books similar to the road by cormac mccarthy

It had to purge the audience of their anxieties and imperfections.

For him, storytelling had a spiritual function. It’s our connection to those characters that keeps us turning the page.Īnd for that, I want to go back to the grand-daddy of all literary theorists: the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle.

This is a slow, meditative journey.īut what I want to focus on instead of plot structure is how Cormac McCarthy builds character during that journey. That’s relatively late if we’re looking for an action-packed or punchy opening. That scene with the lightning survivor happens about forty pages into the story. There’s nothing to be done for him.” Pity and fear He’s charred and limping: he was struck by lightning. They catch up to the person leaving them. And, along the road, they find footprints. They eventually make their way across a mountain pass. He wants them to be like the “good guys” from his father’s old stories. The man compares to the boy to “the word of God.” The boy wants them both to stick to their promises, even the little ones. He’s sensitive and pure, an icon of childhood. He doesn’t want to hold on to any bright memories. The man wonders where God is in such a world. So the man and the boy search abandoned malls, grocery stores, gas stations, and homes, for whatever they can find: tins of food a can of Coke a few drops of oil for their campfires ratty blankets any other odds and ends that might help them survive. The man supposes that the so-called “bloodcults” must have all consumed one another. But, for now, the road is devoid of life. On the way, their greatest concerns are the most basic ones: food shelter from the cold and safety from the other survivors of the disaster. They walk south along a highway to escape the approach of winter.

What matters right now is keeping his son alive in this world of ash. He remembers the refugees, the massacres, and the screams of the murdered in the night. The man remembers what it was like when the world ended and the survivors fought over what was left. Nothing is left except the ruins of civilization, dead forests, and scraps. Like characters in an ancient parable, they don’t even have names: they’re just “the man” and “the boy.” Plot summaryĪ man and his son walk through America after a disaster has burned the world away. Let’s see how he hooks us in his Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Road.

Today, I’m looking at how Cormac McCarthy creates vulnerable characters that engage our emotions. I’m exploring the craft behind the openings of successful novels, so I can learn how to write a great first chapter for my own book. (This essay is also available as a video on YouTube.

Books similar to the road by cormac mccarthy