Jun 25, 2008
The Road: Not your typical book on fathering, which makes it worth reading.
The Road carves fatherhood down to its thinnest core, leaving the comfortable, untested reader wondering if he’s man enough for this job.
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Got to read it. After four kids I’ve decided that no one is “man enough” for the job. What you will find (when your kids grow up) is that despite all your mistakes, false assumptions, attempts to create your kids in your own image, God will still make something of them. Now that’s what I call grace.
The Road made me want to get a gun, for when the apocalypse comes, so I won’t be taken by cannibals and raised as meat.
Seriously though…. I love the post-apocalyptic genre of book and film, it always makes me wonder what I would do in those extreme situations.
Ohhh…I must check that out. I LOVE book recommendations. Donald Millers “To Own A Dragon” is the best book on fatherhood that I’ve read so far.
Hmmm. My impression of the book was quite different. It wasn’t about being “man enough” it was about being “human enough.” What extremity of circumstance cause us to forsake the mores, civility and dignity of being human? Are we just animals? Or is there something that holds us apart from mere savagery?
In the end, I believe it was the ability to love, to not despair and to never, never give up.
Yes, yes, yes. It’s about being human enough.
I don’t think our takes on the book were much different, Elizabeth. I only said “man enough” because I was mentioning the book in relation to fatherhood.
However, it would be silly to say that it is only about being a good father or being “man enough.” It is about much more.
You must agree, though, that the book has a lot to say about being a good father, no?
I actually agree with Elizabeth; I felt like the theme of the book wasn’t about what it took to be a good father but how much your fatherhood could be warped by making your child an idol. Think about the really terrible stuff the dad does to needy travelers and others in the name of keeping his son safe.
Good observation, Esther. And Abraham. That book carves everything down to its thinnest core. Fatherhood, family, environment, supply, history, demand, language, motivation, hunger, geography, grief, hope…
I’ll never hear OK the same way again,
Karsten
Abraham: yes and no.
For me, it wasn’t so much about father & mother—it was more about humanity as a whole and the connections that bind us.
After all, the mother abandoned her family because she had despaired of hope.
And in the end, the father dies and the boy is left to the care of “strangers.”
Perhaps the bigger picture is: none of us are really strangers. We are all in this together.
It was a good book, but I kept waiting for the payoff. It created a lot of thirst, but never provided a drink. The book was simply gray from beginning to end. It was like eating a ton of oatmeal. It was never satisifying, but raised to many questions to put down.
The chief question that I thought the book raised was “What is worth living for?”. Family? Hope? In the midst of great suffering, what keeps one going?
Abraham, help me. I’m an enormous McCarthy fan. I’ve read all but two of his novels. Blood Meridian is among the finest
works of American fiction I’ve ever encountered.
I teach literature to homeschooled teens in our church. I DON’T include McCarthy novels, but I’ve had parents question why I read novels that are so violent and (apparently) devoid of hope. One dad took me to task because I told his son I liked the No Country film.
I have no conscience checks about reading McCarthy, but I wonder if my answers to these parents is adequate.
How would YOU defend reading McCarthy?
I wanted to like it, and I finished it, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
Ooh, ooh, Abraham, can I steal Brian’s question?
1. We observe that there are only flawed characters in this world,
2. and that the world and all its circumstances are also broken and ugly,
3. but not beyond being also more beautiful than we can imagine,
4. and that a glimmer of truth or beauty or goodness matters infinitely more in a shattered place than in an ordinary one.
5. And we can respond to these characters with empathy
6. and with discernment
7. even if we viscerally disrespect/ fear/ abhor them
8. which gives us a taste of loving someone we disrespect/ fear/ abhor,
9. and that lets us learn from them (something most of us are reluctant to do unless we already respect, or even agree with, someone).
10. In our empathy and learning, we may experience that we are, in deep ways the same as these characters.
11. It’s good to own and stand up to our discomfort about these things,
12. and it’s good to own and stand up to our fears of these things.
13. Some of all this will translate to real relationships and personal encounters.
14. We get reminded that the world hasn’t always been/won’t always be as it is now,
15. that things never get only better or only worse,
16. and that neither the past nor the future is inherently hopeful.
17. Furthermore, we are provoked to feel emotions we haven’t in our own lives
18. but that we probably will, so maybe we’re more prepared for them.
19. And none of which even touches matters of style,
20. or practical knowledge,
21. or narrative craft that might make McCarthy worth reading.
22. And because of the wounds and bloodstains, none of this is likely to be forgettable.
And I haven’t even read Blood Meridian yet–it’s on order through my college library.
KP
I enjoyed it because it ended badly but with hope but still badly. It was a disturbing read though.
Thank you, KP.
That’s all you got, KP? Oh, I get it–22. Still new here. Really outstanding–thanks!
Brace yourself for Blood Meridian. If you can give me even a clue to the meaning of the epilogue, I’ll be still more in your debt.
Brian – Are you referring to the movie, No Country for Old Men? That movie led to one of the most theological (life affirming?) conversations I’ve ever been able to have with my unbelieving parents!
One question for you – remember the conversation the killer had with the wife? How she seemed almost resigned to her fate? I keep wondering – what would a Christian response to him be? And I mean hardcore – I’m sitting face to face with evil incarnate and I’m gonna die…so what do I say? How do I face this?
Karsten – Seriously, I’m begging, come teach English at UNL. Or maybe we could just get you and Denis Haack together to talk about literature and film, that’d be pretty friggin sweet too :).
Veronica – I actually think Carla Jean’s answer contained lots of Christian elements. Chigurh sees himself as an instrument of fate. There’s really no room for human dignity or responsibility – at least as we’d recognize it – in Chigurh’s universe. Carla Jean’s response, “The coin don’t have no say, it’s you. Just you,” seems to be a profound statement of Chigurh’s humanity. Good question though, will be interested to see how others respond.
I see that, Veronica. I guess I didn’t help my case when someone asked me what the movie was about and I answered, facetiously, “It’s a wonderful story of the triumph of evil over good.”
I don’t know how I’d reply to Chigurh. Or how I ought to reply. Doesn’t seem like it would affect the outcome anyway. Let me think about it.
By the way, my favorite part comes at the end–the dream narrated by Sherrif Bell (?). His father riding out into “all that cold and all that dark” with fire in a horn. That pinprick of light in a universe of darkness is one consistent theme in all of McCarthy’s books. It’s harder to find in some than others.
Brian – I’m so with you on the reply to Chigurh not affecting the outcome! That’s partly why I find it such a fascinating concept. Nothing you say is going to change the outcome – so what do you say to evil?
BTW – I LOVE your answer to your friend. That truth is completely why my mom was so unhinged by the movie. She completely believes in the power of decency. Moral relativism – do what is right and things will work out. But how does decency defeat evil? It doesn’t. She loved the movie but it really shook her worldview to the core.
Jake – I agree that Carla Jean came as close as anyone in that movie to a Christ like response. I think I need to sit down today and figure out what my response would be.
22 words or less: What would I say to pure evil?
Brian – just want to clarify here because I want to make sure I’m communicating how deeply I agree with everything you’ve been saying.
It stinks that someone made you defend what you read and it stinks even more if their challenge was based on an understanding of their faith.
But I still think your answer, facetious or not, was good and right. Evil does triumph over good. But our faith isn’t in good, it’s in God.
I only wish my kids were in your literature class!
Man, this thread makes me miss teaching English. I used to have my students read Cormac McCarthy as one option among many.
The Road is one of my favorite books of all time by the way.
I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying this blog! Thanks for your support, Veronica.
The parent who addressed me on NCFOM was concerned because he thought I had “recommended” the film to his 17-year-old son. But he was also affected by a review on a well-known Christian website that stated it was “without redeeming value.” Not, to clarify, “without redemption,” but, well, you get the idea.
Christians today are plagued by what I call the “K-LOVE” mentality. If it’s not “positive and encouraging” it is somehow morally objectionable.
I have an answer to these folks, but it’s not a simple answer. For example, while I “enjoy” NCFOM (enjoy isn’t exactly the word, is it?) I found myself recently questioning the wisdom of a young man in our church who is an avid fan of all the “Saw” films.
So let me throw this out: If you approve of NCFOM, but object to slasher films like Saw, how do you differentiate?
And the only answer I’ve come up with to Chigurh is Luke 12:5 “I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
But, I don’t know if I honestly could pull it off; it sounds a bit corny, and more importantly, it would be all bluster, cuz I’d be scared witless.
This book gets the love between a father and a son just right. Incredible book.