The Road (2006) By Cormac McCarthy - Fiction

A downright terrifying post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son's journey of survival

The Road has become a modern classic of post-apocalyptic literature. It’s dark, gruesome, and cold, “The nights dead still and deader black. So cold” (p. 273). It was a national bestseller, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and part of Oprah’s book club, so clearly it has been well received. And there’s a lot to like, but also a lot to be wary of if you prefer happy stories.

The premise is quite simple: A father and son fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic Earth where nothing grows, every animal is dead, fires run rampant, the air is full of ash, and people have resorted to cannibalism for survival. There is no real way to know exactly how much, but human population numbers have dropped drastically. McCarthy gives almost no background about how or when this all happened. And based on the time of the boy’s birth, we can surmise that it started between 7 and 10 years ago from the novel’s present time (which we also don’t know). We are never told the father and son’s names either. I speculate that he wanted to increase the novel’s tone of loneliness and isolation. Like America sang back in the 1970s: “In the desert you can remember your name / 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain” (songfacts.com). There is plenty of pain in The Road, but names don’t matter because there’s little reason for them any longer. Names are a luxury. Why do you need names when you only speak with one other person? Or no one at all? Humans have reverted to their animalistic natures, and wild animals don’t have names. Also, after seeing some mysterious tracks on the ground the boy asks his father, “Who is it?” His father responds, “I don’t know. Who is anybody?” (p. 49).

The man and his son wander the decrepit world in search of food and shelter. Everything is desolate, dying. Even language is losing its foothold in the world:

“The world is shrinking down about a raw core of parsible entities. The

names of things slowly falling into oblivion. Colors, the names of birds. Things to eat…How much was gone already? The sacred idiom shorn of its referents and so to it’s reality. Drawing down to something trying to preserve heat. In time to wink out forever” (p. 89).

This might be the most terrifying quality of the novel: The fragility of humanity. How fast do people forget common decency in order to survive? We were created and evolved for so much more than simply finding our next meal.

About midway through the novel the boy asks his father, “What are our long term goals?” The man seems a little annoyed with the question and responds with “I don’t know” and they continue on (p. 160). There’s no real answer, so there’s no real reason to discuss it further. Life has been scraped down the bare essentials. For good reason the man trusts no one while the boy holds onto a glimmer of hope in humanity. The man tries to navigate the harsh realities of the fallen world while not crushing the boy’s spirits. They are lucky at times (they would have died a long time ago if they weren’t), but these times are few. The plot moves steadily as the man and boy meet a few people along the way and they make both terrifying and gratifying discoveries.

The dialogue is reflective of the man and boy’s moods and is brusque, emulating what real people would likely sound like in such a situation. The man does have moments of philosophical speculation, but these are mostly in his own mind. And McCarthy adds contemplative descriptions throughout the novel which is more evidence for his superb writing. He’s often compared to a modern day William Faulker. It’s definitely a fair comparison, but McCarthy seems to choose a more approachable vocabulary. His writing is poetic without being too esoteric:

“The cold and the silence. The ashes of the late world carried on the bleak and temporal winds to and fro in the void. Carried forth and scattered forth again. Everything uncoupled from it shoring. Unsupported in the ashen air. Sustained by a breath, trembling and brief. If only my heart were stone” (p. 11).

Break those lines into verse form and you have poetry–language at a figurative and literal level with room for deeper investigation. Even if you don’t meticulously comb through his language, you can still enjoy The Road. I’ve known 8th grade students who love it, evidence that it can be for both young and old readers. However, remember that there are some graphic scenes of violence and extremely dark moments.

The moments of hope are seen most evidently in the relationship between the father and son. In a world so lost there is very little to believe in, however, their bond is a remnant from times long ago. If you’re looking for a dark post-apocalyptic novel with excellent writing and a contemplative tone The Road might be a good choice for you.

Highest Score - 5 Trophies

Writing: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Readability: 🏆🏆🏆🏆

Plot: 🏆🏆🏆🏆

Characters: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Overall: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

December 15, 2020