Books, Movies, Music & Entertainment - The Road, Cormac McCarthy

I finished this book about a month ago and I still have the creeps from it. I pick up other books, but my thoughts return to this one. What the hell happened? I am pretty sure it was a nuclear war, just because of the man's cough and the fact that he looks at all the dead things and says "Senseless, senseless." A natural catastrophe would have no pretense of sense.

But one thing that really irks me is the bands of bad guys: where DID they get the guns and diesel fuel? Are they the military/government? I guess we can only speculate, so I'm curious what anyone has thought of it.

PS: there's a film adaptation coming out in November.

I was thinking all the bees died and that's why everything stopped growing.

Who's doing the film?

I just figured the guns and fuel were leftovers they had scrounged somewhere. I was surprised at how much food and gear the father found in the beached sailboat, for instance.

It's a grim book, but not as grim as Blood Meridian. I can't imagine what a movie of The Road would be like, but perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised.

I liked it. I immediately thought of Robert Duvall when they ran across the old man - the "wandering Jew" character that has shown up so many time in literature over the years. Turn out thats who they cast him in the movie!!

explain the wandering jew character. I'm not familiar with it as a convention. I only know it as a plant.

explain the wandering jew character. I'm not familiar with it as a convention. I only know it as a plant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandering_jew#In_literature

According to an interview with the author (which I can't source at the moment), the events in 'the Road' were preceded by an asteroid impact.

I tried to read this book and was enjoying it, but had to stop. Ever since I had kids, any depiction of children starving or suffering just makes me extremely sad. The passages in the book where the father is breathless at how skinny his son is proved to be too much and I had to put it down. I keep meaning to ask people, does the son die? does the dad die? But haven't. I know I'm being a wuss, but my reading pile is overflowing with books that I'm dying to read, and I decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to spend time on a book that I didn't enjoy. In most cases, it's because the book isn't good, but in this case it was because it was making me feel just plain bad.

^^^I made it through the book but I found it disturbing for the same reasons you state. I have a son roughly the same age as the one in the book so those things bothered me as well.

According to an interview with the author (which I can't source at the moment), the events in 'the Road' were preceded by an asteroid impact.

I'd love to read that. It would seem counter productive for McCarthy to answer that question.


I keep meaning to ask people, does the son die? does the dad die? But haven't. I know I'm being a wuss, but my reading pile is overflowing with books that I'm dying to read, and I decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to spend time on a book that I didn't enjoy. In most cases, it's because the book isn't good, but in this case it was because it was making me feel just plain bad.

It ends as it began, with a sense of hope that we know will never be rewarded. cheer you up?

great post-apocalyptic lit. Liked the book, McCarthy's writing style, not so much.

great post-apocalyptic lit. Liked the book, McCarthy's writing style, not so much.

It's funny but I liked his style in this book as well as No Country for Old Men. I've tried other ones of his though and didn't care for it at all.

I'd love to read that. It would seem counter productive for McCarthy to answer that question.


Maybe he was joking? It seems out of place for McCarthy to say so so bluntly.

And besides, what happens before the events in the book that caused everything to go to hell is pretty irrelevant to the actual story. Better left unsaid.

Maybe he was joking? It seems out of place for McCarthy to say so so bluntly.

And besides, what happens before the events in the book that caused everything to go to hell is pretty irrelevant to the actual story. Better left unsaid.

Agreed, not knowing is important to the story since there's nowhere to direct blame for the misery. It's focused internally.

Guess I am a years late to the party. Just started reading The Road. So far I have foud it compelling to the point that I have a hard time putting it down...

I'm a big fan of post-apoc fiction. Anyone read the book, Swan Song by Robert McCammon? A real page turner.

Cormac McCarthy is depressing, I can't read him anymore

Cormac McCarthy is depressing, I can't read him anymore

i agree. i thought The Road was horrible, as well as The Stand.

i think i just found the rather hopeless and bleak premise of them too depressing for me to enjoy.

which is strange because i enjoy post-apocalyptic books and movies, but for some reason those two books just rubbed me the wrong way.

i'll be interested in the movie adaptation of The Road though, it could be good.

Cormac McCarthy readers may be interested in this 2005 article http://www.howardwfrench.com/archives/2006/01/08/cormac_mccarthy_would_rather_hang_out_with_physicists_than_other_writers_he_doesnt_do_blurbs_book_to urs_or_even_oprah/ which details his long interest in science, his association with Murray Gell-Mann and the Santa Fe Institute.

i agree. i thought The Road was horrible, as well as The Stand.

i think i just found the rather hopeless and bleak premise of them too depressing for me to enjoy.

which is strange because i enjoy post-apocalyptic books and movies, but for some reason those two books just rubbed me the wrong way.

i'll be interested in the movie adaptation of The Road though, it could be good.
Ah, I liked The Stand. In particular, the unabridged version.

Esquire says The Road is the most important movie of the year:

http://www.esquire.com/features/movies/the-road-movie-review-0609