The Road

(Paperback)

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Description

The post-apocalyptic modern classic with an introduction by novelist John Banville. In a burned-out America, a father and his young son walk under a darkened sky, heading slowly for the coast. They have no idea what, if anything, awaits them there. The landscape is destroyed, nothing moves save the ash on the wind and cruel, lawless men stalk the roadside, lying in wait. Attempting to survive in this brave new world, the young boy and his protector have nothing but a pistol to defend themselves. They must keep walking. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Road is an incandescent novel, the story of a remarkable and profoundly moving journey. In this unflinching study of the best and worst of humankind, Cormac McCarthy boldly divines a future without hope, but one in which, miraculously, this young family finds tenderness. An exemplar of post-apocalyptic writing, The Road is a true modern classic, a masterful, moving and increasingly prescient novel. This edition is part of the Picador Collection, a new list of the best in contemporary literature published in Picador's 50th Anniversary year. McCarthy's eagerly anticipated new novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris, will be published by Picador in October 2022.

Reviews

The first great masterpiece of the globally warmed generation. Here is an American classic which, at a stroke, makes McCarthy a contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. -- Andrew OHagan
McCarthy conjures from this pitiless flight the miracle of unswerving humanity. Gripping beyond belief. -- Chris Cleave * Sunday Telegraph *
One of the most shocking and harrowing but ultimately redemptive books I have read. It is an intensely intimate story. It is also a warning. -- Kirsty Wark * Observer Books of the Year *
So good that it will devour you. It is incandescent. * Daily Telegraph *
You will read on, absolutely convinced, thrilled, mesmerized. All the modern novel can do is done here. -- Alan Warner * Guardian *
A masterpiece that will soon be considered a classic. * Herald *

Author Bio

Cormac McCarthy is the author of many highly acclaimed novels, including Blood Meridian, All The Pretty Horses and No Country For Old Men. Among his honours are the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He won the Pulitzer Prize for The Road.