If you walked ten hours a day, it would take you about 100 days to walk from New York City to San Francisco. At 19,000 miles, the Pan-American Highway is the longest road in the world. The Via Appia, or Appian Way, was the most famous road in the Roman Empire. At over 130 miles long, it was enough to have 6000 slaves crucified along the road as punishment for their part in Spartacus’ rebellion.
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is dark, brutal, and beautiful.
It is incongruous, and agnostic, and alienating.
It is slow. It is plodding. It is lyrical.
The storyline is simple: A man and his young son walk across the seared remains of America, seeking food, shelter, and one more day of misery. Because the alternative is unacceptable. They are the “good guys.” They “carry the fire.” They hope and they fear and they despair.
There is so little and so much to say about The Road. Don’t let the movie speak for the novel. Read it. It’s worth it.
It truly and really is.
5 / 5 stars