Years ago, McCarthy’s novel All the Pretty Horses came up for a read, and I quickly invoked the rule of fifty. The style was annoying, and I did not like the characters from the beginning. Maybe I will go back and give it another try after reading his latest work.
At first, I thought this was another of his works with a style I did not like, but I kept at it, and I was so absorbed in the story, I forgot about the style. I started this book about 2:00 PM yesterday, stopped for dinner about 5:00, then picked it up for the last 80 pages at 8:00 AM this morning. The style perfectly fits the mood, tone, and story line of this terrific read.
“The man” and “the boy” are wandering in post-apocalyptic landscape ravaged by nuclear winter, and populated with desperate people who have long since finished looting everything accessible and visible, and have resorted to cannibalism, murder, and theft. The Road is Lord of the Flies updated to the 21st century with the desperation and savagery exponentially increased.
The story is harrowing, but as you can see, I could not stop reading. Five stars.
--Chiron, 1/20/08
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