The Road by Cormac McCarthy

About a year ago I became obsessed with the end of the world, not because I am a religious nutter more a survivalist nutter. I read countless books and watched numerous movies. Everything from Nuclear war, Zombies, Pandemic plagues, and Comet impacts to Gamma ray bursts, Peak Oil and out of Control Tectonics. Some were good, "Death of Grass" by John Christopher was excellent, and some was total bollocks, yes "2012" I'm talking to you,shame on you John Cusack! Then I came across "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, bloody hell!

In synopsis, the story follows a nameless father and son as they travel across a devastated landscape, desperately searching for food while avoiding other marauding survivors, all the time heading slowly south in search of warmth and safety.

In essence the story is about a fathers love for his son and the lengths he will go to protect him and still hold on to at least some of his own humanity. The characters are nameless, there is very little back story which is provided through occasional flashbacks, the cause of the devastation is never revealed only hinted at, its not even clear in which country the story is taking place. The absence of this information would normally make it difficult to feel a connection with the characters and cause confusion, however in this case these facts would only complicate things as they would require analysis and explanation which would detract from the story the author wants to tell.

Instead McCarthy strips the story to its bare bones, the absence of a functioning society, law, family and morals compounded with the extreme setting tests the father and son's relationship to its limit. Throughout the story the Father's humanity is slowly eroded as the pairs circumstances become more and more despearate. However the story is not entirely devoid of hope. The boy has known no other world and still retains the most human of traits, compassion and trust, and while all around him is desolation and despair the boy represents hope and a future for humanity, as long as the Man can keep him alive!

While slow moving at times the book is thoroughly engrossing and the set pieces will stick in the mind for a very long time.

Richard M Gallagher
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