Jon Lymon review of The Road by Cormac McCarthy

A man and boy who remain nameless throughout head south with all they have left in the world. Which isn’t much, as there’s not much left of the world.

It’s never mentioned what’s happened to the planet, but it’s safe to assume that whatever it was turned out to be extremely unpleasant. So much so that by the time we join the world – a few years after the catastrophic events - there aren’t many people left and zero animals.

Cannibalism is rife and bath-times rare in this starving, dirty, new world order, and this kid and his papa are wandering along the road (actually several different roads) searching for food and generally avoiding other people.

The prose is beautiful, incredibly descriptive which is probably the reason this work has received so many accolades. The conversations between father and son are a little simplistic and strained as the elder tries to keep the younger remaining positive. There are encounters with other travellers, all of whom are potential assailants our duo have to be aware of. The kid is way more welcoming to these strangers than his distrustful father who’s lived longer so is that much more cynical about the world and its people.

It’s a book that makes you realise the importance of stocking up on tinned food – find a cupboard somewhere to store it all. Especially pears, peaches and fruit cocktail. I actually had to buy a tin of peaches during the reading of this and enjoyed them immensely.

There isn’t really a traditional plot to this short novel – it doesn’t go anywhere, but that’s the point I think. The human race isn’t going anywhere fast after what’s happened (it was probably something to do with dreadful AI).

The story shows us that after the apocalypse, it’s a case of surviving for as long as you can. Killing or being killed. Eating or being eaten.

Tinned peaches. Yum.