Feel like something bleak? The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Pulitzer-prize winner Cormac McCarthy, also known for 'All the Pretty Horses' and 'No Country for Old Men' has come out with a post-apocalyptic depresser for all readers. It is very different from Margaret Atwood's 'Oryx and Crake' in that there is no reason for the apocalypse, and all we know is that the entire world (set in USA) is on fire and burning, ash drifts, it is very cold, there is no sun and no warmth. Food is scarece and there are gangs of crazed cannibals that have slaves and keep humans for food replenishment.

It is a very, very bleak novel. It also makes you glad you are alive in this current world, as imperfect as it is. It is also being turned into a movie, so stay tuned! I'm a bit concerned about how awful the movie will be, as there are some scenes in the book that make you glad you aren't watching them.

A man and his son traverse 'the road' a burned highway through the states. They seek the coast for warmth, and maybe the sea will be blue and the sky will be blue, instead of a murky angry grey. They are always starving and the man has some sort of TB and coughs blood on occasion. The man is living for his son and thinks often that if his heart was made of stone, they would be better off. I think the son does think the man's heart is gone, as the man shows no pity to an ancient starving man, and he shoots someone looking for a doctor. The man is concerned only about their survival.

And, rightly so. In a scene (**spoiler**) the man checks out a house, and it has sleeping bags and packs, which was dangerous. The boy is scared. Any people are bad news in this world. The man is curious and desperate for food, so they check out the house further, and he sees a door with a padlock on it. He breaks the padlock off and opens the door, and an incredible stench greets them. There are stairs leading to a basement, he takes the stairs and a horrifying scene plays out. A man missing legs lies moaning on a hideous mattress, naked people scream and beg for help, some missing body parts. The man backpedals and runs away, narrowly missing the cannibals coming back to their lair. They were the cannibals food supply, kept locked in the basement.

In this new world, it seems more merciful to die early, which is what the man's wife does once she realizes there is no way out, and she leaves her son and husband to eke out a miserable existence. There is no help, no salvation and the eternal question of 'God' seems pathetic and useless.

Not an uplifting book but a good one. Pick it up to remind you that your life is truly wonderful.