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The Road by Cormac McCarthy
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The Road

by Cormac McCarthy

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
11,31061585 (4.16)438

Member recommendations

  1. lmichet recommends The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard
  2. klarusu recommends Far North by Marcel Theroux, "Far North is less harrowing than The Road but equally thought provoking"
  3. psybre recommends Earth Abides by George R. Stewart, "Earth Abides, a classic post-apocalyptic novel published in 1949, is a bit less dark, and as an ecological fable, contains more science than The Road. (see more) When pondering to read The Road again, read this book instead."
  4. Boohradley recommends Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler, "There are a lot of similarities between the plot of this book and The Road. In Parable of the Sower an adolescent girl, who suffers from hyper-empathy, (see more) makes a long journey in hope of survival in a hostile, post-apocalyptic world."
  5. PDcastello recommends I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, "Same type of small and silent epic"
  6. Stbalbach recommends The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski, "Kosinski & McCarthy were born 5 weeks apart in 1933 and were ages 6-12 during WWII. Both books are dark violent fables told from a child's view."
  7. dhoyt recommends A Wrinkle in the Skin by John Christopher, "A much better father and son story in a post-apocalyptic world."
  8. gonzobrarian recommends The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson
  9. goodiegoodie recommends Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
  10. goodiegoodie recommends A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller

(see all 12 recommendations)

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English (586)  Spanish (8)  French (7)  Danish (3)  Dutch (2)  Swedish (2)  Italian (2)  Catalan (2)  German (1)  Czech (1)  Norwegian (1)  All languages (615)
Showing 1-5 of 586 (next | show all)
Maybe I missed the point... ( )
1 vote | srice07 | Oct 31, 2009 |
McCarthy's sparse sentence structure makes for quick and easy read. This is a good thing since the plot itself deals with the dark aspects of surviving in a post apocalyptic world and can seem quite depressing at times. The story of survival is a simple one and the father and son face fairly predictable story lines, but it is the greater theme of paternal caring and the hope that the next generation can redeem humanity that make this a compelling read. ( )
  Retrobovine | Oct 31, 2009 |
Escrito con una precisión y concisión admirables, el libro captura la atención casi desde la primera línea. Me gustaría ser capaz de escribir así. Esto inaugura lo que espero sea una fructífera relación con McCarthy.Crítica (en catalán) más completa en http://membrillu.blogspot.com/2007/10... ( )
  membrillu | Oct 30, 2009 |
Escrito con una precisión y concisión admirables, el libro captura la atención casi desde la primera línea. Me gustaría ser capaz de escribir así. Esto inaugura lo que espero sea una fructífera relación con McCarthy.Crítica (en catalán) más completa en http://membrillu.blogspot.com/2007/10... ( )
  membrillu | Oct 30, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 586 (next | show all)
“The Road” is a dynamic tale, offered in the often exalted prose that is McCarthy’s signature, but this time in restrained doses — short, vivid sentences, episodes only a few paragraphs or a few lines long, which is yet another departure for him.
 
“The Road” offers nothing in the way of escape or comfort. But its fearless wisdom is more indelible than reassurance could ever be.
 
Through his scaled-down view of a post-apocalypse American east, McCarthy has discovered a rich, engrossing landscape that is distinctly his own. It’s a horrible pleasure to watch the father and his son make their way through it, even as one remains unsure whether it would be more humane to hope for their survival or hope for their gentle death.
 
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Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
This book is dedicated to John Francis McCarthy
First words
When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him.
Quotations
He'd not have thought the value of the smallest thing predicated on a world to come. It surprised him. That the space which these things occupied was itself an expectation (149).
From daydreams on the road there was no waking. He plodded on. He could remember everything of her save her scent. Seated in a theatre with her beside him leaning forward listening to the music. Gold scrollwork and sconces and the tall columnar folds of the drapes at either side of the stage. She held his hand in her lap and he could feel the tops of her stockings through the thin stuff of her summer dress. Freeze this frame. Now call down your dark and your cold and be damned.
He pulled the boy closer. Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.

You forget some things, don't you?

Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.
It took two days to cross that ashen scabland. The road beyond fell away on every side. It's snowing, the boy said. He looked at the sky. A single gray flake sifting down. He caught it in his hand and watched it expire there like the last host of christendom.
He thought if he lived long enough the world at last would be lost. Like the dying world the newly blind inhabit, all of it slowly fading from memory.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Canonical titleThe Road
Original publication date2006-09-26
People/Charactersthe man, the boy, Wells, Loretta, Ely, the thief
Important placesUSA, southeastern North America
Important eventsThe Apocalypse, nuclear winter
Awards and honorsPulitzer Prize (Fiction, 2007), James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Fiction, 2006), National Book Critics Circle Award finalist (2006), Oprah's Book Club selection (March 28, 2007), SF Site Editor's Choice (2006), Guardian 1000 (Science Fiction & Fantasy) (show all 8)
DedicationThis book is dedicated to John Francis McCarthy
First wordsWhen he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him.
QuotationsHe'd not have thought the value of the smallest thing predicated on a world to come. It surprised him. That the space which these things occupied was itself an expectation (149)., From daydreams on the road there was no waking. He plodded on. He could remember everything of her save her scent. Seated in a theatre with her beside him leaning forward listening to the music. Gold scrollwork and sconces an... (show all)
Last words(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
BlurbersShepard, Sam
DescriptionThe Road follows a man and a boy, father and son, journeying together for many months across a desolate, post-apocalyptic landscape, some years – the period of time almost the same as the age of the boy – after a great, u... (show all)
Book description
The Road follows a man and a boy, father and son, journeying together for many months across a desolate, post-apocalyptic landscape, some years – the period of time almost the same as the age of the boy – after a great, unexplained cataclysm.

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