The world has been turned to grey by ash and the debris of our world burned to the ground. The plants are dead or dying, the rivers are all polluted, the sky is full of dread, and there is no hope for man’s tomorrow.
That’s the world a man and his son are existing in. There isn’t much hope in the coast, but that’s where they are going one cold day at a time. They battle the wind, the snow, their hunger and roaming gangs of cannibals. They are alone and are nothing without each other. They carry the light for each other.

The world painted by McCarthy is monochrome. Only the never ending bleakness of a gray, unforgiving world. Even the time spent together between father and son is permiated by the grim hopelessness of a world at it’s end. Pushed to the limits the world comes apart, giving up like most of it’s inhabitants.

The story manages to dip so dark into the abyss of this horrible existance, but thankfully never stays there long enough to overwhelm you. The terrible images that he conjures up will stay with you even if the story doesn’t stay as long. At it’s core it’s a simple story, but the path it takes is long and dark. From the moment by moment narrative and the unknown future, the style McCarthy has chosen fits this vision of the end of the world.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307265439