Matthias's Reviews > The Road

The reason I didn't give it five stars is that McCarthy, definitely near the end, went overboard with the vocabulary, yanking me out of my immersion whenever he came up with another term for some architectural element or boating equipment that left many a dictionary speechless. Pampooties was a cute one, but does he really expect me to know the name of footwear made and worn on the Aran Islands of County Galway, Ireland?
Another notable example, but at the same time an exception, is the word salitter. McCarthy uses it in saying: "The salitter drying from the earth.". The word is not to be found in any dictionary, but after some digging some people found a reference in 17th Century mystical writing. It means "essence of God". The reason why I call it an exception is because there's a beauty to what McCarthy does here. He has scavenged a word out of a forgotten past in a time that no longer has a place for it.

This makes me think that McCarthy did this intentionally, using words of a world gone long ago, making us feel like how the son must feel when seeing remnants of a lost civilisation he was never part of. But for me, it just made me grab for my dictionary a bit too often.

Pithy review and revelatory comment, Matthias!
I am ashamed to confess I still have to read McCarthy, but I am not in the mood for dark, apocalyptic novels at the moment. It won't elude my list though, even more now that I read your persuading review!! :)

Interesting observations, Matthias. Personally, I rather enjoy archaic lanuage, but when a modern author overindulges in the use of it, I can see why that would irk readers. Tends to come across as unnecessarily elitist. I found myself debating whether this would be my first McCarthy or 'Blood Meridian'. I did opt for the latter (remains unread, though not for long), because I had already seen the film adaptation of 'The Road'. It's roughly described as America's modern epic of brutality. Who can say no to that, really?

Excellent, Matthias.

Interesting review Matthias

So understated and so good, Mathias! Yours is most definitely a first for a McCarthy review! People generally tend to overstate rather than understate their opinions about McCarthy's books.

Your insights into his use of archaic words is very interesting. Scavenging words out of the past seems perfect for this story - which I haven't read, by the way, but I loved loved loved The Border Trilogy! How's that for overstatement ;-)

A promise, and scavengers of memories. Simple, succinct, and just right.

Dolors wrote: "Pithy review and revelatory comment, Matthias!
I am ashamed to confess I still have to read McCarthy, but I am not in the mood for dark, apocalyptic novels at the moment. It won't elude my list tho..."

Thank you Dolors! I'd say McCarthy does require a certain mood, but you can leave it to the author to pull you into it, without fear of regrets. Looking forward to see you discover this author for yourself. and may I add that, especially given the breadth and width of your own library, there is no need for shame at all.

Tristan wrote: "Interesting observations, Matthias. Personally, I rather enjoy archaic lanuage, but when a modern author overindulges in the use of it, I can see why that would irk readers. Tends to come across as..."

Thanks Tristan!
When it comes to archaic language, I can appreciate it only in small doses. In that way, a book that hasn't taught me any new word would be slightly disappointing as well.
Haven't read "Blood Meridian" yet. I've heard wildly different opinions on it, when a discussion ensued under my "No Country for Old Men"-review. That's the book with which I started my McCarthy journey, and so far my favorite (of admittedly only two).

Zoeytron wrote: "Excellent, Matthias."

Thank you for your enduring compliments Zoeytron! They're much appreciated :-)

Emma wrote: "Interesting review Matthias"

Thank you Emma!

Jean-Paul wrote: "Thank you, Matthias, for this wonderfully wrought write-up, which perfectly reflects the essence of this novel. I was deeply affected by your allusion to the brittleness of the promise:

dream of i..."

I'm glad you enjoyed this my friend! I hoped you would :-)

Fionnuala wrote: "So understated and so good, Mathias! Yours is most definitely a first for a McCarthy review! People generally tend to overstate rather than understate their opinions about McCarthy's books.

Your i..."

I did try to keep it as understated as possible! Your appreciation for this choice not only shows your keen readers' eye for motive and detail , but also your generous character. Thank you, Fio! I actually have the Border-trilogy on my shelves, though I regret having bought it in one volume. I think I'll keep it as an ornament and go get the three seperate books soon.

Cecily wrote: "A promise, and scavengers of memories. Simple, succinct, and just right."

Thank you Cecily :-)

Matthias wrote: "...I actually have the Border-trilogy on my shelves, though I regret having bought it in one volume. I think I'll keep it as an ornament and go get the three seperate books soon."

You're right - I read them separately and usually think of them as individual books, and the titles are beautiful, almost stories in themselves.

A touching review of a devastating story, Matthias. Good on ya.

Fionnuala wrote: "Matthias wrote: "...I actually have the Border-trilogy on my shelves, though I regret having bought it in one volume. I think I'll keep it as an ornament and go get the three seperate books soon."
..."

Just put down a gigantic McCarthey order and am near to completing the collection of Picador-editions that my "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men"-books are also part of. Feeling pretty pleased about it, too! I don't expect to have read them all between this and three years from now, but still, yay.

C-shaw wrote: "A touching review of a devastating story, Matthias. Good on ya."

Thank you C-shaw! Always a pleasure to see you pop in :)

I’ve seen the film. Film is the unrealistic trash.

Vit wrote: "I’ve seen the film. Film is the unrealistic trash."

The movie did seem fairly loyal to its source material, from what I remember, so you may not like the book very much either in that case.

That’s why I don’t want to read any books by Cormac McCarthy

Vit wrote: "That’s why I don’t want to read any books by Cormac McCarthy"

Now I'm curious! When you said "unrealistic", what was it exactly that annoyed you so much?
Maybe a slight suspension of disbelief is sometimes required, but I found McCarthy's portrayal of the people that inhabit his tales pretty realistic. At least I could identify with most of his characters in one way or another.

The main characters of The Road – the father and the son – are too clueless to live in their post-apocalyptic world even half a day, they would be dead in half an hour after they left their shelter.

Precise. Incisive. Endearing. Perfect Review.

I haven't read the book. Your observations about the book, its themes and the language, however, are precise and excellent. Especially the facts you mention in the comment. That pretty much blew my mind.

Vit wrote: "The main characters of The Road – the father and the son – are too clueless to live in their post-apocalyptic world even half a day, they would be dead in half an hour after they left their shelter."

Personally I think "cluelessness" is a very realistic trait, and one that luckily doesn't preclude survival. That said, I found the father quite resourceful in the book. I'd think that it's mainly the terrible circumstances in which they find themselves that makes survival seem highly unlikely. I don't remember if the father's resourcefulness was depicted in the movie, so that might be part of the reason why you didn't like this, but just to be on the safe side: I won't be the one trying to convince to read this author ;-) Given your broad reading tastes I'm sure you won't miss out on too much.

For as a long as I live- I'll recall one scene from this book - the flock of geese flying overhead migrating and knowing it's their last flight -- ever-- no where to go and nothing is waiting.

Seemita wrote: "Precise. Incisive. Endearing. Perfect Review."

Heartwarming. Kind. Encouraging. I greatly appreciate your comment, my dear friend.

Anuradha wrote: "I haven't read the book. Your observations about the book, its themes and the language, however, are precise and excellent. Especially the facts you mention in the comment. That pretty much blew my..."

Thanks Anuradha. I decided to seperate that comment from the review to keep the latter's tone steady, but I'm glad you felt the addition worthwhile. Hope you'll try this book first-hand!

Sher wrote: "For as a long as I live- I'll recall one scene from this book - the flock of geese flying overhead migrating and knowing it's their last flight -- ever-- no where to go and nothing is waiting."

I'll admit I didn't recall that scene, but that is a strong image indeed, and one that fits the in my opinion central theme of thiss book perfectly.

I don't remember much about this book, really. The memorable thing here is your succinct yet wonderfully insightful review and first comment, Matthias. :)

You’ve written a very fitting review for this book, Matthias. This paragraph in particular really captured its essence: “The promise is brittle. Hold on to it too tightly, dream of it too violently, and both the promise and the road will turn to dust, leaving you in a desert with nowhere to go.” Very well put!

Florencia wrote: "I don't remember much about this book, really. The memorable thing here is your succinct yet wonderfully insightful review and first comment, Matthias. :)"

Thank you Florencia! I always have a hard time remembering books afterwards. That is, if I don't write reviews. Writing about the books I read seems to greatly help their memorability for me.

Tara wrote: "You’ve written a very fitting review for this book, Matthias. This paragraph in particular really captured its essence: “The promise is brittle. Hold on to it too tightly, dream of it too violently..."

Thanks Tara!

Wes wrote: "Great review Matthias. This book has stuck with me weeks after reading it and I loved reading your take on it."

Many thanks Wes! Definitely one to put on thhe a1-list!

I had not even heard of this book till now(is it too bad?), but this review made me curious. I must say, you are an excellent writer.

Jafar wrote: "I had not even heard of this book till now(is it too bad?), but this review made me curious. I must say, you are an excellent writer."

It's never too late to hear about this book Jafar, and I'm glad to see my review has served that purpose. Thank you for your kind compliment!

I love to read what people think of tis book which is my favorite, with wilderness by Lance Weller coming in second.

Your review is excellent.

Jessaka wrote: "I love to read what people think of tis book which is my favorite, with wilderness by Lance Weller coming in second.

Your review is excellent."

I gave it five stars, noted in my review: "I've seen the movie, so I know how this ends. However, reading Pulitzer-prize-winning McCarthy's writing is great. This is a very dark story, not for the faint-hearted.
Wow! Read this book!"

C-shaw wrote: "Jessaka wrote: "I love to read what people think of tis book which is my favorite, with wilderness by Lance Weller coming in second.

Your review is excellent."

I gave it five stars, noted in my r..."

I have read it twice.

Thanks Jessaka! I'm glad a fan of the book also found this review to her liking. :-)

Great review. I love this book - it's one of my favourites.

A harrowing tale of the love and bond between father and son.

Ffvhaf