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I have read The Road; I have not read Blood Meridian (yet - not sure if I will or not). I read The Road when I was probably 22 or 23. I now have a son who is s

I have read The Road; I have not read Blood Meridian (yet - not sure if I will or not). I read The Road when I was probably 22 or 23. I now have a son who is six (I'm a man, for context), and I suspect that if I were to re-read it, I would likely weep uncontrollably for an hour or two, and then spend the next several months sporadically crying and clutching my son. It is a hard, hard read, and even harder (I assume) if you're a parent. That being said, it's also a masterpiece of a book. Ultimately it does have a glimmer of optimism, it's just a really rough time getting to that optimism. I don't regret reading it, but once is enough, for now.

deleted 10y ago
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aaron-lebo 10y ago
Perhaps it is good to put yourself in that mindset semi-regularly? That's what life really is, when you strip away the conveniences. The real horror is to realize that for many people in history (and even now) reality has been worse.
tricky 10y ago
I've read The Road twice. First as a son, then as a father. My dad and I went though some crap I couldn't grasp when I was young. The book made me feel like I could finally understand what he was going through. Why he did what he did. I've never had a book change me like the road had. I read it again when my son was 4 months old. That's when I finally understood, at a visceral level, what it means to carry the fire. I think we're both going to be better because of it. I will read the book one more time after my dad passes.