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The end of America: Cormac McCarthy
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If you've been following my articles, you may havenoticed my taste for end-of-the-world novels. Cormac McCarthy's The Road is a fantastic example of the post-apocalyptic genre. You may be familiar with McCarthy without even knowing it. Movies have been made of some of his novels, including All the Pretty Horses and the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men. The Road has even earned itself a film adaptation, in theaters soon. This time, instead of writing a story of the iconic American West, McCarthy turns his careful eye onto an America that resembles nothing like the United States.
This was the first McCarthy book I've read, and I'm glad I read it. I definitely plan to read more of him in the near future. What's so wonderful about the road is how McCarthy's writing style is simultaneously slow, deliberate and page-turning. I chalk it up to the isolated paragraphs that serve as chapters in this novel. I am loath to use the term "chapters" for this book, for McCarthy's genius transcends convention.
At the heart of this novel is The Man and his son, both unnamed. The two voyage towards the coast in hopes of finding "the good guys" amidst the chaos of "the bad guys" who resort to anything, and I do heartily mean anything, in order to stay alive. The father-son relationship is profound, fully realized. The sparseness of McCarthy's prose forces the reader into this novel. Every page that turns brings the pair closer to something, and you cannot help but read straight through, hoping for the best and, like The Man, fearing the worst.
The novel's plotting is near-Shakesperean, for it is clear immediately that something is rotten in McCarthy's state of Denmark (not to imply this, like David Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a Shakespearean retelling). There is something akin to the great dramatists, however, in the way this story unfolds and how it, inevitably, ends.
McCarthy's style is brilliant and unique, and this is bound to estrange some readers. It is not a long novel (by my standards), and it will turn the pages for you. I think it's a great place to start for the McCarthy uninitiated (like me), and I'm sure it would make a fine read for the seasoned McCarthy fan. If you're still not convinced, check out the movie next month. I like to read the book first, though.
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