Here is yet another blog entry that I meant to publish last year, but somehow never quite got around to doing. That was when I actually finished reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
Let me just say, first of all, that Cormac McCarthy is a fantastic author. I have now read four or five of his works, and am working on another one, Blood Meridian. Hopefully, there will be a book review of that one soon enough here. The Road is very well written, with short, direct sentences that are typical of McCarthy's writing style. I have heard it described almost as Biblical in style, and someone else compared it to Moby Dick. In the video above, Clifford Lee Sargent compares the writing style, particularly the short and direct sentences, to Hemingway. He also compares it to Faulkner at another point, particularly in how the woman (the wife of the man, the mother of the boy) talks about suicide. All of that seems like a fair comparison.
So yes, this is well-written. Another example of McCarthy being a very talented writer. I really enjoyed all of the books of his that I have read, and am working on others. Again, I am currently working on Blood Meridian, but I hope to read Suttree and some other works of his in the not so distant future. Plus, as I posted not too long ago, McCarthy is coming out with a couple of books later this year, so that should be interesting. Obviously, I will hope to read those works as they are published, and would also hope to follow that up with reviews here. Stay tuned for more in that regard.
Anyway, back to The Road. I posted the Better Than Food video review, because after watching it, it seemed like I pretty much agree with everything that he said. I tend to rather enjoy depressing books and even movies. And Cormac McCarthy definitely tends to write some depressing books, with no small amount of violence and dark intentions packed within them.
That said, The Road is probably the most depressing book that I have ever read. Like Sargent, on this book review video clips on Better Than Food suggests, this is a very dark book. Also like him, it is not a book that I necessarily would want to read again. It does make you appreciate certain things that we otherwise might take for granted, like the current abundance of food and relative comfort and all of that. Even the movie is similarly bleak and depressing. I saw the movie for the first time many years ago, so I definitely had an idea of what the book was about. Then after finishing the book, I decided to watch the movie again. And you know what? It was even more depressing, somehow, after watching it a second time, especially after having just finished the book. Probably not likely to either reread the book or watch this movie again, either.
Still, it is a good book. Well-written, and one of the most famous of McCarthy's works for good reason. If you are a fan of his, which by now I think I am, it is a must read. If you like reading for the power of the words, especially the simplicity of the sentences and words being used, you probably want to read this book just for it's style. He does some very impressive things in this book, and it is very powerful. You really almost feel like you are in the shoes of the two main characters, the boy and the man. Yet somehow, it is an easy read, one where you will not get confused or lost at any point. It is a straightforward story from beginning to end. So I can definitely recommend it on that end. However, I need again to warn anyone interested, that this is a very dark and depressing book (and movie), and my tolerance for that kind of stuff is actually usually pretty strong. But I actually struggled a bit with this one, just because of how bleak it felt, and how dark and colorless the world McCarthy creates in this book was. That is actually a credit to him and his writing, of course. Still, if you do read this, just be warned that this is not exactly a fun read, although you likely will get some good things out of it nevertheless.
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