Hey Thanks for starting this thread and the idea. I'll start off by saying I LOVED The Road.
I've recently read Margaret Atwoods Year of the Flood (and before that Oryx and Crake). In general I love post-apocalyptic novels and stories, there are just so many ways we could kill ourselves or die.
First I'll say I love the language and the style - very minimalistic in dialog and very poetic in description. The style (along with the plotting) literally pulled me through this book moreso than any of recent memory.
I like that much of the backstory was simply left to the readers imagination. My thoughts on that are that it was some kind of ecological disaster either man-made or resulting from something like a mega-volcano or asteroid strike that left the sky overcast/cloudy and resulted in dead plants and animals etc.
As far as the characters I got an almost biblical sense of them (and I'm definitely not religious so I don't think I'm reading into it). Almost as though the man was god, the boy, jesus and maybe the environment etc as the third - the holy ghost.
I enjoyed the continued "discovery" of good and evil by the boy -- "We're the good guys, right papa?"
Which clearly points out that good and evil have no absolutes but are relative and must be learned.
Carrying the fire seems a very strong symbol and important tool. The lighter that gets dropped/lost is a powerful symbol of losing faith perhaps or means of survival.
The whole shopping cart thing was a bit weird I though, but provided a focal point for much of the story. The things we must carry, the things we need to survive are more than just us, we are dependent on food, shelter, luck and the kindness of strangers, yet must always be on guard against the "bad" people.
Another point was the focus on a destination -- the sea, the ocean, yet when they got there, it was no better then anywhere else and it was almost as if the man knew this would be the case but was hiding it even from himself and using it as a reason for going on.
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