I enjoyed “No Country for Old Men” immensely at the theater. Even though it was a simple story of being hunted, the mesmerizing acting captivated me and two-hour runtime flew by. Then I started to feel curious whether it was because of the artistic directing or the powerful plot. I also understood the movie received mixed reviews, whether 9/10 out of 10 or 1 out of 10. I became more and more intrigued by Cormac McCarty. I had to read his novel. Here goes “The Road.”
Let me start by saying the book is stunning. The book focused on the essentials of humanity, namely, survival, love and hope. The story was so dark and depressing that I started to feel surreal then the book reached a point where it was punctuated by usual activities such as playing a board game and a common conversation in an ordinary family. It somewhat reminded me of “Suite Francaise” by Irene Nemirovsky that described people who struggled for survival after losing everything. Both books disguised the core meaning in a simple narration of a survival. The father and son kept traveling on a road after a cataclysm. They were incredibly genuine and candid. What is better, they loved each other. No civilization existed: no water, food or electricity. They encountered heinous situations one after another. Only a glimmering hope they carried let me wade through the atrocity. The father finally bestowed the unfaded hope to his son. Touched and reclaimed, I still ruminate. No other post-apocalyptic books have ever had a more profound impact on me than The Road.
McCarthy’s succinct style was much appreciated. Words were meticulously chosen. One sentence conveyed more meaning than several pages of Dan Brown’s book. His paragraph harbored an overwhelming amount of information. What a prodigious piece of work!
Five stars.
また、マッカーシーの小説が映画化されたらしい。とりあえず、原作を読んでみた。
すごい。
全てを失った人間の行動を描いた珠玉の一作だ。
生き続けるための壮絶な戦いと決して失われることのない希望が小説の全編を貫く。
父と子はお互いが全てという状況の中、無比の愛で結ばれている。
父が抱き続けてきたかすかな希望は子どもへと受け継がれ、人間の暗部描き続けた小説は未来への希望として昇華する。
人によって評価の分かれる本だが、五つ星をあげたい。
今年読んだ本の中ではまぎれもなくトップ１０に入る。