Carpe Librum: Pulitzer Prize

One way or another, the majority of the population will by now have come across American author Cormac McCarthy's hugely successful post-apocalyptic novel The Road, whether you have read it or not.

In 2007, The Road won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and in 2009 The Road hit the big screen as a major film featuring actor Viggo Mortensen.

When a book gets too trendy it turns me off a little, but it's clear that The Road has now become an American classic and received much acclaim from all over the world. I knew I'd have to face it sometime, and now I have.

What is clear from early on, is that the two main characters aren't assigned names; they are instead referred to in the narrative as: they, the boy, Papa, he, we, us etc. Also absent from the book are any quotation marks to denote dialogue.

These two writing devices alone create a lean writing style in keeping with the post-apocalyptic setting the father and son find themselves in, the cause of which is never fully explained. The situation is grim, starving in a land of ash, but the boy's pure heart add simple beauty to the page and balance the devastating story of survival.

I can understand why so many readers were touched by The Road, and furthermore why it has been embraced by environmentalists as a moving example of what could happen if we continue to treat the planet with complete disregard. The thought is horrific.

For me though, it was a good read, but it didn't change my life, or influence me to go and buy copies for all of my friends and family. I'm looking forward to watching the movie now though and am interested to hear your thoughts. Have you read the book or seen the movie? What did you think? Did The Road deserve the Pulitzer?

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!

I bought and read this book based on the fact that it was the winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. This book has received endless accolades, but I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy it at all.

I was intrigued by the premise of this novel, in that Reverend Ames is writing a letter to his son with the knowledge he is dying. The book almost reads like a series of diary entries with entries from the current day and reflections from the past. The entries flipped forwards and backwards in time without any order and I felt like I was being jerked around without any firm destination.

I can see how so many readers were moved by the reflections of the Reverend, but I'm disappointed to say that the deeply profound moments were lost on me for some reason. I'm not quite sure whether it was the writing style, or the religious references or a disbelief that human beings reflect the way he does.

Nevertheless, I won't be recommending Gilead to anyone, and to be quite honest, I found it a chore to read.

My rating = **

Carpe Librum!