"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy ***Abundant Spoilers***
01-11-07 | 09:09 AM
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"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy ***Abundant Spoilers***
Sorry if there's already a thread devoted to this, I couldn't locate one...
I've noticed that a lot of people on the forum have read this book and I wanted to pose a question about the ending.
Although initially I found the ending to be somewhat uplifting, after thinking about it for a long time, I actually thought maybe the man who "rescued" the boy and his group were cannibals, waiting for the father to die so they could have the boy...I found that man's presence a little bit too perfect.
No way to know for sure unless we ask the author, but I just wanted to see what other people thought about it.
I've noticed that a lot of people on the forum have read this book and I wanted to pose a question about the ending.
Although initially I found the ending to be somewhat uplifting, after thinking about it for a long time, I actually thought maybe the man who "rescued" the boy and his group were cannibals, waiting for the father to die so they could have the boy...I found that man's presence a little bit too perfect.
No way to know for sure unless we ask the author, but I just wanted to see what other people thought about it.
01-11-07 | 10:03 AM
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Oh man, that's a depressing angle! I did see the ending as a bit easy, but I forgave that because I found it very optimistic and emotional (being a father). The book is so hopeless throughout that it's cathartic to see some good fortune come this boy's way. The father accomplished what he needed to do for his son.
01-11-07 | 12:18 PM
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Originally Posted by FunkDaddy J
Oh man, that's a depressing angle! I did see the ending as a bit easy, but I forgave that because I found it very optimistic and emotional (being a father). The book is so hopeless throughout that it's cathartic to see some good fortune come this boy's way. The father accomplished what he needed to do for his son.
I'm not saying I believe this was McCarthy's intention, but the thought occurred to me and I wanted to present it to the forum.
I definitely found it emotional, like you. It's rare when I get lump in my throat by reading a book.
01-11-07 | 12:41 PM
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http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread....ormac+mccarthy
In regards to this:
I can't think of a better thing for them to do than track one of the few--if only--child survivors.
I thought the ending was perfect; a small glimmer of hope in an otherwise veary, very bleak and depressing book.
In regards to this:
But don't you think that in a land where few are surviving, a group of people would have something better to do than follow a man and boy down a road and spy on them?
I thought the ending was perfect; a small glimmer of hope in an otherwise veary, very bleak and depressing book.
01-11-07 | 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by TimeandTide
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread....ormac+mccarthy
In regards to this:
I can't think of a better thing for them to do than track one of the few--if only--child survivors.
I thought the ending was perfect; a small glimmer of hope in an otherwise veary, very bleak and depressing book.
In regards to this:
I can't think of a better thing for them to do than track one of the few--if only--child survivors.
I thought the ending was perfect; a small glimmer of hope in an otherwise veary, very bleak and depressing book.
01-11-07 | 03:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Chicodemoda
I see your point, but I think it's an ambiguous ending. Which I love. I don't like things that are overexplained.
01-11-07 | 04:58 PM
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From: Taxachusetts
Personally, I thought that it was an uplifting ending. The boy being rescued paired with the final paragraph about the brook trout spawning(at least that's what I took it to mean) seemed like the only uplifting thing in the book.
I have to believe that a book that for 240 pages doesn't have a single ray of sunshine in it(both figuratively and literally) will end with a glimmer of hope, however bleak it may be.
I have to believe that a book that for 240 pages doesn't have a single ray of sunshine in it(both figuratively and literally) will end with a glimmer of hope, however bleak it may be.
01-16-07 | 01:18 AM
#8
If they were cannibals, don't you think they would have ate the father?
01-18-07 | 07:22 PM
#9
I liked how it ended despite how heartbreaking it was leading up to the end. After all the darkness that surrounded the father and son for most of the book, it was nice to see it end on a postive note.
01-20-07 | 08:31 AM
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From: Taxachusetts
Originally Posted by mphtrilogy
I really did not care for this book.
02-02-07 | 02:24 AM
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From: Olympia
This book really shook me up. My son is 5 and I can't help but think about what I would have done in that scenario. I think this book actually has helped me become a better father. I know that's a heavy statement to make, but it made me appreciate what I have a little more.
I don't think the ending had anything to do with cannibals, but I do like an ending where you can project your own imagination into it.
I wish they would have stuck it out in the 'amazing bunker of goodness' for a lot longer.
I don't think the ending had anything to do with cannibals, but I do like an ending where you can project your own imagination into it.
I wish they would have stuck it out in the 'amazing bunker of goodness' for a lot longer.
02-06-07 | 09:39 AM
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I think that the book has tremendous staying power. The sparse, bare bones prose just cuts to the core. I found myself re-reading sections just marveling at the storytelling. I think if you are a parent, especially of young children, this book is so much more effective than those who are not in that situation. I myself have a 14 month old, and the imagery within the novel with regards to the horror of a dying society and planet was just emotionally jarring. What a novel. Ran out the day after I finished the Road and picked up No Country for Old Men. McCarthy is a grand storyteller, just superb in every sense of the craft. I hope that he continues his run and doesn't leave us hanging for several years before we get another gem.
03-28-07 | 01:21 PM
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http://www.twincities.com/celebrities/ci_5538821
Oprah picks Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'
By MEGAN REICHGOTT Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO- Don't expect a lot of sunshine in Oprah Winfrey's latest book club pick. Publishing's leading hit-maker has chosen Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," a bleak, apocalyptic novel by an author who rarely talks to the media.
"It is so extraordinary," Winfrey said Wednesday. "I promise you, you'll be thinking about it long after you finish the final page."
McCarthy, 73, is known for novels such as "All the Pretty Horses" and "Blood Meridian," and has been widely cited as an heir to William Faulkner for his biblical prose and rural settings. Critic Harold Bloom, famous for his discerning taste, has called McCarthy one of the greatest living American writers, along with Don DeLillo, Philip Roth and Thomas Pynchon.
In coming weeks, the reclusive McCarthy, who did not appear on the show Wednesday and who lives in Santa Fe, N.M., will conduct his "first television interview ever," Winfrey said.
"Mr. McCarthy respects her work, admires what she has accomplished, has an awareness of her book club, and thought it would be interesting to participate in the conversation with Oprah," McCarthy's publicist Paul Bogaards of Alfred A. Knopf, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
"He knew who she was when she called," Bogaards added.
"The Road," published last September by Knopf, is a sparely written story of a father and son trying to survive as they wander through a burned and bare landscape.
It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle prize and is considered a leading contender for the Pulitzer Prize.
"It's unlike anything I've ever chosen as a book club selection before because it's post-apocalyptic. (It is) very unusual for me to select this book, but it's fascinating," Winfrey said.
"The Road" is also one of McCarthy's most popular books, spending several weeks on numerous best-seller lists. According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70 percent of industry sales, it has sold 138,000 copies in hardcover. Thanks to Winfrey, that total should increase by hundreds of thousands. A paperback was not planned until September, but Vintage Books, understandably, is publishing one now, with a massive first printing of 950,000 copies.
Winfrey's previous choice was "The Measure of a Man," a "spiritual" memoir by one of her personal heroes, Academy Award-winning actor Sidney Poitier. But she has also taken on harsher stories, such as Elie Wiesel's Holocaust classic, "Night," and, notoriously, James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces," a memoir of addiction and recovery that turned out to be largely fabricated.
By MEGAN REICHGOTT Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO- Don't expect a lot of sunshine in Oprah Winfrey's latest book club pick. Publishing's leading hit-maker has chosen Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," a bleak, apocalyptic novel by an author who rarely talks to the media.
"It is so extraordinary," Winfrey said Wednesday. "I promise you, you'll be thinking about it long after you finish the final page."
McCarthy, 73, is known for novels such as "All the Pretty Horses" and "Blood Meridian," and has been widely cited as an heir to William Faulkner for his biblical prose and rural settings. Critic Harold Bloom, famous for his discerning taste, has called McCarthy one of the greatest living American writers, along with Don DeLillo, Philip Roth and Thomas Pynchon.
In coming weeks, the reclusive McCarthy, who did not appear on the show Wednesday and who lives in Santa Fe, N.M., will conduct his "first television interview ever," Winfrey said.
"Mr. McCarthy respects her work, admires what she has accomplished, has an awareness of her book club, and thought it would be interesting to participate in the conversation with Oprah," McCarthy's publicist Paul Bogaards of Alfred A. Knopf, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
"He knew who she was when she called," Bogaards added.
"The Road," published last September by Knopf, is a sparely written story of a father and son trying to survive as they wander through a burned and bare landscape.
It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle prize and is considered a leading contender for the Pulitzer Prize.
"It's unlike anything I've ever chosen as a book club selection before because it's post-apocalyptic. (It is) very unusual for me to select this book, but it's fascinating," Winfrey said.
"The Road" is also one of McCarthy's most popular books, spending several weeks on numerous best-seller lists. According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70 percent of industry sales, it has sold 138,000 copies in hardcover. Thanks to Winfrey, that total should increase by hundreds of thousands. A paperback was not planned until September, but Vintage Books, understandably, is publishing one now, with a massive first printing of 950,000 copies.
Winfrey's previous choice was "The Measure of a Man," a "spiritual" memoir by one of her personal heroes, Academy Award-winning actor Sidney Poitier. But she has also taken on harsher stories, such as Elie Wiesel's Holocaust classic, "Night," and, notoriously, James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces," a memoir of addiction and recovery that turned out to be largely fabricated.
03-28-07 | 10:32 PM
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From: Olympia
Great; Just when I've finally stopped thinking about this book everyday, O goes and selects if for her club.
Actually I'm really excited that this modern classic was selected; just an amazing read and well deserved of all the praise Cormac is receiving. I think I will have to tune in to his 'first tv interview ever'
Actually I'm really excited that this modern classic was selected; just an amazing read and well deserved of all the praise Cormac is receiving. I think I will have to tune in to his 'first tv interview ever'
03-30-07 | 03:35 PM
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That's great news. I hope that the added exposure will result in more fathers discovering The Road...as I mentioned up thread (or elsewhere), it's the best book I've ever read about father/son relationships.
04-16-07 | 03:45 PM
#19
Looks like "The Road" just won a Pulitzer.
04-18-07 | 01:14 PM
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Originally Posted by TOLEN
What is this book about?
05-02-07 | 10:04 AM
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Originally Posted by PalmerJoss
OK, but can I ask why? I only ask because I have yet to hear someone say they did not like it.
I picked this book up after its glowing year end reviews. I was hoping it would hold me over as a one of the great reads of the year for me. Last year I jumped on Phillip Roth's Plot Against America and was hoping for another great read along those lines.
I have not read McCarthy before, so I did not know what to expect.
I found it to be a brutal read. Depressing, long winded, and a bore.
It is a classic case of "The Emperor Has No Clothes". I don't understand what everyone can see in this book. I don't have a critique on an English Major level, which I am not. I can ask my sister who has a Doctorate in English and is a Poe scholar to break it down, I am sure it would be more entertaining than this book.
I found it a precious waste of my time and life, and really found nothing in this to recommend, unless you are a huge fan of verbiage and morose.
Unless you are a huge reader and enjoy wordplay with no quotations, run on sentences, and Seinfeldian descriptions of nothing on an especially grim topic
of a post apocolyptic world on the verge of self annihilation I would say skip it.
I would love to see what Oprah's fans think of this one...
05-02-07 | 10:53 AM
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Originally Posted by mphtrilogy
I found it to be a brutal read. Depressing, long winded, and a bore...
And I found the ending to be quite powerful.
05-21-07 | 09:02 AM
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From: Arlington, VA
Originally Posted by Geofferson
Anyone hear any updates on when McCarthy will appear on Oprah? I'd like to catch his first ever televised interview.