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The first thing I did
when I got this book was rip the Oprah Book Club sticker off the front.
It's not that I'm not 100% secure in my manliness, but there's something
about that mark that says to everyone around you "I love sappy pablum."
After reading this book, I'm honestly amazed that she would be so
gung-ho about it. This is the woman who claimed to almost barf when
watching a reasonably mild scene from Interview
with a Vampire (like, duh, there might be blood in a vampire movie),
and this book is miles more gory and disturbing that that book/movie
ever was. It just doesn't seem like her cup of tea, but I'm really
more of a Montel
guy anyway. The story here is basic. The world is dead. We're never
given a reason for its death, only that the world is covered in a
cloud of ash, all livestock and crops are dead, and most of the world's
population. We don't know in the context of the story when exactly
this happened, or why, and if it was caused by man or a natural disaster.
All we know is that our no-named protagonists are a father and son
wandering the vast wasteland of the U.S.; a U.S. that is almost devoid
of food and water. And, of course, when there is no food, people get
desperate--desperate enough to make each other the source of said
nourishment. Yet our father and son duo soldier on knowing that there
really can be only one outcome to their adventures. The world isn't
going to heal itself and the bad guys (as the son calls them) aren't
all of a sudden going to grow a conscience and politely tip their
caps when passing them on the road. To call this book bleak would
be an understatement. It's soul-crushing and sad and hopeless in a
hopeful kind of way. Watching their struggles and what you know is
a useless hike towards an abandoned coast is an exercise in futility.
But that's not really what the story is about. It's a father's promise
to his wife and to himself to protect his son in the face of whatever
comes--and to never give up. It's not clear if his wife made the same
promise, but she checks out in one of the nastiest ways imaginable.
The book basically follows the two characters as they trek down the
road towards some distant shore. It's literally that simple. The end
result is something akin to a well-written Stephen King book with
horrifying moral and personal dilemmas rather than King's typical
good versus evil, supernatural themes. I read All the Pretty Horses
a long time ago, and even read a script for Blood Meridian
that I don't think ever got produced, and both were equally as violent
and merciless. McCarthy just has an unwavering outlook on the inevitable.
And the inevitable is darkness. The book is extremely readable and
pretty darn short. It's honestly difficult to put down once you start,
so be sure to set aside a night or two to knock it out. Despite its
brevity, it'll stick with you for quite a while.
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