So I'm listening to this on an unabridge audiobook and it has to be one of the most nerve wracking books out there, assuming you dont know any spoilers. In my case I picked it up fresh and it's mix of poetry and bleak post apocaliptic misery has really entranced me.

In just a few words: A man pushes a shopping cart in a frozen nuclear apocalypse, traveling south with his son in search of better climate. Ashes block out the sun and mummified bodies litter the earth, and each year food is a little scarcer.

So yeah, pick it up in print or on audiobook. In audiobook the performances are awesome.

It's a quite wonderful book, and I have high hopes for the movie, even though it's been delayed by nearly a year.

John Hillcoat is one of most promising contemporary directors, and the prospect of him and Viggo teaming up, with a score by Nick Cave is film nirvana for me..

The Road is my favorite novel of the last couple of years, alongside Let The Right One In. Hopefully the film adaptation will turn out as well as LTROI did.

If you liked The Road try some of McCarthy's other books. I would recommend his western Blood Meridian, an immensely violent novel. McCarty is a literary Peckinpah.

Yeah, a movie would be awesome, and a good gage to see if a fallout movie would work. I'm still not done yet since my job does not let me listen to my mp3 player anymore and I mostly listen to my podcasts while commuting instead of my books.

there was a feature about the film of 'the road' on the today programme this morning. they spoke to Cormag McCarthy, played some of the Nick Cave score - the basic theme of the piece was that this film is very good it being held back until much later in the year for a few 2010 oscar nominations.... ! want to see this film now.....

Hell yeah. Cormac McCarthy is a genius. I second MaxRenn on the Blood Meridian front, a dark, brutal and challenging western (is Ridley Scott still going to make this?) and of course let's not forget No Country For Old Men. Lot's of people like the Cohen brothers film who haven't read the book, but it's even better if you have. The Cohen's deserve big praise for translating the tone of the book so damn well. Sure they missed out a third, but no one wants a three hour epic (you listing Zack Snyder!).

Anyway, they better do this movie and as a massive fan of The Proposition there is no better director to tackle it.

Cheers
ART

Agreed to all above. Great book. Tore through it in 2 days. Several of my friends who are dads started it and couldn't finish it. Too bleak. Maybe just too goddamn well-written.

J

I'll third the recommendation for Blood Meridian which was an amazingly good read, and also throw a vote toward Child of God one of his lesser known books that was also really good. Blood Meridian was a slow starter for me. It was good, but took a long time to gel and really capture my attention, but when it did, it had me hook, line, and sinker.

Child of God is another short, fast read. I read most of it on a flight from Houston, TX to Atlanta, GA and back. So, probably... 4 or 5 hours tops? (padded the time for the little I read of it in a hotel room.) Really liked the book though and plan to read it again.

The Road was my favorite book that I read last year, easily.

-Wil

Echo everything said about The Road.

Another post apocalyptic-ish recommendation would be Jose Saramago's Blindness, which was turned into a rather miserable film starring Julianne Moore last year. Skip the film and go to the novel, which is beautiful and bleak, but with a wicked sense of humor not found on screen.

I've been hearing a lot about Blindness, I think i'll try and pick this one up. Is it an easy to find book -Waterstones etc?

Cheers
ART

Blindness should definitely be an easy find. It was a Pulitzer Prize winner a few years back, and there were probably a lot of new editions to coincide with the film last year.

Also there's a sequel, Seeing, which is much dryer and more satirical but still worth a read if you get thirsty for more. I found it rather difficult to read, but after I finished it, I admired what Saramago did.

I'll check out blindness when I get a chance. I finished the Road a few weeks back and I was both heartbroken and deeply satisfied. Great book.