Don't run, walk.

Oookay... So I realize that we didn't actually select "The Road" by Cormack McCarthy to be a book club read, but I tore through it in a couple days (Tyler saw me on Friday/Saturday) and I hadn't even started it - I finished it last night, with only occasional reading time.
It's quite an easy read; McCarthy's writing style in this book is quite spartan - I think reflecting the bleakness of the physical landscape, devoid of richness or colour - I believe a purposeful choice. Additionally the dialogue between characters is often left ambiguous, without designating who the speaker is, although it usually isn't hard to figure out.

The plot revolves around the two principle characters, a father and his son, who have survived some cataclysmic event (what exactly happens is never explained), but they now live in a vast, underpopulated wasteland; all the trees are dead and fall over, fires ravage the country, and gangs of desperate men roam about, killing and cannibalizing their victims.
The man and boy's interactions with others are sparse - too often they are all alone, under grey skies and falling ash, constantly starving and relatively unarmed against the constant danger.
They are following a road to the south before winter strikes, pillaging the remnants of storerooms and houses as they go. Sometimes they are lucky, quite often they are not.

The character of the father is exactly how I would imagine someone like Viggo Mortenson playing him, except when I began to watch the movie I was disappointed with how he'd actually played him (did that make sense?)
I imagined him tougher - the quiet, sturdy pillar of the family, much the same way that he played Aragorn in the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Instead (in the movie) he was much more vulnerable than the manner I pictured.
The boy, too, is older than I think would have cast, but acts younger than he looks...

I didn't finish the movie. It was disappointing after the book.

I really don't want to give anything away here in case others are going to read it.
It IS an awesome book. Having never read anything by McCarthy before, this was a good introduction to his style of writing. It's gritty, visceral, emotionless and yet somehow touching.
The characters are familiar to you and the way they act is not without mistakes - too often they stumble (literally and figuratively) on their journey, almost dying several times. They are vulnerable and the danger is always quite present.

I think unlike "Treasure Island", which I think we agreed the characters might have been too typecast, the father (especially) in this book is quite human. He is scared but must act as if he is not; he makes mistakes that almost cost them everything; he sometimes gets frustrated and angry with his son - he is a father, after all.

The book also deals with some pretty heavy concepts- the topic of suicide is frequently brought up and confronted, as well as themes of sacrifice and the fine line between retaining one's humanity and personal survival. I already mentioned the cannibalism, but it is reintroduced frequent throughout their trip (a constant worry).

I think that the Road itself is a character in a way; it is temperamental, harsh, and cruel. It is the father and son's constant companion and source of frustration. At times it is amiable and permits quick travel, and other times it makes their journey impossible.
I think that it sets up two different conflicts within the book - between man and himself, which is represented by the dynamic between the boy and the father (the boy representing a bit of the superego, while the father struggles between all three: id, ego, and superego); and between man and his environment.
The roving gangs are not individual characters, but ambassadors for the Road. They personify It's cruelty and inhumanity, they have lost everything that makes them human and become all environment, despite their familiar appearance.

The topic of God is also (understandably) brought up. At times the father claims "there is no God", and others he is seen praying or blaming God for their situation. He even associates the boy with God at certain points, "If he [the boy] is not the word of God God never spoke".
But I believe the Road is also a stand-in for God. It is a challenge and it is taken on a degree of faith that there is relative safety upon reaching their destination. The Road provides rewards with one hand and punishes with the other. It is a test, without gaurantee of any benefit for attempting to walk the Road.
I think, perhaps, the book is a metaphor for the search for God.

... Which makes the ending all the more delicious.


But! I won't ruin it. Go read this book!!!

Big thumbs up from me, a riveting read.