In a post-apocalyptic world, a man and his young son struggle to survive as they wander along a road heading south.
This is a fairly short book that manages to pack a punch. This little boy is being raised in a near-dead world. Gruesome scenes are a part of his everyday life. While his father is hesitant to help anyone they meet (with good reason!!), the little boy looks past his own fear and shows compassion.
I’m not going to lie, this book scared the shit out of me. I had to set it aside multiple times. The reality portrayed in this novel seems very close to coming true. Which is damn terrifying.
It is an extremely bleak read. What is the point of trying to chisel a life out in an already dead world? Are they lucky to have survived? Those are just some of the questions that continually crossed my mind. Questions that I have no answers for.
2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge.
Reading Challenge Update: 28/40(*50)
Prompt: a book from a celebrity book club [Oprah’s Book Club. Her Reader’s Guide for this book can be found here.]
I had mixed feelings about this book. I thought it was a little too bleak (for me). Have you seen the movie? Talk about scary!
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No, I haven’t seen the movie. I’m kind of scared to watch it. Do they show the baby scene? I don’t think I’d be able to handle that.
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This is the only book I’ve read in decades that made me cry. It was the last page that did it.
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I had a mini-existential crisis. What would I do? Would I do what the mother did? Would I still try to live in an already dead world? What’s the point? Bah! I cried at the ending as well. How could you not??!!
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When the son gets the stranger to promise to leave the blanket covering his dead father, then later finds the man keeps his promise to do so, despite a blanket being a precious commodity, that did it for me.
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This book sounds super sad 😦 and I don’t do scary! Tho is it like horror scary or scary like it could come true? Great review!
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Scary as in it could come true! Definitely! There are a few (very few) graphic scenes that I hadn’t expected. But it helped me put the story into perspective. Because you think, no child should experience that.
Have you seen Wall-E? This is like a way darker version of that. Except no one escapes Earth. Those who have survived are stuck trying to find food and other stuff in an already dead world.
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I have seen Wall-E but I didn’t really like it, probably for those same reasons, that it is too realistic a possibility!
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I know I’ve seen the first part of the movie. I don’t think I finished watching it! Probably for the reasons you mentioned with regards to the book…
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I don’t think I’d be able to make it through the movie. Too depressing.
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Omg, yes. It was a bleak read but you’ve raised some important questions. Is it worth it to live in that kind of world? I don’t know but if it is, isn’t it better to live in such a bleak world righteously? Father and son are two stark contrasts. The father is more realistic and he’s a child so he’s so young and full of hope… perhaps a balance would be better.
Love the questions, great review!
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Thank you! ❤
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