The Year of the Rat Reading 28: "The Road"

The end of the world isn't going to be pretty, particularly if we are involved in the process. This novel, by Cormac McCarthy, is about a man and his son and how they struggle to survive following a nuclear apocalypse. And let me tell you, living after the bombs fall is not going to be easy. There is dust everywhere, hardly anything left living, eating what you can from canned goods that are left, and trying not to get caught by cannibals. Yes, cannibals. Seems that there is quite a lot of it going around at the end of the world. You never know who to trust. People tend to stay by themselves and take care of one another. It is a scary world.
I guess I never thought the end of the world was supposed to be nice. Usually in the movies something good comes along at the end and then everyone is happy. I just saw the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still." At the end of it, Klatu decides that everyone can live after all. It seems like a phony resolution. Isn't he from a great civilization that should know better. In this book there is no Klatu to come along and save us.
The main character in the story reminds me of my brother Danny. Danny once cut his palm and sewed it up himself with fishing wire. Then he didn't go about complaining about it. The man in this book is that kind of tough. But in the end that isn't enough. Like a really strong engine he just seems to expire in the end. He is too worn out to go any further.
This novel kind of reminds us how fragile we are. We think were tough and can handle anything but it asks us, what if in the end you can't?
Someone is making of movie of this. It was on the Oprah book club as well. So hopefully that doesn't mean it will get screwed up too badly when translated to the big screen. I hope they don't give it a happy ending, because the end of the world really doesn't deserve on.