The Road
McCarthy tells the story of a father and his son trying to survive in a barren world.
Cormac McCarthy's 10th novel is 'œthe bleakest book he's ever written,' said Allen Barra in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Set in an ash-gray post-apocalyptic landscape, it follows an unnamed man and his young son as they try to survive a long journey on foot toward whatever is left of an unnamed sea. 'œWritten in terse, flat English sporadically punctuated by exotic words,' it aims to be biblical and stumbles. The result is something more akin to a George Romero movie. No zombie movie, though, has ever managed to be so 'œexquisitely bleak,' said Janet Maslin in The New York Times. In the nightmarish world of The Road, questions of survival jockey with questions about why anyone would bother, and the past itself has been so obliterated that 'œkeeping memory alive is difficult.' At the same time, an 'œextraordinary tenderness' marks the story's central relationship. 'œThis is art that both frightens and inspires,' and McCarthy finds an ending that's truly wise, not just reassuring. Some critics may complain that this sparsely populated novel is further proof that McCarthy simply can't do women well, said Jennifer Reese in Entertainment Weekly. 'œThen again, neither did Michelangelo.' The Road is a 'œmasterpiece.'
Price: 24.0
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
The fishy diplomacy causing tensions between Bangladesh and India
Under The Radar Exports of a 'sacred' fish were recently suspended during difficult relations for the two nations
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - October 6, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Sunday scaries, in-fighting, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 fact-checked cartoons about the VP debate
Cartoons Artists take on civil disagreements, admissions, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Also of interest...in picture books for grown-ups
feature How About Never—Is Never Good for You?; The Undertaking of Lily Chen; Meanwhile, in San Francisco; The Portlandia Activity Book
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Author of the week: Karen Russell
feature Karen Russell could use a rest.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The Double Life of Paul de Man by Evelyn Barish
feature Evelyn Barish “has an amazing tale to tell” about the Belgian-born intellectual who enthralled a generation of students and academic colleagues.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Book of the week: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
feature Michael Lewis's description of how high-frequency traders use lightning-fast computers to their advantage is “guaranteed to make blood boil.”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Also of interest...in creative rebellion
feature A Man Called Destruction; Rebel Music; American Fun; The Scarlet Sisters
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Author of the week: Susanna Kaysen
feature For a famous memoirist, Susanna Kaysen is highly ambivalent about sharing details about her life.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age by Robert Wagner
feature Robert Wagner “seems to have known anybody who was anybody in Hollywood.”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Book of the week: Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire by Peter Stark
feature The tale of Astoria’s rise and fall turns out to be “as exciting as anything in American history.”
By The Week Staff Last updated