A father and his young son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing but a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road.
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A father and his young son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing but a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road.
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Add this copy of The Road to cart. $2.05, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by PAN MACMILLAN.
Add this copy of The Road to cart. $2.05, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by PAN MACMILLAN.
Add this copy of The Road to cart. $2.05, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by PAN MACMILLAN.
Add this copy of The Road to cart. $2.09, good condition, Sold by Seattle Goodwill rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Picador USA.
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May have some shelf-wear due to normal use. Your purchase funds free job training and education in the greater Seattle area. Thank you for supporting Goodwill's nonprofit mission!
Add this copy of The Road. Cormac McCarthy to cart. $2.29, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Picador USA.
Add this copy of The Road. Cormac McCarthy to cart. $2.29, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Picador USA.
Add this copy of The Road. Cormac McCarthy to cart. $2.29, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Picador USA.
Add this copy of The Road to cart. $11.88, new condition, Sold by Y-Not-Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Rotherwas, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2010 by Picador.
Add this copy of The Road to cart. $11.92, good condition, Sold by Reuseabook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2009 by Picador.
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Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading. Grubby book may have mild dirt or some staining, mostly on the edges of pages.
Add this copy of The Road. Cormac McCarthy to cart. $13.61, good condition, Sold by Pieuler LLC rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from IPSWICH, SUFFOLK, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2010 by Picador USA.
Cormac McCarthy's novel "The Road" is spare, minimalist and bleak. The book tells the story of a father and his young son, both unnamed, as they wander the wasteland of what was America in the aftermath of an unspecified catastrophe. Civilization has ended, dead bodies are everywhere, as are the rusting remnants of culture. The few survivors resort to cannibalism and to mutual distrust, and we have a Hobbseian picture of the "war of all against all".
McCarthy makes full use of the depressing, ravaged character of his story. The paragraphs are spare, the two protagonists speak tersely, laconically, and obliquely to each other (sometimes no more than "ok", "ok") and the scenes can be chilling as father and son, the "good guys" fight against others to stay alive and frequently act callously. Yet, I think there is more underlying this book, and its ultimate message is one of fortitude.
A major theme of the book is the love of the father for his son, as the father stays with his child and protects him, come what may. Another theme is the possibility of goodness, as the child protests on several occasions on the cruelties which the father deems necessary to practice on others in order to stay alive and to preserve the life of his son. The book is, in a sense a tribute to the values of the lives we currently enjoy and take for granted, as ruins from that life -- everything from ships, roads, grand pianos, books, and coca-cola -- make their cameo appearances to remind the reader of the value of life in the everyday.
Throughout the book, the father encourages the son to hope and discourages him from giving up or for indulging an understandable wish for death. There is a sense of a spiritual search in the journey for a distant and possibly non-existent God who remains present as an ideal. At the end of the novel, the father exhorts his son to "carry the fire" and when pressed for an explanation he explains:" It's inside you. It was always there. I can see it." (p.234) The message is tough and hard but with more than an edge of hope.
This book reminded me of the cliched poem "Invictus" by William Earnest Henley:
"Out of the night that covers me
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my uncomquerable soul".
I found this a good book, but it was ultimately predictable in its themes and approach.
