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A review by batholomew
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Cormac McCarthy’s « The Road » is a story about a post apocalyptic world that is lacking of hope and civilization. He often uses dark imagery to convey just how empty and destroyed this world is. For example on page 273 he states, « Along the interstate in the distance ling lines of charred and rusting cars. The raw rims of the wheels sitting in a stiff gray sludge of melted rubber, in blackened rings of wire . The incinerate corpses shrunk to the size of a child and propped in the bare springs if the seats. » This kind of vivid imagery really gives the reader a sense of what this world is like and sets the tone for the story. Something I found interesting about this book is how the characters speak to each other. Their conversations are always very to the point and often short. An example of this is in page 272 when they are talking about the dads leg which had been shit by an arrow, “is your leg going to get better?
Yes.
You’re not just saying that.
No.
Because it looks really hurt
It’s not that bad.
The man was trying to kill us wasn’t he
Yes. He Was.”
This kind of dialogue was interesting to me as I’ve never read a book like Cormac McCarthy’s and it gives the sense that they have no need to talk much or be too descriptive of what’s happening. It’s just very to the point and straightforward which I enjoyed.
A common theme throughout this book was survival. Throughout the whole book we see that that is their only goal. At the end of the book when the father was dying he told the boy, “You have to carry the fire.” This is him telling him to keep going and be good just how he has been this whole time. To keep on living and never give up.
Yes.
You’re not just saying that.
No.
Because it looks really hurt
It’s not that bad.
The man was trying to kill us wasn’t he
Yes. He Was.”
This kind of dialogue was interesting to me as I’ve never read a book like Cormac McCarthy’s and it gives the sense that they have no need to talk much or be too descriptive of what’s happening. It’s just very to the point and straightforward which I enjoyed.
A common theme throughout this book was survival. Throughout the whole book we see that that is their only goal. At the end of the book when the father was dying he told the boy, “You have to carry the fire.” This is him telling him to keep going and be good just how he has been this whole time. To keep on living and never give up.