The Road

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, won the Nobel prize in 2007. I read the book in 2008 during my last year in high school.

This was a book that stuck with me. It the story of a father and son walking south through America after a terrible disaster happens. The sky is always grey and dark, snow falls even in the summer, grey and ashy. The father has a terrible cough, and the son knows no other world. They have a pistol, a cart full of food, and their clothes.

I loved this book. The relationship between the father and the son is amazing. The father loves his son so much, and is trying to find a better place for him even though he has no hope that a better place exists. The darkness in the world is so understated, and it really makes the America that they live in feel real. People eating a new born baby, searching through homes for canned food, staying away from others in the dark; in this world, these are all just facts of life.

I loved the tragedy of this book as well. Through out the entire book, the father is sick and knows he is dying. He doesn't tell his son, instead he tries to prepare him for a life without him. I like how the father tries to teach his son hope, even though the father has had no hope except in his son for so long.

This is a great book. Though it is very dark, and at points gory, it has a beautiful story which shines even brighter against the backdrop. It's one I keep meaning to reread and never get around to.