The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road by Cormac McCarthy


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book delivered, as promised, a stark and terse account of a post-apocalyptic America peopled only by a few nomads, including the protagonist and his young son. The writing is vague and poetic, with gruesome images that remain even when the short book is over.
The young boy's education about the world by his father- that this is a place to be wary of, that people are to hide from and fear, to shoot first and ask questions later- and his defiance of this view renders bittersweet belief in humanity, afterall the destruction.

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The Selected Works of T.S.Spivet by Reif Larsen

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was one I had anticipated reading for a long time- finally having it in my hands, it didn't disappoint.

The arch of the narrative a young boy's jouney across the country to accept an award from the Smithsonian for his cartographic illustrations. As we learn about how he sees the world, T.S. becomes an engaging and brilliant character and you are drawn quite completely into his journey. He explores a world beyond his childhood home, and has many experiences far beyond his twelve years.

There is much about its look and feel that is very unusual. It is oversized, and the author uses the margins and footer space for additional information and asides from the narrator. It is these asides that allow us to learn about the narrator in meaningful snippets.

Suprisingly, the plot does not take a turn that I felt would have led to a much more interesting realization in the denouement. However, the awareness gained of his family's past and the truth behind actions and consequences provides the reader and the narrator with a new understanding of love and the notion of home.

Like St. Exupery's The Little Prince, though, the drive to remain in the innocence of childhood is the ultimate goal of our narrator and his family.



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