The Road (Book Review)

The Road

Front Cover

Backstory

The Road is a book released in 2006 and written by Cormac McCarthy. I had at one time borrowed it from the library but never got into it. I actually read No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy also which was amazing but The Road was a totally different book written in a unique style so I passed on it at the time.

In mid-July 2018 at my local library I came across a copy of the book for fifty cents and decided to pick it up and read it. Here is my review of the book lets see if it was worth the fifty cents I paid for.

The Review

The book revolves  around two characters who are trying to survive a post apocalyptic world (a father and his son). The father is a strong man who is trying to get to the coast with his son to try and find a better life untouched by the current apocalypse. The son is a young boy who has no knowledge of the previous world as he was too young to remember life before the apocalypse. The man and the boy as they are referred to travel along roads searching for the coast. Along the way they scavenge for food, water, shelter, and clothes as they encounter unpredictable weather and other survivors.

There are a few encounters throughout the book that leave the reader feeling excited and ready for action including slave traders, cannibals, and thieves. The minor characters and their presence in the book really set up the environment well. It's a world where anything goes and people will do anything to survive including eating their own children. The book handles the situations well and feels authentic.

There are also some flashbacks to the mans previous life that include his wife. The man's situation at the start of the apocalypse is described well and the fate of his wife is also included. The realism in the story really hits the reader and makes you think about how you would handle a situation like this. 

The man and the boy travel and through their adventures end up creating a strong and unbreakable bond with each other. The Road is basically a coming of age story for the boy as he is thrown into the world with just his father. The boy has to learn the ropes and gain experience to live on after his father is gone.

The Road is written in a unique fashion and doesn't contain chapters but just segments that pop back and forth between the present and the past. This is a great way to progress the story and to set up the events that lead to the current situation opposed to the chapter writing style. The book is not that long and can be read fairly quickly if you have time on your hands.

My overall opinion on this book is that it's a great coming of age story based in a world that is unforgiving and filled with people who will do anything to survive. The man and the boy compliment each other well as the experience hero and gullible forgiving hero. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes coming of age stories and those who like graphic apocalyptic books.