This one came highly recommended by my Dad, who raves about McCarthy’s prose and his themes of ‘amoral violence.’ So recommended in fact, that before I had the chance to read the book, he took me to see the movie, which was pretty amazing, but also wrist-cuttingly (yes I know this technically isn’t a word) Grim with a capital G.
But in this case I’m glad I’d seen the flick pre-book, because I’m not sure I could have quite grasped the apocalyptic landscape without a visual prompt. And it was a rare case of neither book nor film disappointing; I thought both stood on their own very well. To sustain a novel with just two main characters, without names, as they walk across a land destroyed by an unknown and unnamed phenomena is quite a feat, and one that McCarthy handles with unquestionable skill. Basically he has a million different ways to describe this void world, and each of them hits their mark in creating this bleak, hopeless no-man’s land. It’s actually quite an extraordinary journey with Man and Boy, and their sparse dialogue manages to do so much with so little; their conversations about whether or not they’re the good guys, and the part where the Boy talks about carrying the fire...well, it just about breaks your heart.
It’s one of those books where the author has managed to, very cleverly, ask All The Important Questions, without beating the reader about the head with them. I dare anyone to read this book without spending the next few days hypothesising about what they would do in the Man’s situation; I came to the conclusion that I would have definitely used the bullets when I had the chance and ended it all. But then it niggles at you – the very essence of humanity is our hope that the next day will be a better one, and the idea that being a parent means to protect and not harm. It’s powerful stuff and worth the discomfort.
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Urgh, great: another freakin' book knocking down my door to be read. I did love 'All the Pretty Horses' when I read it last year, but got stumped on the sequel. I'm aching to finish it though, because I think the characters from 'Horses' come back in the third book. Perhaps I need an interlude along the Road.
ReplyDeleteYep, definitely let this one in. I'm going in search of more McCarthy quick smart...I think I braced myself to read this book and then realised even though it's quite awful, it's actually freaking amazing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, well, like I said - 'All the Pretty Horses' will pretty much make you want to go cruising around Mexico on the back of a horse IMMEDIATELY. Be prepared!
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