The Road is a different kind of novel. No chapters. No names. The bleak reality of its narrative is reflected in the minimalism found on each page. The reader is given scraps of information piece by piece, paragraph by paragraph, just as the characters are given scraps of food, safety, and happiness. The broken world on a broken page. This book is at times just a mundane explanation of actions and events without much action or flair and then, at times, there is a sudden shock of eloquent poetry underscoring the contradictory nature of the characters' existence. Alive in a dead world with only rare and fleeting expressions of beauty. Without chapters the book is like a world without clocks, one measures time differently. Putting the book down is like accepting the story untold so one just keeps reading. The formatting of this book is deep.
The Road is about a man and his son in the post-apocalyptic world of nightmares. The climate is ashen and the sky is always gray. The few survivors roam around the mostly uninhabited landscapes of cities long destroyed by earthly cataclysms, fire, and brimstone, searching for cans of food that haven't turned rotten, and filtering the ash from dirty streams for water. A world where one can't trust if the next person down the road is a good guy or plans on raping and eating you and your children. A world where starvation and sickness are the norm and hope was replaced with sheer will a long time ago.
I'm not sure if this book lived up to the hype but it was very well written and mostly entertaining. It disposes of all pomp and executes directly. I went into it thinking it would be depressing and I am not interested in depressing myself but what I found was not depressing to me. It's a story about a heroic man attempting to keep his son safe. It's about love mostly. The Road is a love story really. Or an obligation story, What a person can do when driven to continue on living for the sake of their child. I recommend this book to anyone that wants a fast and enjoyable read. I cried a little at the end.
I would recommend watching the movie as it is a faithful representation.
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