The Road Too Ruined

The Road, in audio, is hypnotic. Horrific, yes. But emotionally powerful, especially for a father like me, with so much of the story focused on the how single-mindedly driven the father is to protect his son in the worst possible post-apocalyptic scenario. But more than just protect him -- to teach him as well, to protect himself, and to do so in manner that preserves the best part of humanity despite a landscape in which all humanity seems to have devolved to its worst instincts.

By contrast, I've read some scathing criticisms of the print version from people I can relate to -- turned off by some of the pretensions author Cormac McCarthy appears to have indulged himself in, taking liberties with punctuation and syntax and style. I could easily see myself among the tiny but vocal minority who push back against that conceit had I read the book in print. But that is not a factor when listening to the audio. I did have a problem with some of the repetitious dialogue, but otherwise, this spare but potent novel seems to be a perfect fit for audio, never mind its accolades, Pulitzer Prize and all.

Perhaps because I am a father myself, I was most moved by how intensely driven the father was to keep his son alive. I do things for my kids that I would not do for anyone else, including myself. That has never been life of death as it is in this story, but quotidian life in modern America is not usually life or death, and yet we still do what we can for our kids. I rarely get choked up, but I was definitely growing teary eyed as I was driving home listening to the last half hour of this book.

Before listening to The Road, I had heard it referred to as an allegory. I can see where one can read symbolism into it, especially from the point of view of religion, specifically the Christian view of god. I would have reacted negatively had I looked at the book through that prism while listening to it. But in the moment, it is hard to hear anything beyond the sheer horror of the circumstances, taken at face value. The Road works perfectly as a straightforward story of a father and son trying to survive an apocalyptic event -- there is little need to delve deeper.

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Poor Dialog, Not Much Plot Development

"The Road" follows the journey of a man and his boy walking through a post-apocalyptic America in constant search of food and shelter. While they do face some interesting ordeals along the way, the only developments happen within these limited episodes and are soon forgotten. The characters never seem to evolve, and always end up in the exact same situation they were in the day before.

Much of the book is dialog between the father and son, and (perhaps because the son is young) is very limited. I can't count the number of times I heard one of these: "okay", "alright", "I'm sorry", "I'm scared". While these can be used smartly to convey deeper meaning, there's a limit to how far that will go.

The narration combines with this repetitive dreary dialog to make a very dull and repetitive listen.

I understand that this book is trying to have a sad tone, and many of the things that bothered me about it might be considered its strengths by people who enjoyed the book. It's possible that I just don't "get" this book. Unless you know that you are a fan of Cormac McCarthy's writing style, I would take this review to be a warning to seriously consider if it's the kind of book you would enjoy before purchasing.

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Opportunity Lost

Did I miss something? The writing was interesting and the reading/performance was very good. But I came close to putting this book down several times and didn't only because I kept thinking "something really interesting is about to happen". It never did.

The author has a great imagination and a compelling way of writing. This could have been a very good, if not great book, if there was more story. Other than being occasionally horrified at depths to which humanity could fall in a crisis (as imagined by the author), I was bored. It was an opportunity lost.

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Tedium Uninterrupted

To say that a post-apocalyptic world would be difficult and dismal doen't seem very innovative. To take this basic concept and stretch it over the period of severla hoursr is excruciating. Perhaps if there had been some more depth regarding the pre-apocalypse nature of the characters, the events leading up to the event, etc. - it could have been bearable. Whatever you do, don't listen to this when you're in a depressive state. Believe me, it only gets worse and worse.

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The first book to make me cry as an adult.

Cherish your kids, but prepare to have your heart destroyed by this book. Good job McCarthy, and you too Stechshulte

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Deep, beautiful and touching story.

This is my 74th book from Aubible, and it’s the first one I felt I just had to leave a review.
I understand that not all books are for everyone. That being said, that’s the only reason I could find behind any bad review about this book.
If it’s not for you, it isn’t. That’s just that.
But if it is, you’re in for a deep, touching and - who knows - transformative journey alongside a man and his son. One that you’ll keep in your heart for a lifetime.
I know I will.
Highly recommended, all round 5 stars for sure.

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Couldn't finish it

Man, this book is rough. It just felt like it would never end and the story was all twisted. I will try to go back to it, but it's a tough one.

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Just No

There was so much potential for an interesting story in here and it just never happened. What happened to get the world to the point the story takes up at is only described in the most vague words. The opportunity for development of the 2 main characters was there and not taken advantage of. Same with the opportunity for more than vague references to 'others'. Overall I found the story quite dull, the main characters annoying at best and the narration lent nothing to making it seem more interesting. Just nothing at all to make me want to recommend this or read it again.

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Predictable. Slow.

I had to read this book for a book club. I try to only contribute positive things to the group, so I think I'll remain pretty quiet on this one.

30 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Really??

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This book drags on and on... It was hard to get through.. partially because of the depressing story, but mostly because of the narration.. He could put anyone to sleep!!!

21 personnes ont trouvé cela utile