Something... religious

I'm talking about The Road. The trip through the book in two words: seriously good.

Short, sharp sentences create the perfect sense of setting for this post-apocolyptic novel. McCarthy adds to that setting by using archaic words for certain things to really slam home the idea that things are different in this world. It gives the setting a true sense of self: these things he is describing, you know them; you've probably heard the word, but maybe can't quite place it. It's spot on: this is a world you know, but can't quite place as the one you live in. I think this also adds to the feeling that things are breaking down. The current words are no longer "the" words.

McCarthy also forgoes several forms of puncuation mostly commas and parenthesis. And while he uses contractions such as can't and don't, he cant seem to fit in the apostrophe. This was, at first blush, troubling. But I eventually became accustomed to the style. And I think it makes sense: it once again lends itself to the breakdown in society, post-apocolyptic scene; one where contractions would exist but an apostrophe would mean little.

That's not to say that I found it all perfect. The smashing together of words was a littleoverdone. It seemed like a failed attempt to add to the scene, but not only was it seemingly random, I'm not sure what it was trying to say. In the post-apocolyptic future words are said together, faster? What?

I've seen complaints that the dialogue is overly simple and blocky. Whether you agree with the style or not, I think the it represents a purposeful choice. In a post-apocolyptic world devoid of almost any life and in which survival is goal A, B and C, conversation would be limited and simple, I imagine. The boy and father spend literally all their time together, and without neighbors, work, art or any of the other peripherals of life, there would be precious little to discuss.

And while some complained about the repetitive use of ash and grayness, I have news for you - in what appears to have been a post-nuclear winter world, ash and gray are probably not only paramount in your mind, but just about the only thing in your vision. You may not like the ascetic, but I don't think you can complain about the choice. It's like reading a Stephen King novel and complaining about the horrors explained within. Or reading Grisham and complaining about all the legal aspects.

I loved the immersion I got out of this book enough that I immediately searched On Demand to see if the movie was playing. Sadly, it was not, but I'm going to keep my eye out for it.