The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is a literary fiction about a man and his son eking out an existence sometime after Armageddon. Yes, folks, this was an Oprah book not too long ago, but I avoided it at the time. I had a feeling it would dark and somewhat dismal and I didn’t think I was up for it; however, I had the book and back in college I enjoyed the savage poetry of Blood Meridian, so I finally got around to reading the novel.
The first 60 pages were slow, and bleak–poetic, yes, but so sad and hard. The characters were in soul-wrench emotional pain, in addition to the discomfort of winter in the open with no food. I imagine that it is honest on that note. I can’t imagine that a post-apocalyptic world would be all sunshine and lollipops. The words McCarthy used were meant to be slow torture. I suppose that is how he gets us into the framework of how it would really be–a measured death.
Eventually, I came to appreciate the book for its style and not worry about what was going to happen. I began to walk with the characters. I began to hope and despair, and when their bellies went empty, I began to feel their anxiety as death walked closely behind. I was so happy when they did find food I began to pray with them that God have mercy. McCarthy is genius.
The plot never explains what happened. The story is set several years after the tragic event that pushes humanity to the brink. The man and his son must deal with a lack of food, transportation, lodging or society. They scamper from place to place seeking momentary shelter and bits of food. The dangers of starvation have put humanity at a primitive pace–cannibalism, violence and domination by the strong of the species. Unspeakable horrors await these travelers if the stay in one place too long. The boy is a waif, the man dying of cough and hunger. The story eventually becomes a race between who will die first. They live for each other, until they can no longer.
McCarthy does leave us with some hope. Good people may still exist to step in when needed and propagate the young and helpless.
