The Road

My examination of Cormac McCarthy's The Road - read it, tell me what you think of it. For your convenience, the song in the background is Miles Davis' Flamenco Sketches.

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[lcapitn77]

It's not the story that disappoints - it's the writing. There are passages which I love, but the overall feel of the book lacks that power and rhythm of his previous work.

[lodestar12]

You haven't read this book, have you?

[lcapitn77]

I appreciate comments and opinions, but not unnecessary derogatory idiocy. I don't mind if you disagree - I do mind if you have no better way to express yourself than through poor attempts at condescending sarcasm.

[Paperhouse81]

Hey you are sexy as hell. Write me.

[govarnie]

The novel wouldn't work as well if he romanticised everything. By doing the opposite, the post apocalyptic feel of the book is emphasized and becomes far more haunting. It's a shame you didn't enjoy it but i can understand why...it's just not your sort of book. I'd be interested to hear what you thought of Blood Meridian.

[PhilipAlexander714]

Stupid character counter. But this is just my opinion. No Country For Old Men was almost a hybrid between the two styles.

[PhilipAlexander714]

Maybe others have mentioned this but, I feel he used this style of writing to mirror the world around the characters. You say that at some parts its broken, just like so many of the objects they find along their journey, and doesn't have any flow, also like so many of the rivers and streams they come across. I think the dialogue and pacing is just perfect for the story that he is telling.

[WermBaby]

i think that if there were an infinate amount of pages in that book i would never read anything else

[heffers12345]

My experience was that I found the book extremely difficult to read, not in terms of comprehension but emotional effort. The book is extremely sparse and suffocating and this was clearly a deliberate effort on McCarthy's part. The writing reflects this suffocation of feeling and the book left me numb and depressed. In a good way.

[cjtate08]

I agree with gimmiesomebut. I think McCarthy's prose matches the imagery in The Road. Even the absence of punctuation (apostrophes, quotations for example) is an indication of modern conscience lost. The Road is clearly set in a world of gray, and I think McCarthy's language conveys that perfectly. Now the real question that remains - was the transformation of his world due to nuclear holocaust or impact from a heavenly body?

[larma7]

Uhhh . . . there was plot. A man and his son walk alone in a post-apocalyptic world, where they each faced external and internal conflicts.

[EchosideProductions]

I would say, you can't compare each piece of an artist's work to one another, all you can do is relate it to yourself and the time in which your society is in. This is how art and literature can change society, when it has direct meaning to the observer. The Road embodies the reality of the characters from classic american post-apoca-fiction, but with real emotional depth and reaction. My only problem was that it actually pulled punches. This story was about overcoming, not just enduring.

[TheFobster]

I hated The Road. It was incredibly dull and lacked any plot other than the obvious survival.