Koala-ty Books
I consume books and am consumed by books. It sounds dramatic but its not. I have an absolute need to devour every word usually in bouts of specific genre cravings and in between naps.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Book:
The book was worded so that it felt as if you were standing there a silent witness to the whole journey. A witness that had no influence but a feeling of helplessness wishing and wanting to provide something, anything for them. It was beautifully written, the words were perfected so that your senses interpreted them: sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste (I swear I tasted those peaches).
Impressions & Recommendation:
I think this book hit me harder than most, but I don't think "hard" was the exact type of hit. It was more like a deep, cold and slow slice. The ones that are numb and tingly and then get this throbbing ache. I saw reflections of my father and younger brother that made me wish my flight home was sooner than 4 days away.
I chose to read this for a several reasons: 1) it makes everyone's reading list and is award winning; 2) My 2008 AP Composition teacher (Mr. Streeby) loved this author and made us read his other books; and 3) I tend to enjoy dystopian novels. (Favorite: The Postman).
I'll be honest: I like happily ever afters. Here you get an open-ended after with no happiness in general- maybe some relief, but really a whole lot of unhappiness. I probably won't reread it, but I will remember the imagery in my day to day life.
Yet, I am still glad I read it and recommend it to others. Its an easy read, but heavy. Just maybe not during the joy of the holiday season (whichever holiday you may choose).
The 10-Point-Scale:
Total Score- 8.0
- World Development- .75
- Story/Plot- .75
- Character Development- 1
- Writing Style/Construction- 1 (beautifully composed in short segments)
- Difficulty of Text- .75 (a richness to the word selection)
- Length- .75
- Format- 1 (Paperback)
- Community Interaction- .75 (misleading; well awarded; movie below)
- Emotional Reaction- .5 (I did not enjoy my feels)
- Intellectual Reaction- .75
Movie Comments:
I have not and have no intentions of watching the movie because of the way I felt after the book. First, I am not sure they can render the feeling I had as a reader into a viewer and do it justice. Yet in a kind of opposite way, my second reason is that I don't want to watch it because I don't want to feel anywhere close to that again. I am trying to balance my wish for it to remain true to the book and my unhappiness in how the book made me feel.
