The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy's bestselling novel was the last book I read for the End of the World challenge. I thought I enjoyed reading dystopian and post apocalyptic novels, but after finishing this one, I think it will be a very long time before I pick another one up. While reading this story, I was sucked into the world as it is described by McCarthy, and I had a difficult time shaking the feeling of despair he created even after I put the book down.

Something huge and terrible has happened. Ash covers the ground and floats in the air. Everything is grey, colorless, lifeless. Trees and animals have all died or disappeared. Even the sun can't be seen as it makes its daily journey through the pallid sky. A man and his son slowly make their way to the coast, in hopes of a warmer climate. They have little to no food, no shelter except what they can construct with sticks and an old tarp, and only a sliver of hope that they will make it over the mountains to the coast. If they can make it there, they have no idea what they will find. However, even amid these circumstances, the boy never loses his compassion, and his father does everything in his power to protect and care for his son. McCarthy has written a heartbreaking story about the love between father and son, and how this love can sustain them through the darkness and desperation.

The Road is the first book I have read by McCarthy, and it took me several pages to get accustomed to his sparse writing. I'm not sure if this is his usual writing style, or if he wrote this way to contribute to the tone of the story, but it was definitely effective: "He lay listening to the water drip in the woods. Bedrock, this. The cold and the silence. The ashes of the late world carried on the bleak and temporal winds to and fro in the void...Everything uncoupled from its shoring. Unsupported the ashed air. Sustained by a breath, trembling and brief. If only my heart were stone" (11). McCarthy does not use superfluous words, and every single word has a purpose and contributes to the story. Though this was an extremely bleak story, occasionally there were little bits of light seen through the boy's tenderness towards others and through his father's selflessness.

Have you read any other works by McCarthy? What do you recommend?

Also reviewed by: Nymeth, Trish, Becca, Raidergirl3, Wendy, CJ (please let me know if I've missed you!)

Date completed: September 9, 2008

# of pages: 287

I sure was cutting it close with this one--I finished it with only a week before the end of the challenge! Thanks to Becky for hosting! Of the three books I read, I think The Road will stick with me the longest, but The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood was also very memorable. Orwell's 1984 was a bit disappointing, but I think I wasn't in the right frame of mind to be reading it at the time.

1984 by George Orwell

Though I finished reading George Orwell's "reverse utopian" novel 1984 several days ago, I've been putting off writing the review for several reasons. First, I don't exactly know what to say about this book. It took me two entire weeks to read this relatively short book because I was unusually busy, but also because I did not look forward to reading it. I had to force myself to pick it up and concentrate. The second reason I've put off the review is that I know I'm not going to do the book justice. Because I was really busy, I really just needed a good story to read. While 1984 does have a main character, Winston Smith, the book is far deeper than this one man's story. I skimmed over several passages in the book because I was impatient, and I found them to be dry, but I know if I would have spent the time, I probably would have better understood what Orwell was saying through his book. So, I apologize for my review ahead of time--I'll try to find links to good reviews to share!

Society in 1984 is run by a totalitarian government. There are 3 classes of people--the smallest group, yet the people with the most power and privilege is the Inner Party. The Outer Party have very few creature comforts, but they work in government office-type jobs. The remaining class, which make up 85% of the population, are the "proles." They are looked down upon as unintelligent, and have hard labor-type jobs. Though English is still spoken, many words have been completely dropped off, with the introduction of "Newspeak." The goal is to have a language that is so easy and has so few words that people really don't have to think very much at all, and there is literally no way to have thoughts of words such as "freedom." Along with the language, the past is slowly being wiped out. Books of all types have been altered to remove anything that is not in alignment with the Party. Reading, writing, thinking, and feeling are not only discouraged, but punishable.

There are three major powers in the world at this time--Oceania (the setting of 1984), Eurasia, and Eastasia. The three powers are constantly at war. Who Oceania is at war with, and who they are allied with changes frequently, but no one really pays attention. People's lives are devoid of emotion, fun, and free-will. They do exactly what they should be doing, according to the Party (Big Brother), as they are constantly watched from the ever present telescreens and/or hidden microphones that are in homes, at work, and even outside in the woods. People that deviate are "vaporized" and their names are erased from any records--as if they never existed.

Winston Smith, an average 39-year-old Outer Party member is unhappy with this life and occasionally has flashbacks to his childhood when things were different. He knows the history books aren't accurate, as his job is to actually update the past events to make them parallel with the Party's agenda. He only takes part in the Party rituals, such as the Two Minutes Hate, because he doesn't want to disappear forever, to become and "unperson." He lives in constant fear, and knows he can't trust anyone...until he meets Julia. It is only after he begins spending time with her (which completely isn't allowed), that Winston really learns what happiness could be like, as well as what the Party is capable of.

Imagining this world of despair and loneliness is depressing. I'm glad that even though we are well past the year 1984, our world is not even close to the dreary place pictured in the novel. Well, actually, I don't know...maybe someone is watching us through our televisions...

Read other reviews: (please let me know if you've read and reviewed it, and I'll add your link).
The Hidden Side of a Leaf
The Inside Cover
Thoughts, Books, and Philosophy



Date Completed: July 20, 2008
# of pages: 308

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

We know very little about the narrator of this story--we never even learn her real name. What we do know is that she is a woman in her early thirties, who at one time had a husband and daughter. Actually, at one time, she had pretty much everything the rest of us have-family, friends, a job, a pet, a bank account, books, a driver's licence, free will. When we meet her, her circumstances have changed in a drastic way. Women can no longer read, write, use money or hold jobs. They must behave in a very particular manner, and perform the duties of their specific roles. Though there is a hierarchy of women, none have freedom or any real power--except for the few who have power over other women. It is common for the women to either commit suicide or lose their minds. No one really knows what is going on, and how this all happened. The question our narrator faces is this..is it better to simply go with the flow, do as she's told, don't think, remember, dream; OR should she look for little ways to rebel--make friendships, look at a magazine, sneak out at night?? In the end...will it really matter?

Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, written in 1983, paints the picture of our world taken to an extreme and then twisted a little more. Some say it can be taken as a warning. There are definitely elements in the novel that I can see becoming reality. Paper money, for instance--I can see in the not too distant future, paper money and coins becoming obsolete. Personally, I rarely use cash these days--plastic is much more convenient. However, I cannot imagine a world without written words. I do not want to imagine such a world.

From start to finish, I found The Handmaid's Tale difficult to put down. Atwood does not open the story with an explanation of what is going on, but instead, the reader must figure out as best as possible what the time period is, who is narrating and what has happened to alter the "normal" way of life. The way Atwood wrote the story is truly as though the reader is in the narrator's mind. There are passages that are similar to stream of consiousness. For example, "I wait, for the household to assemble. Household: that is what we are. The Commander is the head of the household. The house is what he holds. To have and to hold, till death do us part. The hold of a ship. Hollow" (81). This type of writing really makes the reader feel as though she is following the narrator through her thoughts. Oftentimes, as can be expected, her thoughts are lonely, depressed, "You can wet the rim of a glass and run your finger around the rim and it will make a sound. This is what I feel like: this sound of glass. I feel like the word shatter. I want to be with someone" (103).

What has happened to our narrator is utterly sad. But the small ray of light in this society is that though the women have been reduced to function solely for one basic purpose, they still have the power of their minds. There is an underground resistance. There is still hope for the future.

The story ends with a giant question mark, which tends to bother me. It makes me feel better when all the loose ends are tied up in a pretty little bow. However, such a thought-provoking book must end in a way to keep the reader pondering. I know this story will stay with me for quite some time. I definitely will be picking up other Atwood books!

Date completed: May 21, 2008

# of pages: 295

4.5/5 stars

*If you've read and reviewed this book, please let me know, and I'll include your link.