Introducing "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

The selection for April is The Road by Cormac McCarthy. You may be familiar with the author's work already; the Coen Brothers just won multiple Oscars for their adaptation of another McCarthy novel, No Country for Old Men.

The Road is a searing, post-apocalyptic novel, even more grim than No Country. From the back cover:

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food--and each other.

Since its publication in 2006, The Road has racked up countless honors and awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It's a quick read, too; not necessarily a light-hearted read, but certainly an entertaining and thought-provoking one.

Discussion will begin in mid-April. No spoilers in the comments of this post, please; there is a spoiler thread specifically dedicated to those.