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The Road

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The Road

By: Cormac McCarthy
Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
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About this listen

Pulitzer Prize, Fiction, 2007

America is a barren landscape of smoldering ashes, devoid of life except for those people still struggling to scratch out some type of existence. Amidst this destruction, a father and his young son walk, always toward the coast, but with no real understanding that circumstances will improve once they arrive. Still, they persevere, and their relationship comes to represent goodness in a world of utter devastation.

Bleak but brilliant, with glimmers of hope and humor, The Road is a stunning allegory and perhaps Cormac McCarthy's finest novel to date. This remarkable departure from his previous works has been hailed by Kirkus Reviews as a "novel of horrific beauty, where death is the only truth".

McCarthy, a New York Times best-selling author, is a past recipient of the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. He is widely considered one of America's greatest writers.

 Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Dystopian Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Scary Thought-Provoking Witty

Critic reviews

"McCarthy's prose retains its ability to seduce...and there are nods to the gentler aspects of the human spirit." (The New Yorker)
"One of McCarthy's best novels, probably his most moving and perhaps his most personal...Every moment of The Road is rich with dilemmas that are as shattering as they are unspoken...McCarthy is so accomplished that the reader senses the mysterious and intuitive changes between father and son that can't be articulated, let alone dramatized...Both lyric and savage, both desperate and transcendent, although transcendence is singed around the edges...Tag McCarthy one of the four or five great American novelists of his generation." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)
All stars
Most relevant
McCarthy's book makes outstanding listening. I was fearful before buying this having read some of his previous books, which are occasionally tough going in their style. But The Road is brilliantly sparse - clipped, original and vivid imagery and a compelling narrative which never explans itself and just keeps you following. McCarthy is a master at avoiding the cliched descriptions of some (many, most) authors and this is the finest example of this, in my humble opinion.
The narration is even and atmospheric, with a compelling delivery - just like the story itself.
Superb!

Perfect for the road - or anywhere else

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Forget the recent film, this is the real deal. A father and his son travel a road leading towards the South - and a respite from the winter cold.
However, this is a post-apocalyptic world they traverse; the atmosphere full of ash, no plants growing and all animals and most humans dead. Most of the people who remain have turned into savages - a real state of nature where human life is 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.'
This book makes you ask questions about yourself - could you survive in such an environment? How would you behave towards others?
McCarthy's spare writing style is well suited to this type of narrative and it is superbly read by Tom Stechschulte.

An Excellent Audiobook

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Wonderfully written, incredibly descriptive, emotionally compelling, as a male in his mid-40s I am not easily drawn into the emotional side of characters, this book made me feel I was living the man's journey and his love for his child.
This book is the first to bring me to tears since Watership Down over 35 yrs ago!
Highly Recommended

Compelling

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Bleak and sparse this narrative is wonderfully affecting and Tom Stechschulte gives an excellent performance as the archetypal man and boy in this post-apocalyptic wasteland.

On the Road Again

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A very bleak novel told with beautiful prose. This has the very essence of what made McCarthy the truly great author he was. The narration is superb and does the story justice. If you are a fan of post apocalyptic fiction, this rates as one of, if not the very best. A haunting story that stays with you long after its conclusion.

Mcarthy at his best.

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