The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I'd like to begin this post by pasting a quote from an Amazon.com review:

"I disliked this book so much that after I finished it, I threw it in the trash."-Nora Westcott

Oh Nora, such hilariously strong feelings! As I begin this review I would like to say that I absolutely disagree with Nora, I inhaled the road and couldnt put it down for 2 days. I thought it was wonderful though I understand why poor Nora was so unhappy afterwards (also i wish her quote ended with "...and then i set it on fire and buried the ashes"-if you are going to commit to your anger and distaste, COMMIT.)

The Road is set after an apocolyptic event. The sun has virtually disappeared and with it all plant and animal life have become extinct. The few remaining human survivors wander the lawless land foraging for canned food and (in some cases) resort to cannibalism. The story follows a man and his young son (who are never named) as they walk and try to make it south in hopes of a warmer climate.

The novel is extremely bleak (The man carries a gun with 2 bullets and hopes he will have enough courage to kill his son and then himself if they are found by one of the cannibalistic gangs, that rape, and eat their victims), but I found there to also be great hope. While the characters have very little hope for anything but a painless death, as the reader, I found the love that the father had for his son very hopeful. Everyone is starving and desperate in this world and it makes many animals. Seeing the father's devotion burning so brightly gives a small flicker of hope for humanity in this novel.

It is not an easy book to read, the images are graphic and the father must make horrible choices to keep his child alive, but I found myself not feeling absolute despair when it was over. It gave me the feeling that in every horror there is goodness and love. I have to hope that those will prevail in the end. Definitely 2 thumbs up for this beautiful read!