14402 Followers
348 Following
oblue

Abandoned by Booklikes

Government drone by day and book lover and geek girl by night!

Currently reading

This Time Next Year
Sophie Cousens
An Extraordinary Union
Alyssa Cole
A Princess in Theory: Reluctant Royals
Alyssa Cole
Burn for Me
Ilona Andrews
Nocturnes
John Connolly
After I'm Gone
Laura Lippman
The Black Angel
John Connolly
The Ballad of Black Tom
Victor LaValle
Progress: 100 %
Flag Counter

A Grim Look at the End

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

Maybe because I caught a nasty summer cold and already feel dreadful but this book just left me sad and in tears. I don't know what else to say except McCarthy wrote a heart breaking book about the end of the world as we know it following a boy and his father. The book moves pretty quickly and sometimes you may get confused about who is talking (there are no quotes) but the book in the end shows you the worst of humanity and sometimes the best. 

 

"The Road" starts off with a man who is called Papa by a young boy. They are fighting to get somewhere since the man realizes the area in which they live has nothing left for them. From there we follow them as they follow the road and meet good people, bad people, and plain indifferent people. I wonder about the man's choices at times and also wondered could I also do what I would need to do in order to survive?

 

We have just the man and the boy as our entry into this world and honestly it is enough. The man we find used to be married and was left by his wife to raise the boy. The wife it seems either ran away or committed suicide (sorry I got confused at this part). The man is doing what he can to get the boy to safety. I also felt pity for both of them and liked that McCarthy didn't even tell us the man or boy's names. In this new world, names don't mean a thing. 


The man and boy come across others and see and hear things that are disturbing. The boy is the bright spot in this book. He wants to believe in the good in people and wants to help people. Goodness knows at times though I was with the man and was all, you need to toughen up since there are people out here eating each other. 

The writing was to the point. No words are wasted. The man has his goal and you feel his despair when he thinks of not being able to keep the boy safe. The flow was great.


The setting of this new world I assume is the United States post nuclear war based on things that were said about the weather and sky. Everything is gray and at one point it starts snowing ash and it's cold all of the time it seems. 


The ending leaves you with hope though and that the good guys can hold out.