The Road

All of America is burned down and a Father and Son walk across it to the coast in search of good people. All they have  is a wheel barrow full of scavenged goods  and each other.

"The Road" by Cormac Mccarthy  is set in a  Globally warmed world. It is a grim reminder of what is to come but is hauntingly beautiful and poetic. Even a desert is beautiful so is the bleak ash covered burned out scenario. No flora no fauna left standing except for a few survivors both good and bad all fighting for resources which are scarce.

It is in the darkest hours that  the battle between the good and bad is fought both at the personal level and the level of humanity. The father is practical but the child in his innocence and his understanding of goodness struggles to understand his father's practical solutions and the father gives into his son's idealism. Beautifully done.

At the end of the novel is redemption and hope for humanity.

The 300 odd page, big font book is the author's ninth novel and he has won  the Pulitzer Prize. None of the characters in "The Road" have names including the father and the son.The conversation is stripped to the minimum.The book is a tough job; no conversations, no scenery to  eulogize but  so well written .

It is a movie now.

A couple of links on the author :http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704576204574529703577274572.html

A small post to compensate for the long post last week :)