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.