthy's works, I am finding more than was revealed on first blush.
 
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