The Road

Wow! No wonder this one won an award.
It was bleak, terrifying and nervy. At several times in the narrative you find yourself really edgy at the fate of this father and his young son. This post modern-post apocalytic fable really creates a link between these protagonists and the reader. We immediately place ourselves in the narrative and it’s an uncomfortable experience. However, this is balanced with real hope. The boy and his father love each other so much that this is the only thing that keeps them going throughout the horrors they experience and bear witness to. Their journey takes them across an America that is dead in every way that matters. The only survivors prey on each other as there is nothing left. The boy and his father have to avoid all human contact if they are to reach their destination. At several points in the narrative I found myself wondering what I would do in this situation. Would I just give up? What is is about human nature that keeps us going? Is it the philosophical idea of the will to live?
It’s hard to believe that I read this in one evening. It was truly unputdownable. Read it, I won’t give away the ending.
*****

One thought on “The Road”

This is so so defintely on my reading list as well. Great to read you again, I didn’t know you were back. I do check every now and then, nbut clearly not as often as I thought! I will read it soon too, after Life Class and the Complete Polysyllabic Spree – then we can talk about it.

welloflostplots says:

25/10/2007 at 4:42 am

This is so so defintely on my reading list as well. Great to read you again, I didn’t know you were back. I do check every now and then, nbut clearly not as often as I thought! I will read it soon too, after Life Class and the Complete Polysyllabic Spree – then we can talk about it.