Halfway Through

Halfway through the book and nothing much has changed. Man and Son are still on their way to the South in search of warmth and hospitality. However, there has been some revealing flashbacks  before the unknown disaster. In one flashback, it is revealed that the son was not born yet, but his mother was pregnant with him when the disaster occurred. She gives birth to him months later, and years later she tires of the endless pursuit of safety, wishing instead she was dead. She then leaves Man and Son, with her fate being unknown. There has also been some power struggles between Man and Son. Man is weakening, and he depends on his son much more. Even though this book is still a lot of the same, I am still enjoying it.

Symbols So Far

So far, the novel is taking place in a post-apocalyptic setting; cold and dark all the time. In relation to the course and suggested themes present in the story, this novel carries the theme of death. This is quite evident when Man and Son walk through the land and there is nothing but destruction and death, as well as when Man coughs up blood, suggesting his potential death later on.

The First 50 pages...

The Road so far is very bleak, but I am surprisingly enjoying it. So far, it follows the quest for warmth and food of the 2 main characters, The Man, and his son. The landscape is barren, as there are no signs of life miles around. They are constantly fighting the elements of the sub-zero temperature, and the bare minimum life necessities (food and water). The Man appears to be a strong character, as he keeps his quest for safer grounds for his son regardless of the dangers surrounding them.

So far its very bleak. There seems to be no hope for the characters, and all they have done is walk, talk, explore, and walk some more. While it may be boring in the sense nothing truly exciting has happened, I am enjoying it so far because I feel it can only get better, and I like the character development and interactions between the characters.

So far I give it a 7/10

The Road to How I Chose My ISU

It was a gloomy day, no sunshine; only rain. I had to choose my novel, but which one would I pick? I read the list over and over again, but no book truly came out and grabbed ahold of me. I finally remembered a summary of "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy I had read online a few years ago when the movie version came out. It seemed interesting at the time; a man and his son trying to survive in a post-apocolyptic setting, enduring danger and thugs every step of the way. I finally chose this novel, went downstairs to my mom's book shelf, and lo and behold, I found the novel perched inbetween larger books I had never heard of.

Once again, the title of the novel I will be reading is "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2006, it is 256 pages, and has won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006. I will read atleast 1 chapter a day, starting this Sunday. I plan on having this book read by the middle of October.