A Humble Review ***POSSIBLE SPOILERS***

The Road, this is definitely a book that is hard to critique. The book certainly has it's slow moments, what with Cormac McCarthy's fairly long-winded writing style you're bound to have something like that happen. Slow definitely isn't bad in this case however and it turns out to be just the quality the story needs to methodically entrap your emotions and then rip them apart.

The Road is a story that will creep into your heart and create it's own living space there, a phenomina that while reading will have you slowly ache as you come to realize how the story must end. A fading father and a vulnerable son trek across an enblazened post-apocalyptic United States in hopes of finding a peaceful place to stay somewhere along the coast.

The story stays capturing with the element of survival, the simple everyday aspects of life we so take advantage of are spread thin, rarely is there even a place safe enough to bath. Water is nearly always disgusting but there isn't really an option of whether or not to drink it, food is even more scarce and some humans even resort to eating each other.

McCarthy does a fine job of creating a palpable and gritty environment that feels like it hasn't been trimmed at all for the virgin ears and eyes of many of today's media outlets. He deals with no short list of controversial topics, even including abortion and suicide.

Part of the book's excellence however, doesn't really even come from the intricate and well thought out writing of Cormac. Much of it comes from the simple format of the story being a nameless father and son, who'm one could easily substitute out for their own relationship. The relatability of the story is really quite improbable seeing as how the world within the story is so different to our own. The relatability must really come from the twisting natural roots of the tale, anyone can compare their own life to loss and lack of privelege, which make up a good part of the book. The simple fact of not having or losing something that one holds dearly is easily translated to other realms.

The simplicity and elegance of McCarthy's general theme, combined with his nearly unparalleled writing style and skill, turn The Road into much more than just another post-apocalyptic tale.