Discussion: "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

[Ea]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Interesting. He definitely felt it didn't quite come across in the film which is very likely true given the poetic nature of the novel.

Might be worth watching just for Charlize though.

The obviously wanted a large Hollywood production, and I don't think ythe book is particularly suited to that. There's too many sections where not much is happening, which I think is the point, but if you want a wider audience it won't work so well in a film.

[kennyc]

I just ran across this: http://bestsellers.about.com/od/book...the_road_q.htm

maybe some questions to think about/stimulate discussion?

[bhartman36]

Excuse me for intruding on this thread if I seem a little off-topic. I did start the book, but I didn't finish it. I just found his writing style too difficult. For me, it wasn't a matter of the words he chose. It was more the lack of punctuation that distracted me. I found it too hard to follow conversations between characters without any kind of quotation marks. I know that sounds like a small thing to get hung up on, but without the quotation marks, it was like the whole book was being spoken in one voice.

Anyway, that's all. If people really enjoyed it, though, maybe I should give it another look.

[kennyc]

I appreciate that perspective bhartman36. I'd never read McCarthy before The Road and it was a bit of a surprise that he didn't use the conventional punctuation so I went and checked out some of this other books and found the same thing. I guess it's his style that he has adopted. I will admit it was confusing to me a few places, but I also felt that it actually make the book flow better and it drew me in as a reader making it even more like I was a fly on the wall listening in (as opposed to the intrusions of thing like: he said, he remarked with sly eyes, etc.).

I do know others (from the reviews I've read) have similar issues with his work. It's all good.

[neilmarr]

With you Bhartman. Much as I love McCarthy's writing, his pretentious abuse/unuse of punctuation really gets up my nose. Punctuation has slowly developed over time to allow an author to communicate more clearly with his reader; to ignore it is to show arrogance, if not contempt, I think. N

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

With you Bhartman. Much as I love McCarthy's writing, his pretentious abuse/unuse of punctuation really gets up my nose. Punctuation has slowly developed over time to allow an author to communicate more clearly with his reader; to ignore it is to show arrogance, if not contempt, I think. N

Well, but you know he's a genius, what with the macarthur genius grant and all that.

[Laz116]

For me the book was really about the hope of inner life. Even when everything on the outside is as grim as it gets, man's faculty for beauty, for hope, for love is still intact: The stark contrast between an outer, hopelessly destroyed, nature and an inner nature which seems to almost create beauty and hope by the sheer force of will.

That is why I see the novel as very hopeful and not pessimistic at all: Even in the face of total destruction, hope is still stronger than despair. Love stronger than death.

The beautiful prose is a triumph of inner life and of humanity.

[neilmarr]

Einstein was also a genius, Kenny, but he still worked to a formula. Punctuation is as vital to written communication as the twenty-six letters of the alphabet (and much more important than some). Granted, Kenny? This hip, big-headed 'punctuation is above me' approach (similar to posing poets who refuse to use capital letters) is my only grouse with an otherwise superb writer. Bestest. N

[jaxx6166]

I bought The Road on a whim back in August. It was a quick read for me.

I have to say though, I've never put a book down after reading it and felt totally, hopelessly depressed. It was bleak and minimalistic in its design and scenery. I think the minimalism really helped put the sense of dread into the book.

I was hopeful for the boy at the end of the story. "Are you the good guys?"

And I really really hoped they were the good guys. But something about it all made me think otherwise. I felt like the boy had just walked into a trap. I mean we saw all the other villages where good people were doing bad things. I really really wanted to have the boy and the father find their paradise.

This was my first Cormac McCarthy novel. I'd heard about him and his writing style before, but never really had the chance to experience it. I checked out the preview samples of all the pretty horses and no country for no men but couldn't get into it.

I did suffer through the movie versions of both. All the Pretty Horses was enjoyable, No Country just - left me wanting more. I'm probably the only person in America that was unsatisified with it.

With that said, I am looking forward to the Road. The imagery and the video trailer really did mesh in my head.

I remember talking to my girlfriend and a few people at work about it afterwards. The only real emotion or explanation of the story that came to my mind was dread and depression.

I have to say that I'm glad the narrator kept his distance from the main characters. I don't know if I would have had the same apathetic reaction had they been closer to each other.

Most of the dialog didn't work very well for me either. Towards the end I was going to rip my hair out of I read "I'm scared papa." or "okay." one more time =)

I'm seriously hoping that this isn't the case with the movie or I may lose my mind.

I don't want to say I became emotionally connected to any of the characters, especially the father. He seemed way too withdrawn from his child. It was more of just an overall sadness I felt at the end.

This kind of reminded me of another end-of-world epic that I read before it. I wish I could remember the name of it but I'm lost at the moment. All I remember was EMP and Rush Limbaugh wrote the foreward. It was recomended by the MR crew too. Bugger.

My point in this, is I felt more emotional pull at what happened to the dogs in that book than I did for any of the characters in this one. If that makes sense.

*EDIT*

Reviewing other posts, I didn't even know the movie came out yet. Is that Hollywood's failure for lack of promotion or what?

[jaxx6166]

As for the destruction of the world, I think it just...got sick...
Kind of like pollution, global warming, over population. The world just got sick and died. Like every other living thing.

Apples are the only other living thing that I remember, and even those trees were warped and sickened. I don't think the apples were ripe either if I remember correctly. They were just okay. They were a pop of color in a world of gray and brown. It's almost like maybe it was the blood of the earth they were eating.

Hell, even the ocean was dead. It was like everyone and everything just gave up.

That or the sun exploded

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Einstein was also a genius, Kenny, but he still worked to a formula. Punctuation is as vital to written communication as the twenty-six letters of the alphabet (and much more important than some). Granted, Kenny? This hip, big-headed 'punctuation is above me' approach (similar to posing poets who refuse to use capital letters) is my only grouse with an otherwise superb writer. Bestest. N

I understand Neal, that comment was as much a joke an anything. I don't think anyone is "above the law" but I'm also a poet and rebel and I do believe (as I wrote above) that his technique actually draws the reader in and makes the pace faster. It did/does for me at least. As far as punctuation being vital, I disagree, certainly it is the accepted convention, but clearly not "vital" as is indicated by the success of his work (as well as others who do this as well).

The thing about the this technique is that it must be completely clear who is talking, who the characters are and that puts an extra burden on the writer to make it so. It is clear that it is not working for some readers and as I said it confused me at a few places. (I also read "No Country for Old Men" immediately following The Road and it is the same, including the same confusion once in a while but rarely for me at least)

Again, just my opinion.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

As for the destruction of the world, I think it just...got sick...
Kind of like pollution, global warming, over population. The world just got sick and died. Like every other living thing.

Apples are the only other living thing that I remember, and even those trees were warped and sickened. I don't think the apples were ripe either if I remember correctly. They were just okay. They were a pop of color in a world of gray and brown. It's almost like maybe it was the blood of the earth they were eating.

Hell, even the ocean was dead. It was like everyone and everything just gave up.

That or the sun exploded

I think a lot of people have that reaction to McCarthy's writing in general. I've only read two of his works so far, but I always here it described as dark (or even depressing as you say). I sort of look at his work and think how wonderful my calm,tame,boring life really is.

[neilmarr]

Yup -- you write well, Kenny, and the humour is never missed in any of your posts. Where punctuation is concerned, I'm afraid I'm a bit of a stickler. I should have written Eats, Shoots and Leaves. Lynee Truss's prologue pretty well sums it up for me. Hoots. N

[neilmarr]

Didn't know, by the way, that The Road had been turned into a movie. I saw the film No Country for Old Men, so I'm looking forward to the read. Interesting to see how ideas are interpreted according to the medium. N

[Laz116]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Didn't know, by the way, that The Road had been turned into a movie. I saw the film No Country for Old Men, so I'm looking forward to the read. Interesting to see how ideas are interpreted according to the medium. N

Judging from the trailer, they are turning it into an action flick (hope it's misleading):