Oddly enough, I’ve actually failed to catch the film yet so I went into the book with no preconceptions. I’m told that the film is a pretty faithful adaptation though.  It’s on the DVD list.  Will get to it soon.

As for the book, the prose is not quite so stark as The Road but it’s certainly been honed to within an inch of its life.  It’s tight, yet rich, and it’s always gripping. McCarthy’s sparse punctuation quickly seeps into your brain and it’s only when you see an occasional contraction complete with its apostrophe that you remember their absence.  It all makes for a quick read.

It also makes for a splendidly engaging, often disturbing read.  You’ll have heard about the violence, I’m sure, and there is plenty of that.  Mostly cold and considered violence and always chillingly rendered.  Brilliant.  It’s probably fair to say that I’m a McCarthy convert.

Incidentally, because I’m a book-snob I normally hate to read a book that has the movie-poster as its cover. The fact is, this one was almost two quid less than the non-film-cover version and there’s a recession.

I’m hoping to get to see the film next week – weather permitting – and I really wanted to read the book before I did.

The postie brought this at lunchtime and, bad father that I am, I bundled my daughter into the next room to rot her brain watching TV while I sat in the kitchen and made a start on The Road.  It was either that or read aloud to her and I think TV is probably the lesser to those two particular evils.

I’ve hit the halfway mark (despite my child selfishly interrupting me a number of times for things like food) and can report that it’s an extraordinary read.

At the risk of sounding a bit wanky, the prose is unembellished to the point of being stark – and all but the most essential punctuation is absent – but it’s certainly no less beautiful or disturbing for it. This is my first McCarthy, but I believe he writes like this in some (all?) of his other novels.

Anyway, wankiness aside, The Road has been distressing, haunting, riveting so far and I’m certain the second half will continue to ratchet things up.

Looking forward to it immensely.  It may need another cup of tea though.

Oh, I’m also impressed by how many synonyms for ‘grey’ he has found.

For those interested in such things, Joe Penhall – who adapted it for the screen – writes about it here.  Someone I follow tweeted this link but I’m afraid I can’t remember who. Sorry I can’t credit you. Rest assured you are in my thoughts though – vaguely, anyway.