The Road - Cormac McCarthy

[Jeff Harrington]

I've just finished this book and I found it absolutely chilling. It was an almost unbearably bleak reading experience, yet ultimately redemptive. It's the story of a father and son walking towards a safer existence, in a world where man has obliterated all nature. The only living things are people and they are mostly cannibals and enslavers of all types. It's horrific, but the themes of love and security resonate on a strangely deep level.

Reminded me a lot of Beckett; actually I wish it had been a bit more poetic. Any other McCarthy fans?

[Robert Phillips]

McCarthy is my favorite living author. The Road is a bleak but beautiful description of hell. McCarthy's language turns his subjects into mythological epics. The Road may be his best book, although Blood Meridian is still a pretty major contender.