The Road - Cormac McCarthy

Recommended for ages 14-adult.

After a spate of terrible reading (of which the highlight was Economics in One Lesson) I came across The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Although I didn't really enjoy reading it, I persevered because my writing style is very similar to McCarthy's. My narration is third-person, like his, and I struggle to present the magnitude of key events just like McCarthy seems to. I even use dialogue like him. And guess what? I got pretty bored with this style of writing! It was a good wakeup call to me about how I need to develop my own writing.

The Road itself has an interesting plot. A guy and his son are struggling to survive after some kind of apocalyptic event which has wiped out most of humanity (and turned the survivors into frightening cannibals). The scenery is barren and poisonous and the two figures find their relationship tested and stretched to the limit. McCarthy manages to really explore human nature - the best and worst aspects of it, the things which set us apart from animals etc.

In all I found it a slow read, not particularly gripping but it has an interesting meditative quality if that's more your style. Older readers will appreciate this aspect more than demanding young readers, and kids should be able to handle images of cannibalism before they attempt The Road.