Book Review: "The Road"
No plot spoilers are included in this review.
In his devilish little book called A Reader's Manifesto: An Attack on the Growing Pretentiousness in American Literary Prose (reviewed in these pages in 2006), B.R. Myers devotes an entire chapter to Pulitzer prize winner Cormac McCarthy, calling his prose unspeakable in every sense of the word.
That and similar pronouncements were at the front of my mind as I opened McCarthy's 2006 novel entitled The Road, and the first few pages seemed to validate my reservations, as I immediately encountered incomplete sentences, perplexing punctuation, and obscure metaphors. "OK, just as I thought; I'm not cut out for McCarthy's style."
But the oddest thing happened. The story took over and it was so compelling and horrifying and tender that while the literary affectations still whirled like gnats, they were dismissed with a mental wave of the hand and I was immersed with no hope or desire of rescue. I read it through, cover-to-cover, in as close to non-stop fashion as someone with real-life responsibilities can get away with.
The Road is a travelogue through a post-apocalyptic landscape, recounting the story of a father and young son who inexplicably survived something – we're never told exactly what – but are now threatened by the aftermath. McCarthy crafts a tale that engenders dreadful anticipation. His vignettes are pictures of the horrifying lengths people will go to survive, offset against the unyielding and unnaturally optimistic force of love.
I wonder if McCarthy actually read Myers's critique and took some of it to heart. What I didn't see in The Road was bloated prose. If anything, the author forces the reader to look for what's missing in order to complete the picture. Even the repetition of certain scenes (there are only so many ways to describe a gray and dreary landscape, and most of those are no better than what I just wrote) serves the storyline.
Post-apocalyptic stories are common and often take the form of something more accessible to the masses; you just don't think about a Pulitzer Prize winner writing something like Mad Max, The Stand, or A Boy and His Dog. McCarthy has managed to elevate the literary quality of that story while still retaining some of the macabre and nightmarish elements that made those other works popular. If you prefer to consume your horror novel with extended pinkie finger, I unhesitatingly recommend The Road.
Postscript: Let's hope that the movie version of this novel translates to the big screen as well as did No Country for Old Men.
One man's steak is another's artery-clogging cholesterol delivery mechanism. I get distracted by those affectations, and there are still a very good writers who seem to do just fine without them.
I haven't read No Country, but I wouldn't knock The Road for dense prose. However, I don't think I've ever read a story that was improved by inconsistent punctuation and incomplete sentences.
I like hummus, too. (I'm sure McCarthy appreciates the comparison of his writing to smushed chickpeas. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at August 5, 2008 08:48 PMI'll take McCarthy over Myers any day. While I have been challenged by some of the subject matter in CM's works (especially "Child of God"), I have always enjoyed his style ... but then, I've always enjoyed Faulkner, too, so that might have something to do with it.
That style has not remained constant, either - and that has led some devotees to come and go over time. Take the Border Trilogy, for example, which more readers - buying copies of the book after they saw the film "No Country for Old Men" - may be familiar with. It's not an easy style for those who adhere to strict rules of punctuation. But it does offer rewards to those who stick with an almost Joyce-ian stream of consciousness.
As for Myers, despite his birth in Fort Dix (a military brat, like mysef) and the number of times his byline has appeared in American periodicals ... he still comes across, to me, like someone on the outside, looking in, and criticizing a country and tradition with which he's had very little connection over most of his life ... we would be upset if it was someboidy in France criticizing our literature ... is it any different because it's some guy in Korea?
Posted by: Jeff at August 5, 2008 09:28 PM...we would be upset if it was someboidy in France criticizing our literature ... is it any different because it's some guy in Korea?
If someone was making a valid point I would hope I'd take it under consideration regardless of his nationality or locality. I don't really think you're that chauvinistic, but that's a bit how that came across.
I'm not an educated fan of McCarthy's but based on other samples of his writing, I'd agree that The Road marks a slight departure from the style that Myers slammed him for. But, I'm pretty sure I implied that in my review. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at August 5, 2008 09:56 PMEric, my chauvenism was mis-directed, and would have been better aimed at those that inspired it. It is elsewhere in West Texas' corner of the blogosphere that France is a frequent target of ridicule and contempt ... and not your own pages - and for that I apologize.
Back to the "Manifesto" and its critique of post-modern American lit ... Maybe, now that Brian Myers has returned to the United States (settling in NM), he'll get the opportunity to get a broader, more personal and more accurate view of the state of our country's literature, its writers and its readers.
Posted by: Jeff at August 6, 2008 06:36 AMActually, being the mild agitator I am, I hope Myers keeps picking at the icons. The resulting controversies and accompanying discussion is healthy.
Every art form and medium has its arm-waving critics; contemporary literature shouldn't be exempt.
And of all the people who need to issue apologies, you're near the bottom of the list! I certainly didn't take offense at your remarks, or feel that you were singling out the Gazette.
Posted by: Eric at August 6, 2008 06:47 AMI wasn't aware that they were making a movie adaptation of the novel, although it doesn't surprise me at all, given the success of No Country. It's interesting to see who's playing who. Viggo Mortenson as the father should be pretty good though. A quick google found these couple of images:
http://www.awardsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/theroad.jpg
I agree. The story should easily scale to the big screen, and Mortensen is an excellent choice to play the role of the father (wonder if he'll have a name in the movie?). He's got the acting range to pull it off.
I will be curious to see if Hollywood allows the book's ending to stand. (No spoilers here for those who haven't read the book!)
Posted by: Eric at August 6, 2008 09:40 AMAbout the publisher
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Book Review: "The Road"
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I think you captured The Road quite nicely. I read it in much the same way you did; No Country For Old Men even more so.
I can understand why some people think McCarthy pretentious, but I've never seen it that way. I find his "literary affectations" to be more like steak dinner following the hummus appetizer quality of most contemporary novels I read (distressingly few of late). I like hummus a lot, btw.
McCarthy has words and knows how to use them. My guess is The Road and No Country would not have packed the punch that they did without CM's dense, hammer-like prose.
Posted by: Jim at August 5, 2008 08:17 PM