The Road

Tusky

Just finished this today and I give it 7 thumbs up. Really easy to read but also very thought provoking. A real page turner. Its by Cormac McCarthy who also wrote No country for Old Men which is about to be released in the cinema.

Anyone else read this or anything else by him ?

John

I read The Road there recently and I agree with the 7 thumbs. Such a powerful book, you know the end of the world will be bleak but he's the first author I've read to capture such a hellish atmosphere.

I've read some of his other books, none of the ones I've read are the same sort of subject but some capture the same inhumane humanity vibes. Blood Meridian is as good as The Road, it's set in 19th century America and deals with the scalp trade. It reads like The Bible but it is impossible to put down.

I'm currently reading his Border Trilogy. There's a completely different mood in these books, yes there are the moments of bleakness but it is counterbalanced with hope, love and friendship. It's all terribly realistic though, a couple of times I've had to look away from the book (and I don't think I've ever done that before!). Highly recommended so far (just finishing the second book).

Tusky

John wrote: »

I read The Road there recently and I agree with the 7 thumbs. Such a powerful book, you know the end of the world will be bleak but he's the first author I've read to capture such a hellish atmosphere.

I've read some of his other books, none of the ones I've read are the same sort of subject but some capture the same inhumane humanity vibes. Blood Meridian is as good as The Road, it's set in 19th century America and deals with the scalp trade. It reads like The Bible but it is impossible to put down.

I'm currently reading his Border Trilogy. There's a completely different mood in these books, yes there are the moments of bleakness but it is counterbalanced with hope, love and friendship. It's all terribly realistic though, a couple of times I've had to look away from the book (and I don't think I've ever done that before!). Highly recommended so far (just finishing the second book).

Someone told me to read the Border trilogy but I cant seem to find it. Do the books have individual names ?

Some thoughts on the book-

One thing I loved about it was the fact that they meet so few people during the book. Its largely just the two of them which gets across the feeling of emptiness, bleakness & loneliness really well. It also makes the few encounters with other people seem more dangerous and exciting. At times I maybe wished that we found out more about the bad guys and what they did, but I think that would have been counter productive to what he was trying to get across.

What did you think about the ending ? I heard someones opinion in reply to someone saying 'it was too convenient that the boy stumbled upon seemingly the only other good guy right after his father died'. The guy basically said that the father was a flawed character and while he had many admirable traits, his one big flaw was that in not wanting to help anybody he closed himself off to many good guys and that they are actually all around during the book. The kid, who is constantly trying to help people, did not and thus he bumped into the good guys because of this.

I don't know if I got what I was trying to say across very well but I much prefer that opinion on the ending rather than the religious ones that others seem to have. What did you think ?

John

Tusky wrote: »

Someone told me to read the Border trilogy but I cant seem to find it. Do the books have individual names ?

Book 1: All the Pretty Horses
Book 2: The Crossing
Book 3: Cities of the Plains

I got them all in one volume in The Winding Stair bookshop on the quays. I saw a different one volume version in Hodges Figgis too.

Some thoughts on the book-

One thing I loved about it was the fact that they meet so few people during the book. Its largely just the two of them which gets across the feeling of emptiness, bleakness & loneliness really well. It also makes the few encounters with other people seem more dangerous and exciting. At times I maybe wished that we found out more about the bad guys and what they did, but I think that would have been counter productive to what he was trying to get across.

Yeah, I agree. I think the loneliness really adds to the bleakness. For a while you're not even sure that there is anyone else left alive. And I'm glad that the whole situation is left mysterious as any ideas as to what happened to the world would tie it in too much with a particular time/political climate and the book would suffer because of it. The fact that you know nothing puts you in the same shoes as the boy (and I love the complete lack of names).

What did you think about the ending ? I heard someones opinion in reply to someone saying 'it was too convenient that the boy stumbled upon seemingly the only other good guy right after his father died'. The guy basically said that the father was a flawed character and while he had many admirable traits, his one big flaw was that in not wanting to help anybody he closed himself off to many good guys and that they are actually all around during the book. The kid, who is constantly trying to help people, did not and thus he bumped into the good guys because of this.

Yeah I can see the point of the convenience argument but equally you don't know what's further down the road (pun intended). It was still an open-ended ending which is the only way you can end a book like that. Well both of them could have died but I don't think even McCarthy could be that cruel!

I don't know if I got what I was trying to say across very well but I much prefer that opinion on the ending rather than the religious ones that others seem to have. What did you think ?

I haven't really read anyone else's views on the book so I haven't encountered any religious commentary on the ending. I can't see how God fits into the book as it is to me a very godless, desolate world he's written. My thoughts are more along the lines of yours.

Crikey, that's a lot of spoiler tags! It looks like MI5 have censored this for security reasons!

Ho-Hum

This is the only Cormac McCarthy book I have read and I really enjoyed, as others have mentioned there are very few books that manage to prtray the bleakness and lonliness of a post apocalyptic world.

Must read a few more of his books.

Tusky

Picked up 'The Border Trilogy' today. Read the first 10 pages or so and it couldn't be more different in style to 'The Road'. Looking forward to getting into it.

John

Yeah, it's like night and day. It's still not an easy ride though.

dudara

I was quite disappointed with "The Road". There is some beautiful imagery in the book, but the post-apocalyptic storyline is hardly original. It reminded me of 'The Stand' and 'Z for Zachariah" to name two.

John

Not an original concept but the way in which it was done was what made it so good. I love The Stand but I thought The Road was far better.

Tusky

dudara wrote: »

I was quite disappointed with "The Road". There is some beautiful imagery in the book, but the post-apocalyptic storyline is hardly original. It reminded me of 'The Stand' and 'Z for Zachariah" to name two.

You're right, the post apocalyptic theme has been done before but comparing 'The Road' & 'The Stand' seems a bit silly to me. They are like Chalk & Cheese. King is all about developing characters and going into crazy detail about their backrounds etc. The only thing you could compare between the two are the themes or good & evil. I read Z for Zachariah as a kid and cant remember it too well. Its about a little girl on her own isnt it ?

Anyway, although the theme of the book isnt exactly original, I thought the the loniliness and desperation was expressed more vividly than in any other book of a similar theme.

slinky

This must be Cormac McCarthy season! I'm starting the border trilogy as well (2/3 way through All the Pretty Horses) and then on to The Road. I enjoyed No Country For Old Men, Chigurh is an amazing and strange character.

Tusky

slinky wrote: »

This must be Cormac McCarthy season! I'm starting the border trilogy as well (2/3 way through All the Pretty Horses) and then on to The Road. I enjoyed No Country For Old Men, Chigurh is an amazing and strange character.

I'm on the last few pages of All The Pretty Horses. Enjoyed it but not as much as The Road. Id be keen to see the film.

sweetie

www.play.com and www.thebookdepository.com have the border trilogy for around 13-14 euro and no country..,the road, blood meridien around 8-9 euro depending on exchange rates and stock etc.

dudara

Tusky wrote: »

Anyway, although the theme of the book isnt exactly original, I thought the the loniliness and desperation was expressed more vividly than in any other book of a similar theme.

I definitely agree with you there. There was something very eerie about the book. I failed to understand the motivation of the wife character however.

Tusky

sweetie wrote: »

www.play.com and www.thebookdepository.com have the border trilogy for around 13-14 euro and no country..,the road, blood meridien around 8-9 euro depending on exchange rates and stock etc.

I got the border trilogy in the winding stairs book shop in Dublin for around 13/14 euro.

sweetie

Tusky wrote: »

I got the border trilogy in the winding stairs book shop in Dublin for around 13/14 euro.

cheers. will give them my custom then instead.

Edit: 6.99 in chapters this evening

CuLT

Recently read The Road too. Found it hard to get into initially (I thought it read like it was written by a 16 year old for a Junior Cert essay) but the narrative style starts to really embellish the story about twenty or thirty pages in. The plain language and - often confusing - conversational flow helps to encapsulate the desolation of a post-apocalyptic world.

John

He uses that style in most of his books, makes you concentrate I find. It was quite confusing at first but after a few of his books it's a lot easier to read the dialogue. Taking a break from Mr. McCarthy at the moment, too many of his books in a row may break me!

Killme00

I enjoyed the road, i found it a surprisinly quick and easy read. Ill read it again at some point. Currently reading All the pretty horses which is really excellent so far, not so easy to read but great.

aFlabbyPanda

just finished this tonight (after 2 days) and I feel drained. It was hard to get into. I almost put it down as i found it so depressing. Maybe being a parent hightens the emotional aspect of this book but I also desperatly wanted to find out what happens to them.

I thought it was similar to the road to perdition. A great book if a little heavey going at times.