The Road

Browsing the bookstore the other day I came across the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men).

A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible.

It looks like an interesting read, and is soon to be released as a major motion picture...

IMDB

I'm wondering if any advanced survivalists here have read this novel, and would like to share any opinions on the validity of it's content?

I read it. It was a little slow but still a good book. Entertainment Magazine, not the most intellectual source, said it was one of the best books of the last twenty years.

As far as survivalism goes, it does a decent job of painting a sad true story of what it might be like if the **** hit the fan. Came away thinking I would not want to be one of the "lucky" ones cause. Everyone is just scrounging for what food is left. Since there is a nuclear winter going on, nothing is growing. So the book never gives you much hope that some humans will survive long enough to start farming again once the earth comes back alive.

I don't remember it going into things like, are there VIPs in some huge bunker somewhere waiting things out.

Are there survivors on some tropical island somewhere doing well.

It does spend a lot of time on what it might be like to be alone, very worried about keeping your son safe from bandits who will do unthinkable things.

I have read the book twice and frankly it scares the S#$% out of me! Unfortunately the idea of warmer climes after a Nuclear? war would be less than accurate. The debris cover from fallout and dust would effectively darken the skies for years plunging most of the world into an Ice age like climate change. So much for survival!

I've just started reading it today actually, so I was quite surprised to see a thread about it. So far I like it - seems like it would be quite a depressing movie though.

I was recommended The Road by another ATS member, ColoradoJens who read my ATS short story These Dark Worlds. My story deals with a disaster & survival (among other things).

I have the book as a pdf - if you haven't read it yet, here it is: The Road



[edit on 21/10/08 by Evasius]

reply to post by Kaiser Sohse


As post apocalyptic stories go it was pretty good. I don't think you could really learn anything from a survival standpoint except maybe just a feeling for the mental state you may experience. The loneliness, anxiety, fear, boredom, desolation.

As for a Cormac McCarthy novel, i was kinda dissapointed. He is one of my favorite writers.

Blood Meridian on the other hand is one of the greatest amercian novels ever written. The way he describes the American west is just incredible. I highly recomend checking it out. The Road isn't even in the same league.

[edit on 21-10-2008 by drock905]

It's an awesome book, but very bleak and very realistic..not sugercoated in the least. I was kind of bothered after I finished it because it's something that doesn't seem so improbable for our future....

Thanks for all the input, and Evasius I enjoyed your story.

KS