The Road
Registered by silverbirch7 on 10/3/2012
4 journalers for this copy...
I didn't manage to finish this - it was just too grim. Unlike Blood Meridian (which I also didn't finish!) the grimness didn't feel gratuitous, it was unavoidable given the nature of the plot (this involves a father and son making their way across a post-apocalyptic USA, trying to avoid being killed and eaten by other survivors who have turned to cannibalism). It would perhaps have been an easier read if I wasn't a mother with a son of a similar age to the boy in the book The writing, despite the subject matter, is really beautiful in parts and the relationship between the father and son is very touching. Just too much for me though!
Journal Entry 2 by silverbirch7 at Biblos, Chambers Street in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Released 11 yrs ago (10/4/2012 UTC) at Biblos, Chambers Street in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
To be released at BX Meet up
Picked up at he meetup.
This was a really interesting and gripping read with a good premise and a well handled subject. The interactions between father and son were good, and the difficulty and pointlessness of life well described, though sometimes the philosophical asides were a bit too much for me. Contrary to what many reviewers have said, I didn't find the language lyrical or beautiful at all. I thought the clipped short sentences with no verbs were really difficult to read and didn't flow well for me at all. I often head to re-read sentences and whole paragraphs just to get the meaning to resonate within my brain, which was really distracting and keeping me from becoming fully immersed in the environment. Despite that, I enjoyed the read and finished it really quickly.
I also found some parts difficult to believe (SPOILERS). Especially the family with two children and a dog. How did they manage to keep a dog fed, and safe from other humans? And why would they be following the protagonists and be so worried about the boy - he was with his father and in no immediate danger as far as they knew, so why would they jeopardise their presumably safe location just to keep an eye on him? It seems the author couldn't bear to let the boy die or be left alone (presumably because he was thinking of his own son, whom the book is dedicated to) so he conjured this nice family out of nowhere to look after him.
I also found some parts difficult to believe (SPOILERS). Especially the family with two children and a dog. How did they manage to keep a dog fed, and safe from other humans? And why would they be following the protagonists and be so worried about the boy - he was with his father and in no immediate danger as far as they knew, so why would they jeopardise their presumably safe location just to keep an eye on him? It seems the author couldn't bear to let the boy die or be left alone (presumably because he was thinking of his own son, whom the book is dedicated to) so he conjured this nice family out of nowhere to look after him.
Sent to Lamora in Austria yesterday who has it on her wishlist.
Got it in the mail today. Thank you !
Grey, cold and dead.
I was a tiny bit afraid of this book, because I heard it was sould-destroyingly depressing. But I'm pretty sure I finished reading it with my soul intact. What got me the most was the anticipation that something horrible has to happen.
The writing style was rather unusual and at times difficult to understand. I would have finished this book much sooner, if I didn't have to google words like salitter and catamite.
I was a tiny bit afraid of this book, because I heard it was sould-destroyingly depressing. But I'm pretty sure I finished reading it with my soul intact. What got me the most was the anticipation that something horrible has to happen.
The writing style was rather unusual and at times difficult to understand. I would have finished this book much sooner, if I didn't have to google words like salitter and catamite.
Sent to alexiapapa, because she was the winner of my October offer.
Thank you for your offer and for sending this book to me!