On My Shelf: The Road

The best fictional work ever. Period.

That is not an exaggeration. An understatement perhaps. The legendary Cormac McCarthy has clearly done it again.

Many refer to this as the saddest book written by McCarthy. I could not agree more. This is truly a sad, scary, dark, chilling piece of work. But above all, it is also an uplifting (yes, I dare say uplifting) story of human preserverance, love, humanity and hope. All the elements that make for a masterpiece is present.

The story is set in America of a not so distant future. The world is struck by a catastrophe (presumably man-made), and what's left are destruction, ashes and fire everywhere. A father and son are left to travel to the south by foot along the Interstate Highway in search of warmth and food. Along the way, they will encounter the remains of civilisations and humanity, and perhaps, of history.

The main characters remain nameless in the story, but that doesn't hinder the reader from relating with them. In fact, I think that it made the readers care about them more because they represent our inner fear. With a stroke of a pen, McCarthy made them alive and you will find yourselves caring for their fates. Yes, and I don't feel cheesy saying that.

I will remind again, this book is extremely haunting. The images of the book will stay with you for a long time after you put the it down. And yet, I'm sure you will feel tempted to read and re-read the book again from time to time.

The Road is on a fast track of becoming a modern masterpiece. It is the winner of 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Literature and several other awards. If there is one book that you must read, this is it.

Also check out McCarthy's earlier works including All the Pretty Horses, Blood Meridian and No Country for Old Men (recently made into a Golden Globe-winning movie).