Tolog Review: The Road

The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
reviewed by Kelly Carney

A young boy and his father never thought that they would wake up in a world of fire, ash, and dust. Most of the population is dead and the boy and his father are left lonely in a desolate, frightening America. Unsure of what happened, the boy and his father trudge through the whirling snow and the pounding rain trying to make it to the coast alive. They struggle to push an everyday industrial shopping cart with unstable wheels. The shopping cart carries all their belongings as well as the boy at times. There are a handful of other survivors; some that will do anything to survive and provide for their families, and the army, who the father describes as the “bad guys.” The “bad guys” are out all day and night searching to kill the remaining survivors. The boy and his father can’t trust anyone and have to make sure that their hiding places at night are not easily visible. 

The father is constantly optimistic, reassuring the boy that they are far from death. The father mourns the death of his beautiful wife and the mother of his only child and often dreams of her face. Along the way, the boy and his father scour through houses searching for scraps of food survive. The dad and his son overcome the intense cold and life threatening illnesses in this harsh, yet heartwarming story about family, determination, and survival. 

McCarthy uses exemplary imagery throughout the intense story, The Road. The story tells of an intense journey that is powered by hope. The Road will send shivers down the readers’ spines as they enter the world of the boy and his father. The father holds his son close and together they motivate each other to push through the journey, filling the reader with a warm sense of family and friendship. No matter the conditions, the boy and his father survive because they are “carrying the fire” (McCarthy 129), otherwise known as hope.