Finished: "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Finished: The Road by Cormac McCarthy, 2006, 9780307265432.

Eh. What is the big deal on this book? It's post-apocalyptic science fiction with cannibals. This is a less interesting version of Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse. McCarthy throws in some flowery language that I just skipped over anyway.

I was getting bored and ready to quit after about 50 pages. I decided to finish because, damnit, I had not finished a Men's Book Club book in months and would finish this one. I also wanted to know if the man and son would be eaten by cannibals.

Man and son - no names given - are traveling South across a post-apocalyptic landscape to warmer weather. McCarthy provides no geographical names and no explanation for the event(s) that caused the world to be covered in ash, dying plants, and constantly overcast weather.

Man and son repeatedly have overcome three problems: 1-No food, 2-Freezing weather, 3-Cannibals. At least until the father dies and the son is taken in by non-cannibals.

Comments:
1. If you skip through the flowery crap the story is not so bad the threat of the characters being eaten kept me involved.
2. The novel's plot ans story are very neutral. McCarthy sticks to man, boy, and daily survival. There is little on morality and nothing on causes and politics.
3. During the Book Club discussion I realized how easily the novel's neutrality can be used by any political persuasion. The left: peace, kindness, working together. The right: the world will fall apart and it's every man for himself.
4. I do like how McCarthy sets this about 7 years after the apocalyptic events. Man and son are left scavenging. Food and ammunition stockpiles are no more, the population is way down, no wildlife for hunting.
5. Cannibals.