We do not have a date. Neither do we have names. There is no beauty, no smile, no sympathy - nothing which makes our life worth living. So why one must walk on? Why take the next step when it is taking you to a bleaker world?
McCarthy’s post apocalyptic masterpiece tries to answer such fundamental questions through brutal honesty. A father and son walks on without looking back and with no hope of a better future, with just one fundamental purpose - survival. They fight winter, hunger, disease and perverted humanity with grit and, occasional help from, if I may be excused to use the word which seems so out of place in the story, luck. Lurking in the background a question which the father’s wife and son’s mother had already answered in negative - is life worth living in this degraded world? The father verbally disagrees with his wife but at the same time carries a gun with two bullets - just in case .
The readers make the journey with the man and the child, reluctantly, I must say for other than author’s poetic prose, there seem to be little reward. With each turn we expect a catastrophe, with each additional step of the couple, we seem to feel exhausted and often there is a temptation to close and hide the book from our sight. But we read on for deep inside we know that perhaps this is how the world will look in future unless we take care to preserve its nature and its resources, unless we take step to reign in our impulse to consume more and unless we ensure a more equitable world. Perhaps we look for a guidance for how should we behave and live once the inevitable happens.
The father’s primary purpose in the novel is to preserve and protect his son, even if it means falling from high moral ground and risking turning into a’bad guy’. The son acts as the keeper of the conscience - asks the difficult questions, urges the father to take the moral path, even if that threatens their survival. Time and again their conversation ends with reflective question - are we still the good guy?! We too silently ask ourselves the same question - with a wider perspective - are human beings basically good?
When we reach the end, (not end of the journey, mind you) we almost have the answer. Almost because the final answer is to be given by each one of us through our lives.
After turning the last page of the book you look back and wonder at the journey. You marvel at how much the author has achieved through minimum words. You appreciate the beauty of the words which conveyed the darkness of the futureless world. You celebrate the beautiful dialogues between the father and son.
And lastly you look at the world around you with a new pair of eyes. You look at a bird or a tree with tender love, saviour a glass of water or a ripe grape with greater relish and embrace your family with greater affection.
I was wrong when I said that a world devoid of beauty, smile or sympathy is a world not worth living for ultimately there is a greater power which can turn all the pain worth enduring - love.
This book will remain with you long after it is over. It is not an easy read but the message it conveys is full of truth, beauty and honesty. You come to live with and love the father son pair throughout their bleak journey. And ultimately you are glad that you accompanied them.