The Road

Cormac McCarthy

2006

February, 2023

8/10

The writing feels very stylized. While it reads almost poetically, the book would benefit from a few more commas and less-awkward words. Apart from that, the writing style and formatting both help build the atmosphere of the book, truly emphasizing the bleak and empty nature of the story.

Ultimately, The Road is just a story about a man and his son walking along a road. Nothing really happens except for them struggling to get through each day. It is the mood of the story and the way it is told that makes this book so engaging. The best way to express this is the simple fact that the main characters' names are never even revealed.

My biggest issue with the story itself is how the entire book is just a build-up to the ending. This is fine because the ending met my expectations, but the story immediately moves on. It doesn't even make an attempt to linger on the climax. The ending felt rushed, and the rapid/extreme change in mood did not feel appropriate considering the rest of the book. Maybe this was just to emphasize the character difference between the boy and his dad. But even if so, it just felt off. It is open to interpretation, though.