A Gray and Ashen Road

One of the classes I'm taking this semester is 21st Century Literature. The idea of the class, which studies contemporary literature and attempts to find samples that will go down as especially great novels of the era, intrigued me. We've just finished our first book, and I thought it would be good to share my thoughts on this 'future classic.'

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is a fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic version of our world. It centers around the journey of a man and his son towards the coast. I'm going to be very blunt. I did not like the book, and not because I'm not a fan of post-apocalypse. The novel has a great many things which I do not enjoy in a book, and also a number of things which make one wonder why the book has received such praise (including winning a Pulitzer). And yet, at the same time, there's... something contained within the pages which makes it seem like more. Much more.

To begin, the overall tone of the book is very, very bleak. This is not unexpected from a novel about a post-apocalyptic setting, but it's one of the things that tends to sour me on the genre. There is almost no life in the world McCarthy has created, and almost no color either. Gray and ashen are two of the most frequently used words in the book. One of the recurring elements within the book is the black and white concept of good guys and bad guys. This only adds to the bleakness because aside from the man and the boy (they're not given names, simply referred to as "the man" and "the boy") there don't seem to be any good guys, and even their designation as good guys seems to be questionable.

Then there is the language. The book I was reading before The Road was The Fellowship of the Ring. Now, anyone familiar with Tolkein could certainly understand why phrases like "long-winded" and "tediously descriptive" could be used to describe his writing. Cormac McCarthy is on the opposite end of the spectrum. The writing is sparse, bare-boned, and dry as the ashen landscape is describes. I found it very difficult to get a picture in my head as to how things looked throughout most of the book. McCarthy also eschews certain "necessary" elements of the English language, such as punctuation. I don't believe I found a single comma in the entire book. The sentences are often brief, sometimes even fragments. Narrative and dialogue switch seamlessly without quotation marks. The language is hard to read, and it can easily put someone off the book entirely.

There are other things which make me dislike the book, but they are mostly specifics, and I don't want to leave any spoilers floating around. But even though I dislike the book, there is a certain something about it which makes it seem... well, rather good. There are a few passages which make it obvious that McCarthy is in fact a good writer, in spite of his seemingly weak grasp of proper English. I truly wish I could pinpoint exactly what it is about the book that makes it seem to stand out, but if I could do that, I imagine I could make a fine career as a literature professor or critic. There is just a certain quality which it has, and other novels such as The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men possess. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book to people, but nor can I say it's a bad book. I think that it is in fact a good book, but just not for me.

In other literary news, I'm taking a break from reading The Fellowship of the Ring. I'm going to finish it, but as I've been having a hard time reading things lately, I think I need something a bit lighter to read (especially after The Road). To that end, I picked up a new book, Dead Iron by Devon Monk. I'm not terribly far into it, but I have to say it's quite enjoyable so far. It is a gritty western/steampunk novel. The writing is very similar to that of Jim Butcher, so I'm finding it to be an easy, comfortable read. Expect a more thorough review once I've finished it.

Finally, I am eagerly awaiting the next book in The Dresden Files, Cold Days, which is due out November 27th. I've been a big fan of The Dresden Files for about six years now, and Jim Butcher continues to make the series a worthwhile read. If you're fond of modern-day fantasy with a touch or two of mystery mixed with a healthy dose of humor, then I highly recommend the series.