By Cormac McCarthy
How does Cormac McCarthy do it? If it wasn't this author, I probably never would have continued The Road once I discovered its post-apocalyptic genre. It's not my favorite. But, having read All The Pretty Horses and The Crossing, and with that multitude of cinematic host, also witnessed No Country For Old Men come to life, I pressed on.
I am so glad I did!
I "five-starred" The Road by McCarthy. Here's why:
1. The story: McCarthy made something out of nothing. What do you do with a father and son and a world turned perpetually bleak and cold and gray? It's a recipe for boredom . . . unless you are Cormac McCarthy.
2. The dialog: I have five sons, and I found myself in the dialog between papa and his son. It was real.
3. The suspense: I return to point #1. This story gripped me. I have two hardback copies, but I listened to Tom Stechschulte's narration on an overnight drive from Memphis to South Florida. The story was full of tension -- intrigue, doubt, grief, hideousness, suspense and more.
4. The writing: "All things of grace and beauty, such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes. So, he whispered to the sleeping boy. I have you." If you've read McCarthy, you know his way with words.
5. Carrying the fire: "This is what the good guys do," papa tells his son, "they keep trying."
As we read his story, we see the "good guys" carry the fire. They do not quit.
6. Parenthood: McCarthy shows us the parental bond in its faithfulness, fascination, and frailties.
Give this book to fathers and especially fathers of sons.