I have recently finished reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and thought I'd do a review on it.
The premise (taken from the back cover): "A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing and a cart of scavenged food - and each other."
This book was a quick read; I only invested about four hours into reading this 287 page book. I found the beginning of the story slow, but it still held my interest until the middle, where the plot line gains more momentum. This book is dark, and is represented with very bleak imagery. At times I was frustrated that the language was not more descriptive, but it did match the scenario given in the book. That said, The Road has moments of beautiful, clear language that are very striking in their simplicity.
One small thing that I did find irritating (this is my personal preference): I found the font in the book goofy looking. I found it distracting as I was trying to plough through this very grim book. I will add that this might not be a problem for some people, and could be easily fixed with the purchase of a different edition.
Overall I did like this book. With a very simple and frankly depressing storyline, it still managed to keep me interested and keep me asking questions about it even after I have finished reading it. It is easy to see how this novel was made into a movie, as it's imagery reads almost as easily as a screenplay. If you want a quick, post apocalyptic read that is clear and easy to follow, I would recommend The Road.
