The Road
Cormac McCarthy

This is a very stark, harrowing story about a father and son trying to survive what we can only guess has been a nuclear holocaust. It is sparsely written in typical McCarthy style which adds to the bleak theme of the book. It is both a celebration of human love and desperation for survival; and yet in contrast it is the horrific illustration of man's inhumanity to his fellow man when society is stripped away. When I closed the book at first, I didn't think I felt particularly sad or sorry for the characters, but as I stood in my kitchen making a cup of tea I suddenly burst into tears. It is a 'sneaky' emotional book which made me cry as a mother, a daughter, a friend and a member of the human race!