Paperback, 306 pages
English language
Published April 26, 2010 by Picador USA, imusti.
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other. --back cover
I think, on the whole, I’d have rather read a book about the cannibals.
A very dark and disturbing vision of life after a catastrophe. Told in a fragmented but easily readable style, grim and bleak.
I love post-apocalyptic stories, and this one is very well done. I'd compare it to the likes of "A Canticle for Lebowitz", which is of a high caliber.
I didn't want to put it down, which says something.
The only thing I didn't like was the ending. How do you end a story like this? I wasn't sure how McCarthy would do it, but I took faith that it would be excellent. I was a little disappointed, but it's no reason not to read the book. The ending doesn't hold the book together - each section does that on its own.
I thought this book was fantastic.
Bleak and depressing, it tells a tale of what our future could be. The imagery is cold. I needed a warm blanket and a cup of tea while reading it. It's the tale of a father's love, a tale of hope, and a tale of life continuing on.
Cormac McCarthy has a way with words. I could picture every location as they traveled along the road. I could feel every cold wind in my bones, and my stomach was clenched in fear and hunger for our travelers. If you haven't read this book, just do it. It left me changed. 4 1/2 stars.
"Goodness will find the little boy. It always has. It will again."
Ha, ha, ha! McCarthy may be as monotonous as hell, but every once in a while he winks out an hilarious zinger... It was meant to be LOL funny, right? (But I think I'll cry if I find the above in the quotes database.) Alas, as ridiculous as that line was, it wasn't enough to make up for the rest of the tedious puerility.
The fire's inside you, boys, don't you forget it. Happy trails.
Postapokaliptyczna wizja świata. Ojciec i syn skazani na tułaczkę, w poszukiwaniu lepszego jutra. Powieść oparta głównie na dialogach, które mimo swej prostoty zawierają głęboki sens.
"Droga", jako połączenie powieści drogi, powieści przygodowej oraz horroru jest uznawana za największe arcydzieło Cormaca McCarthy'ego. Przez wiele tygodni była bestsellerem New York Timesa, przyjęto ją także do Klubu Książki Oprah Winfrey. Oprócz wspomnianej Nagrody Pulitzera została również wyróżniona najstarszą angielską nagrodą w dziedzinie fikcji. The Tait Black Memorial Prize.
"Droga to powieść przejmująco sugestywna i niepokojąca, to książka, która ukazuje, co czai się pod warstwą żalu i grozy. Nigdy wcześniej nikt nie opisał zagłady świata w sposób tak przekonujący, zarówno w wymiarze duchowym, jak i fizycznym." (Time)
He is very good at describing desolate landscapes, portentious with meaning.
Very repetitive, and a little boring. The author is quoted as saying he did not know how the book would end while he was writing it, and I believe him.
Maybe if I were 15 and this were my first postapocalypse novel I'd rave more or at least understand the praise. At my age I just found it clumsy, formulaic, poorly developed. The apocalypse scenario is not credible. Character or relationship growth nonexistent. At the end you feel like you've just plodded wearily along a bleak road without accomplishing or learning anything.
I think this is where I officially give up. I cannot bring myself to finish reading this story. The language is great but I find no connection to the story being told. It's too much post-apocalyptic dreariness and it makes me depressed just thinking of this book. It's most probably a good book but it turns out maybe I am not the kind of person that reads McCarthy books. I tried.
I think I need to read it again now my perception has been completely changed of what it is, in fact, about by the final page.
Re-Read
This is a story stripped to the bare essense of all humanity. There is nothing left of the physical realm. No life. Not even shelter or small comfort. No distractions of time or place, only survival. Only ugliness, hopelessness, death. Relecs from a seemingly make believe world, useless. Even dreams are void. Humankind reduced to scavenger at best. At BEST. For the most part now, at worst, more depraved and without remorse than the lowest form of animal. Monstrous even. Both hunter and hunted. The smallest glimpse of beauty, now exceedingly rare, the love of parent and child. That's it. It is a desperate love, all consuming, relentless. It also is the saddest love as one will have to leave the other, the hardest thing especially in this terrible landscape. Some humans still, despite the desperation, carry the fire, the goodness, the will to strive forward against all odds. …
Re-Read
This is a story stripped to the bare essense of all humanity. There is nothing left of the physical realm. No life. Not even shelter or small comfort. No distractions of time or place, only survival. Only ugliness, hopelessness, death. Relecs from a seemingly make believe world, useless. Even dreams are void. Humankind reduced to scavenger at best. At BEST. For the most part now, at worst, more depraved and without remorse than the lowest form of animal. Monstrous even. Both hunter and hunted. The smallest glimpse of beauty, now exceedingly rare, the love of parent and child. That's it. It is a desperate love, all consuming, relentless. It also is the saddest love as one will have to leave the other, the hardest thing especially in this terrible landscape. Some humans still, despite the desperation, carry the fire, the goodness, the will to strive forward against all odds. Dare to have hope. Alas, most do not.
I find this book somewhat flawed in a way. The apocalyptic world was not done very well, imo. But it's Cormac McCarthy. Even a flawed Cormac McCarthy is worthy of 4 stars. Anyway the apocalyptic world is secondary to the man and the boy and their journey of hope.
This book breaks your heart and gives a glimmer of redemption at the same time. It's bleak though. Probably not for everyone.
ps After thinking about this for a little while it's almost like the boy symbolizes the Christ-child. He is pure of heart. He wants to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. He feels compassion and love and pain for humanity and knows how they all suffer as he suffers. He feels the need to offer comfort however small. "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me". He carries the fire (the holy spirit) given to him through the father. He is born to the world and left in a world that is defiled and hostile. A star (the flare) is sent to the heavens to herald his arrival. He is risen on the third day, taken in and raised by someone not his true father who now resides in the spirit. And we don't know for sure as the story ends, but he just may be the savior of mankind.
anyway, yeah
The story was good. The dialogue was annoying. The ending was bull.
I love this book for reasons that not many other people will love this book, because I'm not sure McCarthy intended for it to be read the way I do, and it's not that I'm some smart guy, I just had an angle on it that made it important to me. To me, it's a story about being a father to a little boy. You guide him, help him along, teach him, let him learn on his own. The premise here, as you probably know, is that the civilized world has been destroyed, and there is literally nothing left. What do you do then? What McCarthy thinks you do is to keep him moving forward. That's it. That's all. You can't do anything else. Well, you could stay where you are, but then you both are sure to die, more quickly, maybe than you're sure to die if you move. …
I love this book for reasons that not many other people will love this book, because I'm not sure McCarthy intended for it to be read the way I do, and it's not that I'm some smart guy, I just had an angle on it that made it important to me. To me, it's a story about being a father to a little boy. You guide him, help him along, teach him, let him learn on his own. The premise here, as you probably know, is that the civilized world has been destroyed, and there is literally nothing left. What do you do then? What McCarthy thinks you do is to keep him moving forward. That's it. That's all. You can't do anything else. Well, you could stay where you are, but then you both are sure to die, more quickly, maybe than you're sure to die if you move. You help him move forward. And there are consequences to you, as the father: you don't really teach him to survive without you, because you know he won't. So you move him forward and you (barely) nurture his hope and you comfort him not for his sake, but for yours.
When there is literally nothing else, you parent that little boy because it's all you have. Essentially, you're using him. He stays alive in the bargain, but is that a real boon? (Mom didn't think so, remember.)
What does any of this mean to a world that hasn't been obliterated? It's an exploration of the very bottom of fatherhood. Whatever else we do can go away; the one thing that never will is that we parent our little boy because he is all we have. It's shameful and selfish and human and poignant and the best book I've ever read.
This is the most chilling novel I have ever read. Please do yourself a favor and read this. Seriously.
