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The Road was either a super volcano, or meteor impact, given the scale, and description of things.
by overcast 10y ago
The Road was either a super volcano, or meteor impact, given the scale, and description of things.
- s_kilk 10y agoYeah, I can't dig up the source now, but I remember a super-volcano (probably Yellowstone) being widely accepted as the most likely source of the disaster.
- wlkr 10y agoThat's very interesting, I read the book a few years ago and then watched the film after. Both have stuck with me, particularly some distressing scenes from the book, and yet I never put too much thought into what could have caused the disaster. Given their plight I suppose it didn't matter.
- astrodust 10y agoCompared to a super-volcano, even the worst nuclear winter is brief and pleasant.
- TheGRS 10y agoI remember a scene from the book where he recalls bright lights in the distance? I thought it was a subtle hint that it was nuclear war, but its been awhile. That was my initial interpretation at least.
- s_kilk 10y agoYou're right, there's a bit about (paraphrasing) the clocks stopping at 11.30, bright lights in the distance and several low concussions in the ground. Having said that, in the movie the protagonist awakes at night to an orange glow outside, implied to be wild-fires on the horizon. He rushes to the bathroom to begin filling the bathtub with water.
- brandonmenc 10y agoThe nature of the disaster was left ambiguous. Only humans survived. No other life. Not at all realistic, but that wasn't the intent.
- knowaveragejoe 10y agoIf I'm not mistaken the movie ends with a group who has children and least one dog, implying they haven't resorted to cannibalism or eating their pets(yet).
- overcast 10y agoI don't remember a dog in the book, however yes, the son does meet up with a group at the end.
- overcast 10y agoI'm aware of its ambiguity, I read the book. For something to be on that scale, it definitely was not nuclear.
- industriousthou 10y agoI thought this was pretty realistic portrayal of how some sort of global winter may play out. The sun is blocked by dust or debris or whatever, plant life dies, the rest of the biosphere dies, and all that's left is some humans who scavenge and end up eating each other. I guess rotting plant matter like trees might provide nutrients for some sort of meager ecosystem composed of fungi and insects for quite some time. Maybe a few small mammals and birds. The book didn't really touch on that, though.
- jraines 10y agoI want to quote the whole section that gives the most info, just because McCarthy's writing is so great & ominous: "The clocks stopped at 1:17. A long shear of light and then a series of low concussions. He got up and went to the window. What is it? she said. He didn't answer. He went into the bathroom and threw the lightswitch but the power was already gone. A dull rose glow in the windowglass. He dropped to one knee and raised the lever to stop the tub and then turned on both the taps as far as they would go. She was standing in the doorway in her nightwear, clutching the jamb, cradling her belly in one hand. What is it? she said. What is happening? I don't know. Why are you taking a bath? I'm not."
- industriousthou 10y agoI was under the impression it could have been a nuclear winter. There's seems to be some disagreement about how severe and long nuclear winter may be, so maybe McCarthy was making some false assumptions.