Speculative Fiction Junkie

Cormac McCarthy

I just received an advanced review copy of this book, which you're going to be hearing a lot about when it's released later this year. Okay, I'm just kidding. The Road is a few years old now and everyone knows about it, thanks in no small part to Oprah's selection of it for her famous book club. This one's been on my list for a while but I moved it up in priority after I heard that a movie adaptation of the book was scheduled to be released this month. I've since read that the movie's release has now been pushed back to sometime in 2009.

The Road tells the story of a man and his son traveling on foot to the coast in the wake of some sort of apocalyptic event. We're not told what the event was (nor are we told the names of the book's protagonists) but it killed almost every living thing on the planet, caused enormous fires, and turned the world gray with ash. The man and the boy carry the few items they have scavenged in an old shopping cart.

McCarthy is an amazing writer. Most of The Road is written in a sparse, matter-of-fact style that reflects the harsh simplicity of the book's subject matter. Periodically, however, the reader encounters passages that are stunning in their beauty and that contrast starkly with the style of the majority of the book.

While The Road fits squarely within the post-apocalypse subgenre, it differs from similar books in several respects. First of all, unlike most post-apocalypse tales, The Road doesn't describe in great detail the cataclysmic event that destroyed the world nor the destroyed world itself. The latter is discussed only to the extent that the Man and the Boy encounter it. Aspects of the destroyed world are briefly mentioned but not explored. For example, the new world contains slavery and communes but we don't ever really learn anything about them other than that they exist. This relative lack of concern stems from the fact that the book's primary concern is the relationship between the Man and the Boy, which distinguishes it from other post-apocalyptic tales.

If you're a fan of post-apocalyptic tales, then you've probably already read The Road. If you haven't yet, then you should. Be warned, however, that it is a gloomy read, to put it mildly. In the final analysis, however, it's one of the most compelling, beautiful books I've ever read.

Rating: 9/10

The True First

The Road was first published in New York by Knopf in 2006. If you're looking for a copy, make sure that the boards are orange and

[This review was not based on a review copy]black.