The Road

By Cormac McCarthy

As I was reading this book, I was constantly reminded of how lucky I am. Whilst riding to work in the driving snow and face numbing chill, I felt nothing but gratitude that for all my discomfort, my journey to work is quickly over and at the end of the day I have a warm home to return to and a warm, and dry bed to sleep in. A book that can make you question everything, even your freezing cold nose of a morning, is a good book!

In anticipation of the upcoming film starring Viggo Mortensen, I bought the novel so I'd be able to enjoy it first. I'd counted on it being something like Mad Max but I was mistaken. This makes Mad Max look childish. 'The Road' deals with life after the fall of civilisation in such a way that I found myself questioning every other post apoc story I've ever read or seen. The austerity and unrelenting reality portrayed in this novel renders all other contenders mute. Its not a long book (which is a blessing) and its written in a slightly strange way (lots of stand alone paragraphs, no names), but if you like the post-apoc genre, then I recommend 'The Road'.
5/5