The Road

By: Cormac McCarthy

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, Fiction, 2007

America is a barren landscape of smoldering ashes, devoid of life except for those people still struggling to scratch out some type of existence. Amidst this destruction, a father and his young son walk, always toward the coast, but with no real understanding that circumstances will improve once they arrive. Still, they persevere, and their relationship comes to represent goodness in a world of utter devastation.

Bleak but brilliant, with glimmers of hope and humor, The Road is a stunning allegory and perhaps Cormac McCarthy's finest novel to date. This remarkable departure from his previous works has been hailed by Kirkus Reviews as a "novel of horrific beauty, where death is the only truth".

McCarthy, a New York Times best-selling author, is a past recipient of the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. He is widely considered one of America's greatest writers.

Check out more selections from Oprah's Book Club.

©2006 M-71, Ltd. (P)2006 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"McCarthy's prose retains its ability to seduce...and there are nods to the gentler aspects of the human spirit." (The New Yorker)
"One of McCarthy's best novels, probably his most moving and perhaps his most personal...Every moment of The Road is rich with dilemmas that are as shattering as they are unspoken...McCarthy is so accomplished that the reader senses the mysterious and intuitive changes between father and son that can't be articulated, let alone dramatized...Both lyric and savage, both desperate and transcendent, although transcendence is singed around the edges...Tag McCarthy one of the four or five great American novelists of his generation." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

Dark, very dark and hopeless read

If you want the best description of a bleak, unsurvivable, hopeless world, this is the book for you! Kinda of a major downer story so if you’re depressed, avoid this book.

Amazing!

This is the first book that I have come across that kept my attention every moment. I then watched the movie. WOW! Just wow! Amazing book.

The “dialogue” was distracting

The reader is tremendous when it comes to the narrative. His voice is almost perfect for the dark and depressing tone of the book but, when it comes to the dialogue between the man and the boy, I was very distracted by the voices he chose for the characters.

One of McCarthy’s Best

Cormac McCarthy is one of Americas greatest authors and the road is among his greatest pieces. I think it’s approachable for a wider audience than a lot of his other works and the story of fatherhood and survival is powerful and well written.

The narrator really elevates this piece to another level and he does a tremendous job capturing the viewpoint of the father and son. This is a powerful and evocative experience to read. Highly recommended.

Narrator makes the cut

The narrators performance was the best thing about this book. Never really got going with a storyline.

Had no idea what was going on 

 Never gave you enough information to know why everything that happened happened I didn’t give you enough information on the past and basically also a little boy did was cry extremely annoying

One of McCarthys best-

The word “like” is used to an extravagant degree. Something is, or is not. To be continually assaulted by similes is burdensome- like having to carry the fire in a post apocalyptic world.

Depressing

This is a well written story, I believe. Even better than lord of the flies. I got the actual sense that this is way people would behave at the end of it all.

Annoying and whinny

Wish I was better at quitting. You can’t raise a boy during an apocalypse and end up that whinny. Was so annoying

The father son relationship

I liked the authors way of describing the land as the father and son pass through.