The Road - Book Review

The Road - Book Review

Post
Subscribe

Posted 2012-12-24 by Bastion Harrisonfollow


Cormac McCarthy's The Road is an excellent novel with a unique style. The author wrote the book without any speech marks, and while you might think that that would make the dialogue confusing, it does not all. In fact, it increases the emotional intensity by putting you right in the moment.

The Road tells the heart wrenching story of a nameless man's journey south with his son after an unnamed natural disaster turns the planet into a frozen wasteland.

McCarthy portrays a dystopian world in which people are taken to the extremes, and their morality is tested. The hardships that the human race is put through shows the worst atrocities that people are capable of committing. It shows people who have lost all sense of right and wrong; every ounce of empathy has been stripped away from them. Without empathy, morality has no meaning. McCarthy shows this through his use of language, which often sounds distant and clinical. The lack of emotion describing the 'mummied dead everywhere', suggests that people have become desensitised to death after seeing it so much.

Cormac McCarthy shows cannibals committing horrific savagery. The basement scene describes naked men and women with their legs amputated and the stumps 'blackened and burnt'. They are malnourished and no longer look human. The torture and mutilation is almost incomprehensible. The vivid imagery illustrates how far humanity has sunk. The worst crimes are committed when hope has been abandoned, because there is nothing to lose.

In a dystopia, it is almost oxymoronic to refer to the 'best' of something. In the world McCarthy has presented, even the best is far from ideal. Charity is the best humanity can offer, and the boy gives it freely. He shares what little he has with everyone; not only because he is good-hearted, but also because he finds happiness in helping others. Even though it is not logical to offer food that he cannot afford to give away, he does so, eagerly. McCarthy cleverly presents the best of what we are capable in the form of a child. The child is a symbol of innocence; he still sees good in the world. He holds on to hope, therefore is more willing to trust people.

McCarthy does show the best and worst that people are capable of when really tested, but he also shows what the 'average' person might resort to. The man says he is 'carrying the fire', that he is one of the good guys. He is not a cannibal and is selflessly committed to protecting his son. he is, however, uncharitable to anyone else.

He is unforgiving and quick to react; he sets a man alight with his flare gun without hesitation, and shows no mercy towards a thief. He does not physically harm the thief, but by taking all his clothes, he inadvertently leaves him to freeze to death.

By placing his characters in extreme conditions, McCarthy shows the best and worst that man is capable of. He does this most effectively by demonstrating that inside us, we all have good and bad attributes, and the best can only manifest itself when 'carrying the fire'.

It is not a book you want to read if you want to be cheered up, but is one that will pull at your heartstrings and delves into the human condition.

#book_reviews
#books_writing
#rainy_day
%wneverywhere
90732 - 2023-06-11 08:27:39

Tags

Music
Free
Arts_culture
Film_tv_reviews
Outdoor
Random
Nightlife
Family_friendly
Festivals
Community
Food_drink
Fundraisers
Educational
Holiday
Markets
Copyright 2022 OatLabs ABN 18113479226