THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy (✰✰✰✰)

Not being a fan of post-apocalyptic novels, I would not likely have read this one had the audio not been very highly lauded. This novel was also voted one of the top ten reads for 2010 for one of my book groups. This was my first McCarthy novel, and I will definitely read others. His spare style of prose was perfect for the stark environment of this plot-line. There are two main characters in the novel, a man and his son, who's names the reader never learns, who travel a road toward what they hope will be a better life in a post nuclear existence. There is a definite division of good and evil, and this lends an unexpected feeling of hope amid hopelessness. While certainly not the most cheerful book I have read in a while, I was very swept up in the survival of this father and son. My one very minor complaint would be that some of the events seemed to get a tad repetitive, although each varied in its own way, and to some extent their lives were a bit repetitive, so this needed reflection in the plot. If you are not looking for gaiety and would like a quick (the audio ran only 6.75 hours), good read, this is one to reach for.