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.

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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)

great story well told, suspenseful, riveting, dram

well drawn story, characters detailed good pace will keep you moving, this is a good read

slow going

the book didn't have any climax or major attention grabber, just really drug on.
Narrator did a good job for the book though.

Precious

The Road is a story of a father's undying dedication to the survival of his son. I loved McCarthy's unique prose. His writing style is wonderfully poignant. As a parent, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. The Narrator is fabulous! I loved every ounce of emotion he injected into the characters' voices. Yes, as others have stated, the dialogue gets monotonous, but it is relevant monotony. Yes, there are a few stunning incidents, but as a fan of "The Walking Dead", these are mild in comparison - still traumatizing to the characters.

I did not feel it necessary to know their names, the events that lead up this point or geographical specifics, as other readers noted as a frustrating issue with The Road. In my opinion, the story is much greater than those details. I purchased this because it is required reading for my son who is a senior in high school. Hopefully the students will see the greater meaning in this story compared to the 30 additional dystopian and post-apocalyptic books/movies they have seen to date.

I only gave the book 4 stars as I was hoping for a more powerful ending but was left feeling less than satisfied. Still a great read and precious to truly consider the father's every effort to protect his child.

Lord of the Flies meets Zen and the Art . . .

Any additional comments?

Wow. I'm glad I don't live in Cormac McCarthy's mind. What a hellish and frightening place that must be to come up with a story like this! I truly felt like this was "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" meets "Lord of the Flies". I liked the father and son relationship. The narrator did a bang up job of being the boy as well as the father. To say this book is disturbing would be an understatement. Bleak. Beyond bleak with little rays of humanity that peak out every now and then. I'm not sorry I listened to it. But once was definitely enough.

Oh the things we take for granted.

Reading this book helps me appreciate all the blessings in my life. I am so glad I don't live in that world. Ham and eggs taste so much better now. This is an incredible book. So well written. Wonderful narration.

Great Book

This is one of the most thought provacative novels I have listened to in a long time. With TV shows like Jericho, this book takes it to the next degree. Make sure if you buy this book that you have 6 hours to devote to listening non stop. You will not be able to stop. My only question is what happens next.

Dark

A dark but heartwarming tale of love, hardships and determination. It held my interest throughout.

Truly grim

Loved the movie, LOVE the book. The book does very well in putting you into the apocalyptic world it is set in. It makes you fear for the characters and what the bad guys are around the tensions builds beautifully

The writing style had me grimacing

good story, enjoyable, relatable as any post apocalyptic can be... But a few bones to pick. 1, prosaic to the point of confusion and keep your thesaurus handy. 2 abrupt transitions, seriously hard to keep track of if we're in the past the present or a dream 3 some choices of narrative device vexed me, you never tell me the protagonists name? seriously? and nobody knows what the global catastrophe was, either? okay im done ranting. i can see why some people would love this book, but for me, get a second hand copy... on sale.

fantastic but bleak

Probably one of the more realistic portayals of the apocalypse, and the story is less about plot, and more characterization and aluce-of-life.

Be warned that the chapters set up wrong, and the 'closing credits' is really just the last hour of the book.