The Road in SciFi and Fantasy Book Club

Dec 29, 2008 Kristjan rated it it was ok

Shelves: reviewed, science-fiction, bookclub-selection

I read this purely on the fact that is was the selection of the month for the club. To be honest, it is not something that I would have picked up myself despite the award of a Pulitzer Prize.

I didn't like it. Sure, I recognized the sparse writing style which lent an artsy feel to the prose (and was probably what earned it the Pulitzer and is why I give it 2 stars instead of 1), but the book was an ordeal from start to finish. It had no purpose what so ever except to make the reader feel like the ...more

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May 12, 2010 Darlene rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia

I must admit that for once, I liked the movie better than the book. I think the movie captured more of the depth of the personalities and situations than did the book. So I say congratulations to the movie makers and actors. It is interesting.

I listened to the OverDrive version borrowed from the library while reading it. Rupert Degas's voice was dull and quiet as the narration of a dulled world. His character voices were also quite appropriate.

It's the kind of book to make you think, "what if?" ...more

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Jun 17, 2009 Vanessa rated it liked it

I'm doubtless cheating McCarthy by only giving the book 3 stars but the rating system just seems inadequate. On one hand, the story is beautifully written and brilliantly constructed. The prose is sparse but elegant. I'm still puzzling out the meaning of the ending and had to research the word "salitter" (you won't find it in the dictionary) and the prophet Elijah when I finished. Despite the stripped-down nature of the characters, you intensely empathize and relate to them.

And maybe that is th ...more

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Jun 02, 2008 William rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2008, science-fiction, fantasy, apocalyptic, pulitzer

Amazing book. Easy to read but very disturbing. The tale of a man and his son on a walk to the sea after an apocalyptic event. I read this in a day. I couldn't stop. It was disturbing as I found myself wondering "what if....." ...more

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Apr 22, 2010 Dolphe rated it it was amazing

Almost poetic in its simplicity, the sparse narrative in this tale of Armageddon perfectly complements the bleak atmosphere without eroding our chance for hope. Details are primarily nonexistent – they serve no purpose in the daily struggle to survive. Survival is the only relevant detail here, yet it constantly questions whether that is enough. We praise the human instinct to survive; yet we too often ignore the cost to our own humanity in the process. Through the eyes of a child, we see that e ...more

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Mar 12, 2009 Kenny rated it liked it

I Never read a Cormac McCarthy book before, but "The Road" was on so many people's lists on Good reads that I figured I would try it. I loved the idea of the book, and the setting, but his writing style is so odd. I will say I believe it is on purpose and that is why I did not go lower with my score. My main complaints are:

His metaphors and description often make no sense at all to me. I understand if you think about it, you can think about what he is saying and figure it out, but I am reading a I Never read a Cormac McCarthy book before, but "The Road" was on so many people's lists on Good reads that I figured I would try it. I loved the idea of the book, and the setting, but his writing style is so odd. I will say I believe it is on purpose and that is why I did not go lower with my score. My main complaints are:

His metaphors and description often make no sense at all to me. I understand if you think about it, you can think about what he is saying and figure it out, but I am reading a book, not playing a puzzle game.

Ideas do not flow or connect from one page to the other. I assume this was on purpose because it is from the characters point of view (sometimes), and I suppose it is supposed to show you how the days kind of blur due to their hunger and fatigue etc. I will give him the benefit of the doubt there, it is kind of a cool idea.

He switches between 3rd person and 1st person really abruptly. I think the book would have been a lot easier to follow if it was just all in third person.

When they switch to 1st person and there is dialogue, it is very mundane conversation and he does not use quotation marks. I know that is also on purpose and probably a reason why he is seen as a unique writer, but it is just confusing to me. I just finished reading "Carrie" as well, and I have read a lot of Stephen King, and he kind of does the same thing. The way King uses dialogue always confused me, but it is not even close to as bad as McCarthy uses it. At some points I had to go back and track line by line who said what, but then sometimes it was not back and forth even, so a lot of the time I was just guessing who said what.

The way McCarthy uses "the man" and "the boy" instead of names is annoying. There is only 2 characters, we can know their names. I know this was on purpose too, but it is kind of pretentious to me.

The fact you never know what caused the world to be fucked up is annoying. Did I miss something? I feel like I wasn't paying attention and missed the reasoning. I did daze off a few times but I don't feel like I missed anything.

Anyway that is it, overall the writing was annoying, but I did enjoy the book, and I loved the tone and how sad it was. I really did feel the desperation they were going through, and the end was especially heart breaking. ...more

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Apr 22, 2008 Suzanne Shumaker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-have, apocalyptic, fiction

It was difficult at the beginning because I had to get used to the rhythm. The writing was very broken and did not have punctuation such as quotations.

The book is about a man and his son on "the road" going south in order to have easier survival in the more moderate climate. I think the most interesting part of the book is that it actually feels like it could be possible. Some apocalyptic novels are too far fetched to be believable. This one is not. ...more

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Dec 09, 2009 William rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2008, horror, e, apocalyptic, pulitzer, dystopia, favorites

Cormac McCarthy has a way of making you see the world through his words....and it is damn depressing. This is a page turner but do not read it if you despair easily! The journey of a man and his son through an apocalyptic wasteland will definitely make you want to hold your loved ones and never let them go.

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