I’m trying to find solace in the fact that I’m probably not the only one to be humiliatingly hoodwinked into taking the time to read Cormac McCarthy’s much-celebrated yawn-fest “The Road”, although this hardly makes this bamboozling something to boast about. In spite of the fact approximately three-fourths of the world seemed to readily embrace this as worthy fare, I managed to keep my distance for some time, mainly through ignorance of the general plot of the book and my usual stubborn reluctance to blindly jump off a bridge with the masses. I should have obeyed my gut instinct and remained one of the few spared the tedium of “The Road”, but then I had to go and actually examine a copy from a carefully-arranged pile resembling some kaleidoscopic, symmetrical form that some unfortunate, underpaid bookslut had to labor over for hours to create, and noticed that not only did this win the Pulitzer Prize, but happened to be a post-apocalyptic tale, and nothing stirs my loins nearly as vigorously. I’d even had it suggested by one of my fellow goodreaders, and after brief contemplation as to whether to waste my money on this alleged masterpiece or another box of nitrous cartridges, I decided that it was time to see what all the fuss was about (regarding “The Road”, I think I can understand the allure of the EZ Whip cream chargers, especially when you’ve got one of those bigass punch-ball balloons).

tI sat in a numbed stupor while I read this, completely baffled as to how the hell this managed not only to win awards of great prestige, but, more importantly, just how it managed to be a commercial success with the ordinary reader. I’m almost interested to hear why someone might have actually enjoyed “The Road”, in which McCarthy somehow managed to make boring the concept of post-apocalyptic America. While I usually happen to be a fan of the genre, I found this to be everything which I don’t desire within that intriguing realm. At this point, I’m obviously begging for someone to come along and tell me that I ‘didn’t get it’, and probably point out that I’m a moron for good measure. I’m not denying that these are certainly valid arguments, but convincing me that I didn’t like this book is going to be impossible, my cheeky little friend.

tSo, what did I get from “The Road”, which stupefies me with its status as a #1 bestseller and Pulitzer-winning tour de force? Several things, all of them sucky; a whole lot of repetitive and boring conversation and redundant let’s-trek-towards-the-coast plodding, a lot of stupidass and harebrained compoundwords, and an insipid amalgam of fiftyword paragraphs that seldom accomplished anything as far as entertaining me as a reader.

tHere’s the story in a nutshell, for anyone who might be inexplicably reading this without having read the book; probably because they were wise enough to invest in the EZ Whip instead, and are now dicking around with their iTunes trying to find the song that best complements that flanging sound in their head. Some sort of catastrophe has befallen planet Earth, and I have to admit I was pretty interested to find out the nature of this calamity, but McCarthy decides to keep that a secret for some reason beyond my grasp, maybe as the highlight of “The Road 2: Thoroughfare”. Ok, I can dig it, whatever it was, I know that it had no trouble fucking up Earth’s weak and fragile little blue ass. Score; Unexplained Devastating Event 1, Earth 0. Does it really matter what might have happened, seeing as all it resulted in was the end of almost all life as we know it? Actually, yeah, the lack of any sort of input regarding the origin of this chain of events does suck, and badly. Score: Utter Buffoonishness 1, Cormac McCarthy 0.

tIn the wake of, well, whatever cataclysmic shit happened, we’ve got a father and son struggling to survive in the resulting aftermath, and things aren’t very promising for this enterprising duo, as whatever wiped out the inhabitants of planet earth also eradicated not only all plant and animal life, but in a shocking display of sheer spite also managed to do away with quotation marks, colons, semicolons, and most hyphens. Survivors of this worldwide holocaust are few and far between: scattered bands of humans that have largely resorted to thuggishness and cannibalism for lack of other hobbies or nutrition, a few mushrooms, and question marks, periods, and a wily subset of apostrophes have managed to escape extermination. The father and son have managed to eke out a regrettable existence for an unknown number of years, and the approaching winter promises to be outrageously cold, so they make way for an unnamed southern coastline, where I can only presume they're expecting to encounter something more accommodating.

tTheir journey is perhaps the most ridiculously boring shit I’ve ever read. They push a shopping cart along with their scant supplies while alternately stomping through ash and sleeping in ditches. Once in a while they encounter another survivor, each meeting completely preposterous and without substance. They ransack homes and forage for food, they abandon the weak and feeble, they ramble incessantly, engaging in snippets of pointless conversation, usually about how they cannot give up, as they are ‘carrying the fire’. I’m assuming that ‘the fire’ is the inextinguishable hope for mankind, a barely flickering light personified in the child, or maybe the fact that any chance of repopulating may depend on their ash-coated and unwashed swinging schlongs, who the hell knows, the ‘fire’ could be their undiminished belief in god which they’ll impart on the cannibal savages running unchecked when not feasting on fetus.

tThat’s it. Seriously, that’s the story, and I’ve long since abandoned any attempt to discover what all the hype surrounding this supposed ‘story’ is.

tDespite my generally low opinion of our collective taste as a species, I found myself shocked that “The Road” was deemed favorable by so many. But what I really can’t wrap my head around is the critical acclaim, which applauds this for reasons I’ll never understand, and sincerely hope the critics don’t either. I found the storytelling utterly regrettable and lacking in all possible aspects, once in a while McCarthy bizarrely waxed poetic, and he also made the completely unforgivable mistake of mentioning how the ‘sun went around the earth’, which, if intended to be literal, at least offers an explanation as to why the planet is becoming so inhospitable. Otherwise, all Cormac has to offer is a bunch of really short, uninteresting sentences, banal murmurings between father and son, and a whole lot of tedium. I might almost be impressed that on several occasions McCarthy busted out some word which I’ve previously never seen before in my life (woad and siwash come to mind, both forever burnt in my brain as examples of meaningless gibberish), but when the use of these words is considered next to the rest of the prose, composed of rudimentary language, all it called to mind was the disheartening suspicion that McCarthy stumbled across these relics from some Word-Of-The-Day vocabulary-enhancing calendar, making them seem improbably forced into the story:

tJune 14th: WOAD: n, some absurd, obscure shit.

t“Hmmmm,” Cormac ponders this treasure, “I may have to have the protagonists come across a load of woad.” He chuckles idiotically. “A load. Heh. Of woad. Heh heh.”

tWhile the Woad Incident was bad enough, McCarthy also uses ‘wonky’. Christ, the last time I heard wonky used was in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, coming from Master Blaster. This made for a pretty fitting connection between the two, both being pieces of post-apocalyptic poodle piddle. After getting an unsavory sampling of the author’s propensity for rarely-seen words, I was half expecting to see rampike, which would have actually worked in the context of the story on countless occasions, but apparently that one was included in Roget’s Word-Of-The-Day and our man McCarthy was given the Merriam-Webster last Christmas.

tNow I’m just nit-picking, for lack of anything else to comment on, since this was so devoid of action, intrigue, or anything remotely thought-provoking.

The average rating for this book from my friends is 4.17 and glowing reviews. Add Pulitzer to the mix and this became that irresistible book that i had to read. So obviously I was very excited to start it.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, this is the tale of a father-son duo who are journeying towards south on "the road." They don't know what is it in south but they are hoping to find something"good" at the end of this journey. Throughout this journey they try to hide from other people. There aren't many but they still hide at the first indication that someone is near by. So, yeah it is a long journey with minimal of dialogues.

I haven't read many post-apocalyptic books. In fact this is the third one only. While reading this I kept going back to those two i.e. The Passage and Swan Song, and kept thinking why I didn't admire them more. Both books had much more action (and pages too), gave a close insight into people who stuck together in these dangerous times, and also gave a spine chilling version of a post-apocalyptic/dystopian world.

The Road tells us how this father-son duo survive each day. Even the relationship between these two failed to impress me. While the father knows that he is about to die, instead of teaching son some survival tactics he is just sheltering the kid from everything. I get that he is a parent and every instinct in him tell him to protect the kid but how would the kid survive in these tough condition once his father is dead? He keep telling him to go south and look for good people, like the kid know how to differentiate between good and bad people when he has been with his father fof most of his life?

The end seemdd very flimsy and abrupt to me. Like author was in a hurry to wrap up the story ASAP once the father died. Also I felt like author wanted to give the reader something to be happy about. But it was done in the most easiest way considering how throughout the book it was drilled into the reader that it was a very dark and dangerous world.

I gave this book 3 stars initially but once I sat to jot down my thoughts on this book, I couldn't find a thing that I liked in this book. Hence removed 2 stars. I am not recommending this book to any of my friend.

I really wanted to like this book, because just about everyone I know who read it loved it and raves about it. That it's post-apocalyptic fiction is a plus, because that's one of my favorite genres of all time.

I gave up after about 30 pages, though, because I just couldn't stand the way it was written. This isn't a judgment against the author or anyone who enjoyed the book, but for me, reading it was like watching a movie with an incredible plot that's shot entirely out of focus, or lit so poorly, I had to struggle to see the actors and enjoy the story.

I may give it another try again at some point in the future, but I'm too old and have too little time for reading to invest it in books that make me work really hard to digest them.

Το ήξερα! Απλώς το ήξερα!
Για κάποιο λόγο, ήμουν σίγουρος ότι ο δρόμος όχι απλώς θα κάλυπτε τις ήδη πολύ μεγάλες προσδοκίες μου, αλλά θα τις ξεπερνούσε κιόλας κατά πολύ.

Έχετε δει μετα-αποκαλυπτικες ταινίες που σας τρόμαξαν? Έχετε διαβάσει αντίστοιχα βιβλία που σας φάνηκαν ιδιαίτερα σκοτεινά? Έχετε παίξει video games, έχετε διαβάσει κόμικς που έκαναν την καρδιά σας να σφιχτει?
Διαβάστε Το Δρόμο και όλα τα παραπάνω θα σας φανούν σαν επεισόδια της σειρας "Πεπα το Γουρουνάκι"

Και βέβαια η ζοφεροτητα του μετα-αποκαλυπτυκου κόσμου είναι ένα μόνο από τα επίπεδα του ξεχωριστού αυτού βιβλίου. Η αποκτήνωση των ανθρώπων όταν φτάνουν στο έσχατο σημείο και το ανίκητο μεγαλείο της ανθρώπινης φύσης. Η απόλυτη απελπισία και ο θρίαμβος της ελπίδας.
Όλα είναι εδώ. Όλα υπάρχουν μέσα στο δρόμο, σε ένα από τα κορυφαία βιβλία που διάβασα φέτος.

One of my favourite of all time.

Loved everything.
Terrifying.

A few years back, I have watched "The Road" on HBO. I actually like the film, and I think it's well crafted. I held back on reading the book for a while since the movie seemed pretty straightforward and powerful enough to convey the story. An opportunity presented itself though, when I got hold of a copy on the last day of The Annual Library Book Sale. Since I can't seem to get enough of dreary stories lately, I have decided to read this one right away.

"The Road" is a novel by an American master. It has all the thrills you'd expect from a post-apocalyptic novel, a fair share of horror and gore, and you'll also encounter an incredibly sweet relationship between a father and son. Reading this can, at times, feel a lot like you are right there with the characters, slogging through a gray, bleak, uncaring landscape that stretches out before you with no hope of rescue. The book has more than its fair share of brutality and despair, but it also has a thin, but powerful, vein of love running through it. In this case, we have a boy's love for his father, and a father's love for his son. It is, for the most part, literally all that keeps them going through unimaginable horrors. As cliched as it might sound, love gets them through it. Love sustains them just like --in a very real way--we are all sustained, sheltered, and ultimately saved by the love in our own lives

If I liked the film, then I must be weak-in-the-knees in love with the novel. I should have read it sooner! The film does evoke the images and the characters of Cormac McCarthy's novel. It is powerful but, after reading the book, lacks the same core of emotion the story wants to impart. I'm not sure this is any fault of the filmmakers. The novel itself would not be successful if it were limited to its characters and images. Its effect comes, above all, through McCarthy's prose. His prose has the uncanny ability to convey more than dialogue and incident. It's as dense as poetry! How could a film summon this much power? The movie could only do so much, and is still found wanting. I still like the movie and find it well made, but after this read, I think McCarthy is all but unfilmable.

Heartbreaking, mournful, and gut-wrenchingly terrifying in places, this is probably the least enjoyable book I have ever read because it's a relentless dread that takes centre stage, and oh boy does it make you feel glad to be in this world and not that.
But there is a humanistic beauty through all the apocalyptic dreary bleakness, a testament to the human spirit, a deep devotion between father and son. Although the film was just about as close as you were going to get, it doesn't really do this justice. Earth-shattering!.

“You have my whole heart. You always did.”

A father and his son walk alone through burned America.

Some books are an experience. This is one of them. Exhausting, bleak, brutal, heartbreaking... certain parts will just stay with me forever.

This was my first encounter with Cormac McCarthy and the beautifully poetic prose prompted me to buy yet another one of his books (I already have Blood Meridian on my shelf). His writing is GORGEOUS. The short, blunt sentences and the minimal use of dialogue would normally frustrate me, but McCarthy just makes it work. It perfectly reflects the stark, cold world that this man and his son find themselves living in. It’s stunning.

I love the relationship between the father and son. You can really feel how much they need each other, in a world where they have nothing else. My main overriding thought during a lot of this was that I just could NOT survive this. I don’t think I would have the same hope or perseverance that these characters did! And my heart was simply breaking by the end...

It doesn’t get the full five stars from me because the repetitiveness got a little tiring at times... and I honestly am just greedy and want to know more about what actually happened etc.

By far the most bleak and depressing post-apocalyptic book I’ve ever read, yet it will remain one of my favourites. 4.5 stars.

I try to read science fiction and dystopia. But none of them touch me emotionally. They feel hard to keep going for some reason. But this book was so addictive to keep reading. It has some great writing with constant tension. A great read.

The Road is such a visually powerful but slow methodical reading experience. The story is simple but the words pack a punch, it's about survival in this bleak desolate post apocalyptic world, about a man who is trying desperately to keep his son alive and protect him against the elements and the frightening prospects of encountering barbarian bad guys. The setting is grim from the start and it just gets more and more grimmer with impending doom descending onto the pages until you want some kind of relief.... and then that ending! So very sad and sombre but beautifully written but also made me feel uncomfortable at times, a wonderful reading experience but not a feel good book by any means.

Hauntingly realistic post apocalyptic story of survival and love between a father and son. Pulitzer Prize winning, long on description, short on punctuation. A world stripped past the point of basics. For me, the story implies that the son is humanity's last chance.
Some of my favourite quotes from the book:
father about son;
"If he is not the word of God. God never spoke."
father to son:
"My job is to take care of you. I was appointed to do that by God. I will kill anyone who touches you."
Father to son, son's reply:
"You're not the one who has to worry about everything."
He looked up, his wet and grimy face. "Yes I am. I am the one."

The ending left me wanting more but it was a good ending, sad but hopeful. In a time when hope is almost nonexistent. A few parts of this story were instantly gratifying for me as I read them. Other parts were horrific and disturbing. Only after a time of contemplation did I realize that it had to be that way. As I've said, It's a realistic story.

This book is shocking, loving, groundbreakingly impressive, beautifully written. I read through it without breathing, I mean I just had to know what was coming on the next page, and cried several times. Without a doubt one of the best books, if not the best, I read, ever...