While staying at the beach house during my visit to the Oregon Coast with my family, I finished reading Cormac McCarthy’s _The Road_. He is the author of other books such as _No Country for Old Men_, _All the Pretty Horses_, etc. R had borrowed this book from the library before the summer holidays and said it was really well-written. So, when I saw it on the bookshelf at the house, I thought I’d give it a try.
The story follows the journey of a father and son as they try to survive in a desolate and forsaken version of the world. Neither character bears a name other than Papa and the boy. Nothing is really known about the world they are trying to make it in, but through flashbacks, dreams and memories the reader gets a sense of an old world, like the one we know today.
McCarthy’s descriptions of the land, feelings of conflict and building of suspense in the encounters between the father and son and the “bad” guys keeps the reader engaged. However, while the story may lead the reader to expect progress in the journey itself, the reality is that the progress is found in the survival of the boy when his father is no longer able to care for and protect him.
Generally-speaking, as I progressed through the novel, I kept thinking how it must be written for a male-audience. The sentences were definitely descriptive, but the emotions described were stilted and difficult to decipher. The relationship between the father and boy felt like how I have observed men communicate with one another – not knowing how emotional to be or how many words are required to express themselves.
It’s not a story for those who would like a happily ever after-ending, but those who are optimists and Dostoevsky lovers will appreciate the need to imagine a more hopeful future despite dismal circumstances. π
More to come…
-T
