I just finished reading this (I got the book back in December, before Oprah recommended it). I read one of the Border Trilogy books several years ago, which I liked and thougth this one would be right up my alley (The Stand, Dark Tower). I think it was good, but the ending is kind of like, well it is kind of weak. Is there going to be another book? I certainly enjoyed it, but the critics seem to be raving over this one, like it is the greatest book ever. Kind of over rated, maybe as good as the worst of the Dark Tower books. What did you think?
There were some absolutely beautiful sections, but the post-apocalyptic genre doesn’t do anything for me. Basically, I didn’t think the book held together as a whole, and was nothing more than a conglomeration of scenes.
Postmodern fragmentation: crap.
It was good. Not great. I actually liked the ending. Given the scope of the book as a whole I think that was the most promising thing that could have happened.
You can only read McCarthy while on vacation. You need the vcaation state of mind to enjoy his books…they just aren;t the same if you’re on a suburban commuter train on the way home from a tough day at the office.
I finished it last night, and had to force myself to stick with it to the end. I read fiction for entertainment (I know, what a quaint notion), and The Road failed to entertain me. The reviews were great, and maybe I’m not sophisticated enough to appreciate The Road, but it read to me like something a bright high school goth kid would come up with in creative writing class.
This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.
I’ve not read his other stuff, but picked up MacCarthy’s the Road last year on the recommendation of, well, Stephen King. When he reviews and recommends stuff, I tend to listen, as apparently we have similar tatses.
I can’t say I LIKED it, that seems to positive of a phrase… I guess I found it to be ACCURATE (if one can be accurate about a hypothetical occurrence). I think it’s a pretty convincing end-of-days tale. And I, for one, appreciated the fact we just saw one small slice of two people’s lives, and that questions were left unanswered–even untouched.
It’s a set piece, an ambience, a feeling, more than it is a “story.”
Vacation state of mind.
I agree 100%.
I read this book cover to cover while I was camping in Mammoth. Pitch dark in my trailer, reading til midnight every night to the glow of a flashlight.
I thought the story, writing style and characters were spectacular and that the ending was great. With 5 pages to go I had no idea what was going to happen but I was reading and re-reading every paragraph, wishing it wouldn’t soon be over.
I love stories (Misery comes to mind as similiar) where your only picture of the world is through the eyes of the characters.
I didn’t know it was an “O” book til I looked online to see other books by the Author.
A+ read.
Good analysis. Perhaps I think a little bit more of it as a work of literature in this context, rather than just a “story.” His writing style is very measured, sparse and I do like that.