The Road

I am reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I don't know why I picked this book to read. I read No Country for Old Men before I saw the movie. It was a good book. It was like a narrative to me. It was like someone was reading a narrative of each of these peoples lives that were intertwined. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book, but it was very blunt, very minimalistic, and to me, very "ordinary", ordinary in the sense it was descriptive in the sense it was the day to day activity of these characters, except they were hiding money and killing folks (thinking of Pulp Fiction). For me, McCarthy is to literature what Quentin Tarantino is to film. That's the best analogy I have. Most folks have seen Tarantino films. Both, at the interpersonal level, are very gritty, very real. That's why I like it so much (McCarthy and Tarantino)

The Road is a post apocalyptic story. A man and his young son are making their way and surviving. I've read some pretty rough reviews of this one, but as I read it, I don't consider the lack of quotation, or the sparse dialogue, I consider how the story makes me feel, and it's one of fierce love (a father for his son), and a bleak, desperateness, against all odds. For me, and I think it's because I have a son (or children), I can empathize with what the main character feels, and the setting doesn't matter. And that's what makes me want to read on and on in this one. For me, the story is this father's love for his son, and the desperation he feels trying to protect his son from the horrors of this new world. Gut wrenching. I guess that's why I would consider it well written, because of the emotions it pulls from me.. But I would never recommend it to anyone who doesn't have children. I don't think they would get it. And who knows, I don't even know if McCarthy has kids, but he writes a decent story.