The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road

Cormac McCarthy

Published 2006

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is one of those books that you read, digest, recognize its enormity, give it its due praise, and then admit you may never be able to read it again. It is too emotionally and psychologically difficult. 

The plot was simple: a father with his young son traveled a road in post-apocalyptic-like America, looking for food and supplies, heading toward the coast. We don't know what has happened, why, or when. We only know everything is gray, cold, ashy, and burnt. The sun was dim or not visible. Hardly any human being or animal or vegetation has survived. Whatever humans had survived, we cannot be certain if they are good or bad. 

As father and son traveled, they struggled with hunger and cold, fear and uncertainty. Sometimes there was sickness or injury. Once there was a moment of elation and joy as they found a stash of supplies to replenish what they had, and a safe place to rest and rejuvenate; but always they must keep moving for fear a bad guy was watching or following them. 

When they reached the seacoast, there was another successful find, but at this point, the story was near the end. And all I will say is that there was a tiny glimmer of hope in the very hopeless world left behind. 

My most intense question was why McCarthy felt like he had to write this story. He wrote it after September 11, 2001. But instead of some fear about end times or war, I learned that he wrote it about his son. Maybe it was about their relationship because The Road often demonstrated the very strong bond between father and son. This is what a father would do for his son, to keep him alive, to protect him, to encourage him to fight for his own life. "Good guys keep trying." 

I understand now why readers might label The Road as "beautiful." Certainly, there is nothing beautiful about the plot, the circumstances, or the setting; it is the love between the father and son, how they look after each other, support one another, and even disagree. 

Furthermore, the boy was compassionate, loving, and empathetic, and you have to wonder where that came from in such a dark world, the only world he ever knew. Even his father had to teach him to be leery of others, protective, and mindful of danger. But in such a dark place, the little boy is innocent and merciful and full of light.         

In addition, this is a simple read, easy to follow, in part because McCarthy didn't bother with formal grammar or punctuation. McCarthy learned from his son that quotations only make the page messy. 

Finally, The Road made me think about a film from the 80s, called Testament, about an area in America that was targeted with a nuclear bomb, and a mother must figure out how to protect her three children and an adopted neighborhood child and to survive the aftermath. It was a disturbing thought, growing up in the time of the Cold War, as this was on our minds. What would we do? And now that I am a parent, believe me, it is a nightmare. While I was reading The Road, I was thinking about these things, especially given the way things are headed today. I was taking notes. 

Following is a rather awful trailer of Testament - from the 80s, keep in mind. And if you have the interest to read The Road, it is worth at least one read.