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The Road  By  cover art

The Road

By: Cormac McCarthy
Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
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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.

©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)

Editorial Review

I hadn't cried in years before I heard this book. Cormac McCarthy's vocabulary is truly unparalleled, but you can tell he spends even more time crafting his characters and their stories than he does with words—which is really saying something.Michael D., Audible Editor

What listeners say about The Road

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ARE YOU CARRYING THE FIRE?

EVERYTHING COVERED WITH ASH
Let me wipe my tears. This is a heart wrenching, moving novel. Decades from now (if we are still here), when they look back and study the period of time when Apocalyptic novels were so popular, they will single this one out as the best. McCormick writes very descriptively, but not overly so. He never mentions Nuclear Winter, but this is as close as you will get. The landscape is a main character. It is always cold, the sun has not been seen in years, ash falls from the sky constantly, their are no animals, no fish, no plants, man is the only thing to survive.
THE BOY
If you liked "Room" by Emma Donoghue , you will love this. We are not given an age, but he is probably around eight. He is an innocent. He has never seen the sun. You will fall in love with him.
THE MAN, also known as Papa
One of the most caring, patient fathers you will ever meet.
Tom Stechshulte
A fantastic narrator which makes this such a moving story with his talent.

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130 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Spellbinding

While it's true this book was, at times, grim, stark, a simple narrative in it's style I did indeed find it spellbinding. Starting slow the story continued to build in it's intensity and desperation and of course, as with all really good stories, I was sad to see it end. I found the narration extremely realistic and believable. I would, however, caution listeners that like a particular genre that this book may not fit into any particular genre or preconceived notion so for sure give the sample a listen prior to purchasing. I have listened to over 250 Audible books and this is the most entertaining book I have heard.

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126 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Oh my goodness

In the world of literature, Cormac McCarthy is a God among men. Unfortunately, his name isn't exactly as popular as it ought to be. Here is a man who lives his life at the pool where we all go to find our words, and yet this last week was the first time I'd ever heard of him and it took considerable searching to find a book by him that I was willing to take a chance on. I'm disappointed (and terribly so) that I haven't read more of his books, but we'll get there, I assure you. The Road, McCarthy's latest book, takes place in a post mass-destruction event (Nuclear War, perhaps? McCarthy never elaborates, and it doesn't seem terribly necessary) era, and it focuses on a father and son who realize as winter is coming on that despite the father's ongoing illness, they have to travel south to the warmer coast, where the "father" (I keep calling him that, because McCarthy never actually names him in the book) hopes to find more food and warmer weather. I know, reading my own description of the book's premise now, that it doesn't <i>sound</i> terribly interesting, but look, I'm begging you. Buy the book. Just buy it. Buy it on audio tape (my personal favorite way to devour a good book. The right narrator can make all the difference, as it does in this book). Look, one knows subconsciously that we've heard every word that will be used in a book before we ever pick it up. It's the mastery of putting those words together in such a way that makes the reader feel as though they've never heard any one of the words, ever, ever before. It is in this sense that McCarthy is such a genius. I was marveling at the fashion in which he used simple phrases like "the boy" and "the man". <i>He's that good</i>. I'd make just about any excuse to listen to the lyrical and beautiful style that Cormac writes in again, and I'm sure I'll do it soon.

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124 people found this helpful

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PREDICTABLE

predictable says it all!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

very moving

OK, so nothing McCarthy writes is an easy emotional read.

Road is tough, emotion-filled, desparate, and loving tribute to the love of father and son in the worst of all possible situations: after the end of the world in nuclear winter.

Father: the man.
Son: the boy.

McCarthy never names his two main characters: they are the man and the boy. Even without names few characters in fiction by any writer have as much character and passion.

Like "road" novels, movies, and stories before, "The Road" is a trek from one place to another filled with dangers encountered or avoided. What sets this apart from the rest is the profound meditation on family and love.

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76 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The Road Too Ruined

The Road, in audio, is hypnotic. Horrific, yes. But emotionally powerful, especially for a father like me, with so much of the story focused on the how single-mindedly driven the father is to protect his son in the worst possible post-apocalyptic scenario. But more than just protect him -- to teach him as well, to protect himself, and to do so in manner that preserves the best part of humanity despite a landscape in which all humanity seems to have devolved to its worst instincts.

By contrast, I've read some scathing criticisms of the print version from people I can relate to -- turned off by some of the pretensions author Cormac McCarthy appears to have indulged himself in, taking liberties with punctuation and syntax and style. I could easily see myself among the tiny but vocal minority who push back against that conceit had I read the book in print. But that is not a factor when listening to the audio. I did have a problem with some of the repetitious dialogue, but otherwise, this spare but potent novel seems to be a perfect fit for audio, never mind its accolades, Pulitzer Prize and all.

Perhaps because I am a father myself, I was most moved by how intensely driven the father was to keep his son alive. I do things for my kids that I would not do for anyone else, including myself. That has never been life of death as it is in this story, but quotidian life in modern America is not usually life or death, and yet we still do what we can for our kids. I rarely get choked up, but I was definitely growing teary eyed as I was driving home listening to the last half hour of this book.

Before listening to The Road, I had heard it referred to as an allegory. I can see where one can read symbolism into it, especially from the point of view of religion, specifically the Christian view of god. I would have reacted negatively had I looked at the book through that prism while listening to it. But in the moment, it is hard to hear anything beyond the sheer horror of the circumstances, taken at face value. The Road works perfectly as a straightforward story of a father and son trying to survive an apocalyptic event -- there is little need to delve deeper.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Poor Dialog, Not Much Plot Development

"The Road" follows the journey of a man and his boy walking through a post-apocalyptic America in constant search of food and shelter. While they do face some interesting ordeals along the way, the only developments happen within these limited episodes and are soon forgotten. The characters never seem to evolve, and always end up in the exact same situation they were in the day before.

Much of the book is dialog between the father and son, and (perhaps because the son is young) is very limited. I can't count the number of times I heard one of these: "okay", "alright", "I'm sorry", "I'm scared". While these can be used smartly to convey deeper meaning, there's a limit to how far that will go.

The narration combines with this repetitive dreary dialog to make a very dull and repetitive listen.

I understand that this book is trying to have a sad tone, and many of the things that bothered me about it might be considered its strengths by people who enjoyed the book. It's possible that I just don't "get" this book. Unless you know that you are a fan of Cormac McCarthy's writing style, I would take this review to be a warning to seriously consider if it's the kind of book you would enjoy before purchasing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Father and Son

I have listened to nearly 200 books. This book is as good as Memories of Running, The Kite Runner, and the Life of Pi. I have two sons, and this book perfectly captures the powerful connection between father and son. The writing is terse and gripping. If your lip doesn't start to quiver at the end of the book, you are made of stone.

You won't regret using a credit on this book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I am being generous with stars.

I must have read a different book. Well, wait a second. I did Not read this book. I listened to it. Therein may lie the rub. Other reviewers have commented about the print version’s idiosyncratic use of punctuation. Some readers obviously had problems with the lack of quotation marks while others lauded it. My [audio]book had no quotation marks so perhaps it is what stilted my enjoyment. I had no punctuation; I had a narrator. The narrator was good, not great but good. That was not the problem.

Perhaps it was those 5 star [in my eyes] expectations. Yeah, that’ll do it every time. Have no expectations my guru always said and you will be happy. Yeah, right.

I don’t know what it is but I just did not particularly care for this book. I wanted to. It’s the kind of book I would normally enjoy. It seemed pretty monotonous. We have no idea where the two characters are and that’s okay. We have no idea what apocalypse took place before they set out on their journey and that’s okay too. But the journey, the central theme, it just never went anywhere figuratively or maybe even literally. Except for finally coming across an ocean, the characters could have been walking around in circles for all we know. Maybe the book had a map? No? No map? Okay that’s okay too. We’ll even let that slide.

Maybe it was the bleakness of it all. No, I love Dickens and the great Russian authors and you don’t get much more bleak than those. No that’s not it.

No, I guess I thought the damn thing just wasn’t that interesting. There! I said it.

Now that being said, I am being generous with my 3 stars here in the belief that it's just me who cannot appreciate this book. In another review I gave this book 2 stars because there that meant "I didn't like it." I don't know what 2 stars means on Audible but it can't be good and this is probably not a bad book. Others have enjoyed it immensely and I would recommend that before you decide to invest time and money on any selection, read both takes, both positive and negative reviews if you can find them.

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46 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

My wife says he's that Cold Desert Writer I love.

Look, I'll admit it. I'm a huge fan of Cormac McCarthy and have read every (I mean EVERY) book, play, screenplay, and piece of short fiction (Wake for Susan [1959], A Drowning Incident [1960]) he has written. While 'The Road' is not his very best (Go read 'Suttree' or 'Blood Meridian' if you are looking for the late 20th Century's answer to Herman Melville and William Faulkner). 'The Road' is a very approachable McCarthy and loses none of McCarthy's prose stylings, while at the same time making his writing more palatable to the average mass-fiction reader.

So, if you haven't read McCarthy before, this is a good first stop, but please DEAR GOD, don't let this be your only or your last stop. Read McCarthy more, read McCarthy often, or the kid gets it.

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