The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The book is The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It was originally published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. New York in 2006. I read the First Vintage International Edition. I read it in June of 2025. 

The title refers to the road that a man and his son are walking on in a post-apocalyptic world. The road is bleak and dangerous. It’s dirty and grimy, filled with wrecked cars and dead bodies. 

“On this road there are no godspoke men.” (p32)

This was a reread. I first read it right after Nolan was born, so about 2016. I’ve been reading through Cormac McCarthy’s bibliography in publication order and this one was next so I read it again. It’s rare that I ever reread a book but McCarthy is worth it. Plus it’s a quick (but not easy) read. 

In this novel McCarthy shows what he often shows in his books, a world that is painful and meaningless. But then as usual he contradicts himself because amidst his dystopian world there is a spark of light and hope. The point he is trying to express in this novel is that no matter how horrible things get in life you always have a choice to be “one of the good guys.” 

The story follows a man and his young son (maybe 10) as they walk along the road. Their goal is the coast but they’re not sure why. They have no idea how many people are even left on earth. The only people they encounter are either vicious cannibals and rapists or decrepit old people. 

Their only refuge is a revolver with two bullets in it. One for each of them to avoid the horrors of being captured. 

“I wont leave you, he whispered. I wont ever leave you. Do you understand? He lay in the leaves holding the trembling child. Clutching the revolver.” (p114)

My main takeaway is that no matter how bad things get you can always carry the fire. The father and son have every reason to kill and steal from other people to survive, and there are times when you see that capability in the father, but the son is adamant that they stay “the good guys” and not rob and steal for survival. Even when they come across an abandoned house with resources in it the son questions if it is okay to take it. 

Given the circumstances of this dystopian world, it’s astonishing that civility is even a thought any more, especially when you consider that the boy was born into this darkened world. All he’s ever known is a living hell of a world and yet he still makes sure they’re not hurting other people. Where does he get that from? The father seems much more practical about their survival. 

This book made me consider what I would do in a post-apocalyptic scenario. McCarthy doesn’t specify the catalyst that brought about this destroyed world, but it looks like the aftermath of a nuclear war. The sun is hidden behind clouds and it’s always cold, however there’s no mention of radiation or fallout effects. McCarthy doesn’t mention the cause of the disaster because it doesn’t matter. We’ve all been on this road. We’ve all felt to some degree this feeling of devastation in our lives. Sometimes we go through hard things and it feels like our entire world has fallen apart. The clouds bear down on us and we cannot see the light. That’s what he wants you to resonate with, and it works perfectly. You can feel the dread as you read the book. It’s heavy. 

It made me realize that we are not ready to go back to zero. Zero electricity, zero refrigeration, zero air conditioning, zero supply chain, zero entertainment, zero everything. Subsistence living. Survival. In America, we are no longer capable as a society to truly fend for ourselves. We are entirely dependent on infrastructure and technology. 

The covid pandemic pulled back the curtain on our vulnerabilities. When supply chains shut down everything gets thrown into chaos. 

It also made me think about what we really need. There are a lot of assumptions about our needs and they’re based on what we see around us. We take a lot for granted and think a lot of things are a given. We need shelter from the elements. But does that strictly mean a house with A/C and electricity? We had houses for thousands of years without those things in all different types of climates. I think our bodies have literally acclimated to only be able to survive in air conditioned buildings. 

“Are you okay? he said. The boy nodded. Then they set out along the blacktop in the gunmetal light, shuffling through the ash, each the other’s world entire.” (p6)

What do we really need? When all the riches in the world crumble to dust, and the only thing that matters is survival, the value and priority we place on things completely change. For this father and son on the road, a productive subsistence farm would be heaven. No electronics, no entertainment, no luxuries and pleasures of this world. Just a shelter, a garden, and some water would be heaven. The standard of living has nothing to do with these simple things anymore. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that we have the technology we have in the world today. I know people generally live longer lives with less pain and suffering in today’s world, compared to say 100 years ago. But I also know that we are distracting and entertaining ourselves to death. We’re living longer lives but they are vapid and indulgent lives. Technology and new inventions have freed up more time in our lives but we are wasting that time on stupid useless things. 

The tone of this book is dark and depressing. When McCarthy puts you in a dystopian world, he puts you down into the dregs of it. He doesn’t pull any punches. The reality and depravity of lawless man is on full gory display. 

One way to describe integrity is “doing the right thing even when no one is looking.” The way it’s depicted in this book is “doing the right thing even when no one is living.” If you were the last person on earth, how would you behave? The son is the hero with integrity. He has more reason than anyone to be a heartless survivalist. He was born into literally a human-eat-human world and he still cares for others. He carries the fire. He wants to be one of the good guys even if he is the last good guy on Earth. 

“This is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They dont give up.” (p137)

 I’d recommend this to men with sons. It will break your heart. This is a good introduction book to McCarthy’s writing. It’s simpler than his other books as far as number of characters and narrative. It’s straight forward. But it can be depressing. If you have the heart for it I highly recommend it. 

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Quotations

“””

Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world.(p3)

“”””

He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke. (p5)

“”””

Are you okay? he said. The boy nodded. Then they set out along the blacktop in the gunmetal light, shuffling through the ash, each the other’s world entire. (p6)

“”””

Their eyes bright in their skulls. Creedless shells of men tottering down the causeways like migrants in a feverland. The frailty of everything revealed at last. Old and troubling issues resolved into nothingness and night. The last instance of a thing takes the class with it. Turns out the light and is gone. Look around you. Ever is a long time. But the boy knew what he knew. That ever is no time at all. (p28)

“”””

On this road there are no godspoke men. (p32)

“”””

If you break little promises you’ll break big ones. (p34)

“”””

All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain. (p54)

“”””

My job is to take care of you. I was appointed to do that by God. I will kill anyone who touches you. Do you understand?

Yes.

He sat there cowled in the blanket. After a while he looked up. Are we still the good guys? he said.

Yes. We’re still the good guys.

And we always will be.

Yes. We always will be.

Okay. (p77)

“”””

We’re going to be okay, arent we Papa?

Yes. We are.

And nothing bad is going to happen to us.

That’s right.

Because we’re carrying the fire.

Yes. Because we’re carrying the fire. (p83)

“”””

I wont leave you, he whispered. I wont ever leave you. Do you understand? He lay in the leaves holding the trembling child. Clutching the revolver. (p114)

“”””

This is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They dont give up. (p137)

“”””

He’d stop and lean on the cart and the boy would go on and then stop and look back and he would raise his weeping eyes and see him standing there in the road looking back at him from some unimaginable future, glowing in that waste like a tabernacle. (p273)

“”””

I want to be with you.

You cant.

Please.

You cant. You have to carry the fire.

I dont know how to.

Yes you do.

Is it real? The fire?

Yes it is.

Where is it? I dont know where it is.

Yes you do. It’s inside you. It was always there. I can see it.

Just take me with you. Please.

I cant.

Please, Papa.

I cant. I cant hold my son dead in my arms. I thought I could but I cant.

You said you wouldnt ever leave me.

I know. I’m sorry. You have my whole heart. You always did. You’re the best guy. You always were. If I’m not here you can still talk to me. You can talk to me and I’ll talk to you. You’ll see.

Will I hear you?

Yes. You will. You have to make it like talk that you imagine. And you’ll hear me. You have to practice. Just dont give up. Okay?

Okay. (p279)

“”””

She would talk to him sometimes about God. He tried to talk to God but the best thing was to talk to his father and he did talk to him and he didnt forget. The woman said that was all right. She said that the breath of God was his breath yet though it pass from man to man through all of time. (p287)