In school, reading books that you don't want to is normal. You're forced to read the same stale classics that your parents read because they're "so relevant and important for our lives!" or at least that's what they tell us. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy most books were force fed to me in school, but recently I got an assignment I dreaded. Read Cormac McCarthy's
The Road.
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I knew this was a book that was dark and depressing about the end of the world and cannibals. Sounds like a romp in the park, right? It sounded so difficult to read (from an emotional standpoint) that I avoided it like the plague, not even wanting to watch the movie trailer for the film adaptation.
Well I couldn't avoid it any longer. It was for an assignment and, as a soon to be librarian, I need a wide berth in the literary sphere. When I bought it from the book store, one of the workers looked at it and went "O that book. You're going to want something really cheery afterwards." Thanks. That made me feel better. But I picked it up and hesitantly began reading.
The Road is about a father and son traveling across the devastated United States. A catastrophic event occurred and the whole country, maybe the world, is dying. The book starts about five to eight years after the event and it's never explained what happened. The man and his son make their way across roads and highways that are covered in ash trying to survive and avoid the bad guys: cannibals. It is a fight to find food and the pair has to be cautious on the open road and avoid other people. They can't trust anybody. Not that there are many people left anyway. This is a story about a father and son surviving. The boy is young, I pictured him to be about seven. It's about a father doing the best for a son who is an alien in a world that no longer exists.
The writing is brilliant. Simple, yet surreal at points. When something happened, it just happened without drama before and whatever needed to be done was done. In this way it felt realistic. Just like in real life, there's not always a warning before something happens and you just have to deal with it.
There are no chapters, but the text is broken up into paragraphs, which were typically about half a page. It read quickly and was compelling. Although not much changes throughout the book, you're always on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will happen. The tone is devastating and haunting.
I finished this book and threw it across my room. I felt anxious, frustrated, and depressed. I couldn't concentrate on anything and had to call a friend and talk out my problems before I felt able to move on with my life. When asked if I liked it, I didn't know what to say. It was difficult to read because of the depressing content, but it was so well written and I wanted to continue reading when I started. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how good it really was. If a book can elicit this kind of emotional reaction from me, then it's doing something right. Being able to draw out strong emotions from an audience through literary writing is not an easy task. For me to feel a cornucopia of emotions after reading is quite a feat and I tip my cap to Mr. McCarthy.
A coworker told me that forums he's read about this book usually have men praising it, while women have my reaction or just plain hate it. This is an interesting point and something to ponder about the difference between the man and woman mentality and the controversies surrounding this book.
Another great thing about the book is that there is so much the audience doesn't know. It leaves much to the imagination and it has given people things to talk about and argue over. What does the characters' road map look like? Where did they start and where are they heading? What happened to the world? What do you think the father did? McCarthy knows what he's doing by leaving out information.
My challenge to you is to read
The Road. It is a book that sticks. Maybe you'll hate it, but it will stay with you and I promise you will react to this one.
