The Road: A Book Review

As soon as I closed the back cover to The Road by Cormac McCarthy, I wanted to immediately open it back up to the first page and reread the whole thing. The Road is known by many as one of McCarthy’s easiest books to digest. I find this to be true for myself, as my eyes danced across each page.

The slow, methodical way McCarthy wrote this story, calls for the reader to take their time, slowing their hungry eyes down a bit to fully experience the boy and the man in the ash stricken world they find themselves. I had to remind my ravishing eyes to slow down, savoring the taste of each description, dialogue and emotion brought to life through the words.

In this book, McCarthy doesn’t fuss with chapters or correct dialogue punctuation. I enjoyed this aspect of the book. My mind wasn’t worried about when the next chapter would come, and what cliff hanger that the end of that chapter would bring. The lack of construct made it easy for me to get lost in his world. The conversations between the boy and the man felt raw and painstakingly real. This created a space where I felt invested in the characters. I cared about their story and what their future held.

For those affected by suspense, this book may be better read in the light of day. However, I think there is a good balance of suspense to character building, making it right on the edge of too much, without exceeding that boundary.

As power in the U.S. peacefully switched over from a beloved president to one whom many of us struggle to accept, the images that conjure up in our imaginations of our future can seem bleak. As I read The Road and was transplanted into a world of destruction and chaos, I thought of how trying times as these can either break down humanity or pull people closer, drawing strength from one another.

The love we give from ourselves is never too small to make an impact. May you focus on bestowing that love out to others with conciseness and purpose. The man in The Road shows what intense love can do for another. The boy reminds me of pure love from the deepest part and makes me question if my actions in day-to-day life are done out of love. What an incredible impact on this world we can have if we interact with each other from a place of love.