I finished Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" last week and I thought it was terrific. It's got a ridiculously simple plot that should be monotonous but instead is enthralling. I enjoyed the writing style, too - how he used sentence fragments, dropped apostrophes, and how he gave the dull and desolate landscape texture. I could feel the soot folding and unfolding over the ruin. But mostly I dug into the terrible story. It's an apocalyptic fantasy that everyone has had - McCarthy's version of that fantasy. Like a lot of readers, I often shy away from the movie versions of good books. But I was interested to find out that "The Road" is being made into a movie. I was just saying yesterday how I refuse to see the adaptation of Denis Johnson's "Jesus' Son," but I am definitely going to see this. There's a slideshow here.
4 comments:
I read The Road when it was first released. Powerful book. I was captivated my the father/son relationship. McCarthy's characters became Garret and me (or I - no, I think it's me). Grim, but laced with a sense of hope, a glimmer. I love you Garrett.
Unfortunately, the movie got pushed back until early 2009; it was supposed to come out in November of this year. It got mixed reviews from early screenings, but I think it's going to be great once it's finished.
I saw an early screening. The acting was incredible, but unless you've read the book it's difficult to understand the story until the movie is well along. Hopefully they'll make something from it, the performances were very strong.
hi scott - i'm glad to hear you liked the book. a lot of people seemed to dislike it, some for the reasons I found it worthwhile.
keith - i like viggo mortensen, and i think it's cool that it's filmed on an actual location, not just with some computer-projected backdrop.
hi anonymous - there are some things in the book that also aren't clearly explained. like what exactly the disaster was. lucky you to have seen a screening. i didn't even know it would be a movie until this week, so the release being pushed back isn't bothering me that much, but i hope it doesn't mean it won't be released at all!
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