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Original poster

Anyone read ''The Road'' by Cormac McCarthy?

59 replies

ilovespinach · 02/06/2009 19:03

Have a voucher to spend and I wondered if this was a good read?

OP posts:
RaggedRobin · 25/06/2009 23:11
Grin
Miamla · 25/06/2009 22:31

ragged robin,.. i did the same as you but in three sittings so had double the number of cuddles with my son

gripping, sad, awful, dark book but oh my, i didn't/couldn't stop reading it

i read it in a book club too and it had votes from 0.5/10 to 9.5/10

RaggedRobin · 25/06/2009 22:24

it quickly became one of my favourite novels. the relationship between the father and son is so poignant. i read it in two sittings and in between i had to go and hold my sleeping son.

paisleyleaf · 25/06/2009 11:07

I don't mind them showing those bits
just hoping the don't make more of them than they are in the book. Milking it. iykwim. You know what hollywood can be like - and it's not really just about that.

Maria2007 · 25/06/2009 09:53

Paisleyleaf, yes, I do hope they don't show the most horrifying scenes (e.g. baby on spit / people trapped in cellar etc....ugh!) But then again if they don't it won't be very true to the book will it...

paisleyleaf · 24/06/2009 22:32

the mum/wife I think
before they hit the road.
Looks like the film picks up the story a bit earlier than the book.
Looks exciting

paisleyleaf · 24/06/2009 22:27

oooo just going to look that up.
I'm dreading them making it too much about the more horrible incidents.

Maria2007 · 24/06/2009 21:47

The film trailer is interesting; who is the woman?? Anyway, I'm dreading the idea of them making it into some kind of romance (particularly with Charlize Theron as the woman, pleeeeeease!)

paisleyleaf · 24/06/2009 21:03

Really, she's captured it well

thighsmadeofcheddar · 24/06/2009 18:52

God it was so depressing. I finished it, but couldn't sit through the film of it.

ReallyReally · 24/06/2009 18:51

It is represented in pictoral form here

TwoIfBySea · 24/06/2009 18:49

Oh God, a film. I don't know if I could watch it but probably will.

paisleyleaf · 24/06/2009 14:30

Just finished it. Feel like I've been kicked in the stomach.
leaves a lingering feeling for a while after.

Looking forward to the film
Says it's the same screenplay writer that did Enduring Love, I'm expecting it should be okay.

angelene · 24/06/2009 14:23

I couldn't get through it, too harrowing and really nothing happens.

It was recommended to me by someone who's opinion I trust though, so I'm obviously not up to it.

clemette · 24/06/2009 14:17

I have just finished this and did "enjoy" it. I expected to plod through it as something worthy but I was surprised at how accessible and gripping it is.

TwoIfBySea · 20/06/2009 17:57

I know what you mean Maria, it isn't exactly a book you could use the term "enjoy" with is it? I read this, stopped and then managed to finish it a couple of months later - my dad had just died the first time and the book was just too awful for me to continue.

I'm thinking nuclear war, and if I said why it would spoil the book for anyone who hasn't read it.

Maria2007 · 20/06/2009 16:00

Update to say that everyone in our book club seemed to love this! So I suppose I should highly recommend it. They all said the writing is really striking (it is). It's spare, bleak but gets the point across. As I said before, personally I didn't enjoy it nor did I think it's destined to be a classic, but I did appreciate it as a good, very well written book.

Maria2007 · 17/06/2009 18:12

I thought it was really gripping but really horrible at the same time iyswIm. I didn't actually 'enjoy' it. I read it quickly & I believe it's a good, quick read once you get into it- it took me a while- but it was bleak & sad. Devastating really.

I do wonder what the catastrophe was? Nuclear war? Some virus?

We're actually discussing it at our book club tonight

beanie35 · 15/06/2009 19:26

I read it twice and wrote a 3000 word essay on it as part of my degree. I loved it, but if your looking for a book to cheer you up maybe its a bad choice. I found parts of it very scary the first time round.

BeckyBendyLegs · 14/06/2009 18:21

I think it is either someting you can't put down because it is so harrowing or something you can't read for more than ten mins for the same reason. I'm in the second category. Brilliant book but it was just too real to take in in large chunks for me. I'd recommend it!

Bensonbluebird · 12/06/2009 11:21

I read it in a oner and was petrified but totally gripped. I'm normally an optimistic person but it really made me fear for the world. I read PD James' 'The Children of Men' around the same time, thank god they both have a glint of hope. Must try to read something more cheery.

paisleyleaf · 12/06/2009 11:14

Oh, I only got to about page 3 and he's written "off of"
I hope the writing's okay - as I think I'll enjoy the story.

hester · 05/06/2009 22:11

Yes, and it nearly killed me. It is brilliant, but SO harrowing.

donnie · 05/06/2009 22:10

it is fantastic - read it and weep.

Aimsmum · 05/06/2009 21:53

Message withdrawn

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