THE (ALMOST) UNDELETED

I wrote a review of Cormac McCarthy's the Road two years ago, just after Oprah adopted it into her book club. I loved the book, but I was never very happy with the review. "You missed something the first time around, boy," I kept telling myself. Now that the movie has hit the theaters I thought that I should read it again before seeing the film. The book stood up very well to a second reading, and I think I figured out what it was I missed the first time: The influence of God on the Man and the Boy. I mean, I saw the religious implications of the book, but I railed against the idea that the boy was a Christ figure, as some reviewers at the time were saying. I still think that, but I see different meanings in the religious imagery now. This story shows what it must have been like for those who could not get passage onto Noah's ark. Despite the fact that this book makes use of one of the hippest themes of the day, post apocalypse, the real reason that it is truly loved is because McCarthy's writing is superb. Practically every paragraph folds open further upon deep reflection. The story of the man's relationship with his son is probably what is going to sell a few million tickets to the film, and probably what moved several million copies off of the shelf. But it generally requires a great deal more to change a best-seller into a truly loved book. This is a book that has whatever...Please click here, or on the book cover above, to be taken to the complete review..