Wishing I could unread The Road (*spoilers* if you haven't read) - Page 2

[A&A]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

Never heard of it before this thread. Went to Amazon. How did I know it would be an Oprahs Book Club book

Don't let that stop you from reading it. It's a good book anyway! (And totally NOT your typical "Oprah" book.)

[CameronsMama]

Originally Posted by A&A

Don't let that stop you from reading it. It's a good book anyway! (And totally NOT your typical "Oprah" book.)

:

[Ary99]

I was very surprised to see it as an Oprah book. And truth be told, I think she's picked some good ones in the past.

And thanks for the dialogue on this thread. If nothing else I can at least say that the book got me thinking and very, very grateful for what we have so abundantly every day.

[CameronsMama]

Originally Posted by Ary99

I was very surprised to see it as an Oprah book.

I didn't even know it was an Oprah book until I saw the cover, and I was quite surprised. I think she's had some good ones before, too, but I just didn't think this was the kind of book she'd choose, ya know?

[YesandNo]

I just finished this book today. Wow. I'm surprised so many here disliked the book, I thought it was really powerful. Terrible to read, but:

If nothing else I can at least say that the book got me thinking and very, very grateful for what we have so abundantly every day.

Yes.

It made me think of stories I've heard about real people in terrible situations (like concentration camp survivors), and how resourceful and adaptable we as a people are. And as a parent I really responded to the father's techniques of talking to his son, and his rage at the lost life his child should have had.

I read this while alternately playing on the floor with my 5-month-old. Talk about cognitive dissonance.

[Leilamus]

I read this last fall and it's one of the few books I've finished in two days. I was totally captivated. I hate to say it, but there is a part of me that does believe some of that stuff can happen if things get bad enough, and that's why I was so mad at the ending. To be honest, if we were in that type of situation I wouldn't be able to say goodbye to my kids and just hope that they survived. I can't believe that the dad didn't kill the son - it was so cruel to just leave him as he did. that said, it's an amazingly powerful book. I don't know that i'll ever be able to re-read it but I am glad that I read it once.

[Isabello]

We had a lively discussion of this book in my book club last year and my English teacher friends swear to me that there is symbolism enough to prove a happy ending...a blade of green grass makes an appearance and language suggests the father knew where he was taking the boy. Now, I am dumb as a post when it comes to allegory or symbolism, so I take their word for it. I do know that this might be on of the most important, powerful books ever written. Get away from the imagery and LISTEN to the words which page after page are about LOVE....especially the love of a child. Yes, this is a heartbreaking, tough book, but I think of the women all over the world who have watched their children die because of lack of food or war and it strengthens my resolve to do more, care more and love my family more. I think it is the writing of a prophet. We cannot ask more from art. BTW, Rolling Stone did a lenghty interview with McCarthy last year (October?) that does a lot to explain his mindset. He hangs out with some of the finest scientists in the world at a think tank in Santa Fe because he admires their minds, but science is looking pretty bleak right now unless we get a grip on reality. Global warming a myth? Tell it to the Polar Bears north of where I live who can't find enough ice to float on and feed right now. Another big chuck the size of Manhattan just broke yesterday. It will make headlines, but it won't make policy change.

[KaraBoo]

I really didn't see the point in writing this book. I've read this premise before in other novels and felt that the writer was hell-bent on making every single thing poignant. I felt it was merely a string of events held together by moments of nothing to which the author tried to give weight. It felt contrived and I got annoyed with the writing style. I don't see how it won a Pulitzer.

And no, I'm not made of stone. There are certain images in the book which thoroughly disgust me as a human being because I can imagine them actually happening. Still, I didn't like the book. I LOVE Viggo but I don't think I want to see the film.

[lorijds]

This thread reinforced my decision to NOT read it. I've read All the Pretty Horses, Outer Dark, Blood Meridian, and the Crossing. All the Pretty Horses is one of my all time favorite books; it's simply perfect.

I will never read anything else by Cormac McCarthy. Not even going to try. He is depressing and disturbing. I don't care if he is writing the great American novel one after the other. I don't need images of babies being burned on spits and mothers wandering around with leaking breasts, looking for their lost children.

I don't know if he's brilliant, but I can't help but think he is heartsick and disturbed. Mostly when I read his stuff (besides All the Pretty Horses) I feel sorry for him.

[becoming]

I started out hating it because of the style (lack of quotation marks, punctuation, etc.), but by the end, I really felt for the boy and his father and wanted them to be okay. I thought it was well done overall. I lovedlovedloved how patient and loving the father was toward his son, even in the face of death and hopelessness. He hardly ever got angry or impatient with him, and when he did, he apologized and genuinely felt bad about it. I actually learned some things about parenting from this book, believe it or not.

When you read a book like this, you just have to expect that there are going to be some really disturbing things in it.