The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I thought I remembered talking about this book, but a quick DB search didn’t turn anything up. I started reading it last night and I couldn’t put it down. Is anyone else reading or has anyone else read this? I’m going to want to talk about it quite a bit. I’m maybe about 50 pages in — they’re still in the mountains. So don’t give anything away yet.
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We talked about this, briefly, in the What are you reading post. I can’t remember if that link has spoilers so you might as well skip it until you’re finished. I read the book though.
I just finished it, dummy.
Yeah, those of us that have already read this book have talked about it briefly in various other posts. It’s fucking awesome, and so is the movie, surprisingly.
So I just finished this last night. Quickest I’ve read a book in a long time, which is really saying something. I just couldn’t put it down.
I feel like there were several literary devices that went over my head. Like how the world was constantly being covered in either ash or snow — black and white. This could be some sort of allusion to Moby Dick, which, I’m told, did something similar to allude to death, but I haven’t read it so I’m not sure and I can’t think of anything in The Road what could be construed as a figurative White Whale.
If anything, I was struck by the fact that there seemed to be no goal what so over. Just to keep surviving. It was something they addressed, but simply couldn’t come up with an answer for. At the end, despite the boy going on with the other family, there doesn’t appear to be any hope. Nothing is regrowing. Nothing is alive. Eventually all the food will run out and everyone will die.
I wondered a lot why they had never tried going south before. It seems they’ve been on The Road for quite some time, considering the age of the boy — why not head south right away to warmer climates and the hope of finding someplace unscathed by whatever happened. But I guess that’s sort of missing the point. Which I’m still thinking about.
South always seemed like a more reasonable direction to be heading to me as well. I never understood what was so important about getting to the coast.
Has anyone seen the movie? Omar from The Wire is in it. He’s sweet.
i saw the movie. it was pretty good. i love viggo. but i promptly forgot about it. shoulda read the book first but c’est la vie. can’t read every book first.