Discussion - The Road (drama, tragedy, writing, authors)
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Oh, thanks. The op called it "at incredible love story". When I hear "love story", I hear, she gazed deeply into his eyes, her breathing became heavy, longing for his touch. It was then that she realized, this was the man she had been searching for her whole life. Or something like that. With perfect and "pat" endings.
God no. In no way is it at all like that.
In fact, it's probably as far as you could get from what you just described while still being able to be called a love story at all.
The love in question is much more genuine.
I loved that book. "Blood Meridian" and the Border Trilogy are masterpieces.
"No Country" was amazing (and I thought the movie was one of those rare films that did the source material justice).
"Suttree" was good, but McCarthy definitely perfected his craft with time and age. "Suttree" came out 30 years ago. I haven't read anything older than that, but likely will if I can get my hands on them.
I think several of the issues in the book were deliberately vague. I tried to write a book something like this in the 90s; nearly finished it too, and frankly, it had more punch without the explanations of how the protagonist ultimated survived.
And, yes, I think I would have left the bunker with the food because as human-kind it is as much about community as it is about basic need that keeps us going.
Yes, I wonder if that was to keep readers from growing to attached to characters?
I didn't like that there were no names..only the man, the boy etc
I can't say why the author left the names out of his narrative, but perhaps for him, too, the anonymity gave him the distance from the horror of which he wrote and provided him with a means to continue.
I'd say of the hundreds, probably thousands of books I've read this was among the most difficult, and even with this device of neutral characters, I suffered for the father and mourned for both the father and the son as they continued to experience loss of hope and human attachment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by njkate
Yes, I wonder if that was to keep readers from growing to attached to characters?
I didn't like that there were no names..only the man, the boy etc
I really didn't find the story to be heavy or depressing overall.
In fact, it felt somewhat light and airy as I read it (not in subject matter, but in the way the story unfolds - just very basic storytelling, sparsely written.)
I was far more wrapped up in the adventure aspect of it then I was bothered by the psychological territory (i.e. the desolation and lack of hope).
Mostly, I think it was very realistic. I could imagine myself acting exactly the way that The Man does. And I could feel the confused anxiety of The Boy.
The ending was perfect: not uplifting, and not very tragic, but a realistic transition to "the next step" for the characters. To me, that seemed to be the point: Life is a series of steps from one situation to the next, of which we can only control small parts and make out the best we can.
A nice summation of the book, b. frank, especially about the conclusion.
I think because I've personally had thoughts of this event occurring my level of anxiety reading the book was heightened. Perhaps if I didn't visualize so well, I might have seen it as an adventure--and an adventure not far from my own ilfe experience.
I find more often than not a simple, unfolding is as riveting and occasionally more rivetting than flourish.
Thanks for your POV.
Quote:
Originally Posted by b. frank
I really didn't find the story to be heavy or depressing overall.
In fact, it felt somewhat light and airy as I read it (not in subject matter, but in the way the story unfolds - just very basic storytelling, sparsely written.)
I was far more wrapped up in the adventure aspect of it then I was bothered by the psychological territory (i.e. the desolation and lack of hope).
Mostly, I think it was very realistic. I could imagine myself acting exactly the way that The Man does. And I could feel the confused anxiety of The Boy.
The ending was perfect: not uplifting, and not very tragic, but a realistic transition to "the next step" for the characters. To me, that seemed to be the point: Life is a series of steps from one situation to the next, of which we can only control small parts and make out the best we can.
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