Maybe because I caught a nasty summer cold and already feel dreadful but this book just left me sad and in tears. I don't know what else to say except McCarthy wrote a heart breaking book about the end of the world as we know it following a boy and his father. The book moves pretty quickly and sometimes you may get confused about who is talking (there are no quotes) but the book in the end shows you the worst of humanity and sometimes the best. 

"The Road" starts off with a man who is called Papa by a young boy. They are fighting to get somewhere since the man realizes the area in which they live has nothing left for them. From there we follow them as they follow the road and meet good people, bad people, and plain indifferent people. I wonder about the man's choices at times and also wondered could I also do what I would need to do in order to survive?

We have just the man and the boy as our entry into this world and honestly it is enough. The man we find used to be married and was left by his wife to raise the boy. The wife it seems either ran away or committed suicide (sorry I got confused at this part). The man is doing what he can to get the boy to safety. I also felt pity for both of them and liked that McCarthy didn't even tell us the man or boy's names. In this new world, names don't mean a thing. 

The man and boy come across others and see and hear things that are disturbing. The boy is the bright spot in this book. He wants to believe in the good in people and wants to help people. Goodness knows at times though I was with the man and was all, you need to toughen up since there are people out here eating each other. 

The writing was to the point. No words are wasted. The man has his goal and you feel his despair when he thinks of not being able to keep the boy safe. The flow was great.

The setting of this new world I assume is the United States post nuclear war based on things that were said about the weather and sky. Everything is gray and at one point it starts snowing ash and it's cold all of the time it seems. 

The ending leaves you with hope though and that the good guys can hold out. 

Caught up now. This book is so depressing. I would like to think that humanity wouldn't be about capturing boys, rape, and murder if a nuclear war happened, but you know, see The Walking Dead. Thank goodness it's sunny outside.

What a bleak word McCarthy has plopped us in. We have a man called Papa and a boy just called the boy. They are traveling somewhere. Everything seems dead or halfway there. this book opens on them in a dark wood and the man thinking it is October, so this could fit some other squares for those still looking for books for Halloween bingo. 

This would probably fit a lot of squares such as Film at 11, and Dystopian Hellscape. 

Post-apocalyptic stories are predictions of the future of "what ifs" the world is turn upside down and throw in some characters and see what they will do. Cormac McCarthy's take on The Road is so much about a man and his son (nameless) do when they are thrown in a situation that can lead to life or death and their relationship experiences during their journey on... the road. A Pulitzer Prize Winner in 2007, I can't help it when it comes to post-apocalyptic stories that I want to read, but finally, it is now that I had read it... and I do have mix feelings with it.

As the story opens, there was no mention of how this world began. A flash of light, the lost of government control and the world is in chaos. Dark gray skies that reflects the ocean, the world is cold, without warmth, food and water. Two characters were written without any names, as much as it is, are on the road going south in a nameless world, country or even state. Their journey takes them to places of unimaginable horrors (as written inside) that make's the man distrust humanity. And as a whole, the story just writes itself about their simple, and yet it is about hope. And there it ends - no beginnings, and yet no ends.

I can't say this is bad, and I won't say it is good. Its a book without chapters, and with just simple parts of writing that can be read in a day (took me days yes, but we all have other books to read). The thing about reading is some times, I have no idea who is talking first - the man or his son. There are no open close dialogues here. I had to read it to know who is who. While the description of the world building is bleak as it is, its prose is lyrical and beautifully written. Ovefrall I do enjoy the read but I am not sure if this is a favorite. Maybe when I pick it up again and read it one more time, I might change my opinion on this. Its a 3.5 rating out of 5 for me.