I don’t recommend The Road for bed-time reading. In fact, it took me about three times as long as it normally does to read a book because I had to stop reading it in my normal before bed reading slot.
This book is set in nuclear winter, and is the story of a father and son journeying to the sea. Starvation is always imminent, and they must hide from roving bands of cannibals and other desperate people on the road. It’s the bleakest story I’ve ever read. If this is what it’s like to live after a nuclear war, I want no part of it.
The reason to read this book is that it is actually about love, and that love does find a good ending, of sorts.
There’s a movie in production right now, starring Viggo Mortensen, and though I’m very fond of Viggo, I can safely say I have no desire to see the movie. I’m content to have experienced the story once.
Three minor pet peeves: 1. The lack of quotes around the speech – I think it’s actually a pretty smart device, but it drove me crazy. 2. The lack of apostrophes in words like can’t and don’t. I have no idea what possessed the author to do that, and it was very distracting. 3. I just accidentally read an Oprah’s Book Club selection. I feel dirty.