Welcome to The Road
Why Cormac McCarthy's bleak masterpiece is an essential read for 2024
“Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.
You forget some things, don’t you?
Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.”
The Road is one of the most important novels of the current century. Let’s hope for our sake it remains a fictional tale.
Cormac McCarthy’s representation of a world ravaged by an unnamed apocalypse is an allegory, a warning and a celebration of the determination which lies at the heart of the human spirit.
I first read this book shortly after it was released. It was my initiation into the stark and brutal world of McCarthy and it’s a story which never left me, even almost two decades on.
At its core, it follows the treacherous narrative of an unnamed man and his son, as they traverse a scorched landscape; one without nature, one without peace, one without comfort. No one can be trusted, as life has descended into a chaotic, fragmented form of survival, in which murder, cannibalism and danger lie around every corner.
“If trouble comes when you least expect it then maybe the thing to do is to always expect it.”
The man is sick, possibly consumptive, but is determined to head to the coast, to experience the sea air, and what he hopes may be a more temperate and forgiving environment. The novel follows their journey, as they search for the food, equipment and shelter they need to stay alive. The follow the eponymous road, which remains both a lifeline and a target.
McCarthy’s mastery as a writer is evident in the way he takes a very straightforward tale, omitting anything he feels as superfluous. There is no heavy world building in this book. The world is as it is, and we’re landed right in the middle of it. No lofty explanations, or accusatory diatribes about the end of modern civilisation exist; merely the after-effects of the end times and a harrowing portrayal of what awaits those lucky (or damned) enough to survive. McCarthy even dispenses with common grammatical rules, leaving the text as sparse as the landscape which it represents.
The man is haunted by dreams of his past life, of love, of comfort. The dichotomy of these fantasies when balanced against the ceaseless trials of his waking moments only add to the emotional resonance and impact of the book.
“Listen to me, he said, when your dreams are of some world that never was or some world that never will be, and you're happy again, then you'll have given up. Do you understand? And you can't give up, I won't let you.”
This is a book which most people will read quite quickly, for several reasons. It’s immersive in a hypnotic way, offering a slow-building tension and tentative intrigue as to what may lie ahead.
As part of the Gothic Book Club, I try and choose titles which I feel will explore the darker side of life, but also ones which highlight the beauty to be found within that darkness. This is almost literally represented in The Road by ‘the fire’ which the man and the boy ‘carry’. A metaphor of hope, of perseverance and of possible renewal, this becomes a painful mantra throughout the book, but one which must be protected.
“You have to carry the fire."
I don't know how to."
Yes, you do."
Is the fire real? The fire?"
Yes it is."
Where is it? I don't know where it is."
Yes you do. It's inside you. It always was there. I can see it.”
There are, however, other reasons why I selected this title. We are currently witnessing one of the most atrocious world events in recent history.
Sometimes, when tragedies occur on a grand scale, we lose a sense of perspective and empathy. It becomes easier to disconnect when numbers rise, and the incomprehensible horror which is occurring exceeds our ability to process it. Literature has always been a way for us to connect with the inner workings of another. Whilst this is no great or significant feat, I wanted to choose a story which showed how any of us can lose our place in life. How we are just one catastrophe, or world event away from having to fight, run or scavenge for survival.
As we enter the age of the Anthropocene, accompanied by ceaseless conflict and dehumanization, I wanted us to remember for a moment what it means to be human, and how fragile that can be.
Thank you for taking this journey with me. I will be in touch soon with a check-in and details of our next virtual meetup, in which we can unpack this magnificent book in a welcoming and open environment.