Book Review: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Last month, at the suggestion of a friend, I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I didn’t know what to make of it until I saw a preview for the movie, due soon in theaters.
The Road is about a man and his young son who try to make their way through a post-apocalyptic United States which was devastated by firestorms. They encounter few other people on their journey, as there are few people left alive to encounter, and in general, they do their best to avoid contact altogether (with good reason). This is one of those “makes you think” books. Not overly cerebral, but I asked myself “what would I do in that situation” a lot as I read it.
What I immediately noticed was McCarthy’s writing style, which I did not particularly care for. He uses run-on sentences and omits punctuation throughout the book. There are few apostrophes and not a quotation mark to speak of. It was pointed out? that it makes the book fly by, presumably because your brain is not distracted by additional punctuation, but I did not like it, as it felt too much like kids today who don’t bother to write properly.
That having been said, I really enjoyed the book, and am looking forward to seeing the movie version. It is a quick read, so if you like reading the book before seeing the movie, you certainly can fit it in before a trip to the theaters.