The road | Some Good Books

Review of the book “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy.

In this article I am going to talk about the book “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, a post-apocalyptic novel that presents us with a desolate and terrifying scenario, but also a story of love and hope between a father and son who fight to survive in a devastated world.

“The Road” was published in 2006 and won the Pulitzer Prize for novels in 2007. Since then, it has become a classic of contemporary literature and was adapted to film in 2009 by director John Hillcoat, with Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as protagonists.

The novel places us in an indeterminate future, after a catastrophe that has devastated civilization and left the planet covered in ash, without plant or animal life, without electricity or communications, without law or order. In this context, a man and his son, who are never named, travel the roads of the United States on foot towards the south, looking for a warmer place to take refuge from the cold that threatens to freeze them. Their only possession is a shopping cart where they keep a few cans of food, some blankets, some matches and a gun with two bullets.

The novel takes place in a bleak and hopeless landscape, where the earth has been devastated by an unspecified cataclysm. The sky is perpetually covered in ash, the vegetation has disappeared and the animals have become extinct. In this hostile environment, the protagonist, known simply as “the man”, and his son, “the boy”, embark on a journey south in search of a warmer and safer place.

The relationship between father and son is the emotional core of the novel. Throughout the story, the man strives to protect his son from the horrors of the world and teach her how to survive in it. Despite the despair and cruelty that surrounds them, the man continues to hold on to the hope and love he feels for his son. The child, on the other hand, represents the innocence and kindness that still persists in this ruthless world.

During their journey, they face all kinds of dangers: hunger, thirst, disease, cold, looters, bands of cannibals, corpses… But they also find moments of tenderness, beauty, and faith. The father tries to protect his son from the cruelty of the world and to transmit to her moral values ​​that seem to have lost meaning. The son, for his part, is the light that guides the father and gives him reasons to move forward. They both call each other “dad” and “son”, but also “the man” and “the boy”, as if they were the last representatives of humanity.

“The Road” is a novel that makes us reflect on the meaning of life, on what makes us human, on what we are willing to do to survive or to save our loved ones. It is a novel that shows us horror and hope, violence and compassion, despair and faith. It is a novel that excites and moves us with its sober and poetic prose, with its brief and profound dialogues, with its striking and symbolic images.

McCarthy uses a minimalist and austere writing style in “The Road,” which reinforces the somber and desolate atmosphere of the novel. The narration is sparse and direct, and the dialogue between the characters is equally concise. The author also dispenses with quotation marks and other conventional punctuation marks, giving the prose a stripped-down, dry appearance.

One of the main themes of the novel is the fight for survival in a hostile world. The characters constantly face food shortages, the threat of other survivors, and exposure to the elements. Despite these adversities, the man and boy continue forward, driven by hope and determination to find a better place.

Another important theme in “The Road” is morality and ethics in a world without law and order. Throughout the novel, the man and boy encounter other survivors who have resorted to violence and cannibalism to survive. The man is torn between protecting his child and maintaining his own humanity, while the boy struggles to understand the cruelty and evil that surrounds them.

In short, “The Road” is a literary masterpiece that explores the relationship between a father and his son in a post-apocalyptic world. The novel is both heartbreaking and moving, offering a hopeless but deeply human vision of survival and morality in a devastated world. McCarthy’s stark, minimalist prose reinforces the bleak and desolate atmosphere of the story, and her focus on the relationship between the main characters provides an emotional counterpoint to the cruelty and despair that surrounds them. “The Road” is an intense and challenging read, but also an unforgettable literary experience.

“The Road” is a novel that leaves no one indifferent and deserves to be read and reread. It is a masterpiece by Cormac McCarthy and one of the best novels of the 21st century.