The Road (Oprah's Book Club)

Anyone giving this book a negative review is missing the point. Beautifully written, terrific story, and an ending that seems pretty on point.

Here is a hint: if a book is on Oprah's list run away as fast as you can. As in all of his writings, Cormac desperately desires to convey deep subtle truths, much of which have to be gained by inference. He just can't pull it off. His fractured style, and inability to glue a finish to this piece of pop disposable literature make me give it a 'D' [drivel] on Nicks book club avoid list.

All I can say is "wow". If you like reading then you have no excuses not to pick this one up

I bought this book today. Read a little bit on my lunch hour, and finished it same day. I took off work early just to finish it, I have never done anything like that. But my God! This story is incredible. I don't usually like this genre of fiction. Most of it bores me. But this was just amazing. Cormak McCarthy can tell a tale, that's for sure. I was glued to it. His writing style is something I've never seen before. And it is deep on so many levels, to try and explain it would not do it justice. The connection to the characters is incredible, and his detailed but terse style makes you feel like you are there. You smell the "wet ash in the air" (spoiler sorry). It definitely moved me. And that is difficult. I have been branded my friends colleagues, and even my wife, as "extremely insensitive". I was balling like a little baby at the end. You will be too if you have even the tiniest soul. You need to read this book.

If you've been wondering about...ashes--this is the book you've been waiting for. This is the definitive literary treatise on the description of ashes for all time. Ashes are exhaustively examined in every dermatological, meteorological, chronological, seasonal, geographic, environmental, psychological, dental, optical, oral, aural, anal, neurological and forensic application that can be imagined.

The ashes seem to have been the result of the world being hit by a meteor. The only interest other than ash is whether a father and his young son can survive the ashes in a cross-country trek they undertake. Now and then they meet other survivors. I found myself scanning dozens of pages of ash description to these sporadic meetings. I stuck with the book to the bitter end because it has such uniformly high praise and because a good friend of mine absolutely loved this book, so I kept thinking something must happen sooner or later. Unless you've been harboring a longtime interest in ashes, I suggest that you read--I don't know--maybe the last 25 or 50 pages and see what happens to the characters and think of it as a short story.