The Road is a tangled yet straightforward look at a post-apocalyptic world where a man and his young son are forced to wander through an ashen, desolate America. They have no one but each other to rely on as they walk on an endless road south.

The book is profound, but I found most of it monotonous and dreary. It did have exciting moments, but they were short and happened in the middle or at the end. Although it was a book I had to plod through, I did enjoy it.

I had not expected The Road to be so hauntingly disturbing yet darkly beautiful. I must admit there were parts of this book that I thought I would give me nightmares, or at least persistent thoughts the rest of the day. But McCarthy wove these unsettling moments so smoothly, it was impossible to untangle them without unbalancing the rest of the story. It was etched beautifully through the use of careful details.

What propels the story is the relationship between father and son. This part is what I most enjoyed. I think the main idea is the love between father and son, which often saves them. Without the powerful drive of love, they could not have sustained the energy or desire to survive another day. Because of his love for his son, the father was driven to provide food and shelter. Because of his love for his father, the boy was able to protect his father and trust him completely during their long journey.

I am totally overwhelmed by my reaction to this book. When I began reading, I could tell it would be a dull and wearisome novel. But coming to the intriguing and mystifying parts opened my eyes to the power of love, survival, and dark sin in the world.

Especially in this day and age, Cormac McCarthy's powerful and haunting post-apocalyptic world inside The Road is chillingly close to our reality.