You have to carry the fire.”
I don’t know how to.”
Yes, you do.”
Is the fire real? The fire?”
Yes it is.”
Where is it? I don’t know where it is.”
Yes you do. It’s inside you. It always was there. I can see it.
The book follows the journey of a dad and his son, traveling south in the United States, in a contemporary post-apocalyptic world. They struggle to find food, shelter, clothes, avoid other humans turned to cannibalism. All the while, the father tried to teach his son survival skills, but also to be human, resilient, cautious and positive.
Not much happens during their journey, but the few interactions are meaningful and memorable.
The book won the Pulitzer Prize and it can be seen in the exceptional writing. The short book is a pleasure to read due to the writing skills, the descriptions, the atmosphere, the dialogue, the feelings and motivations of the characters. As reader, one is transported in that post apocalyptic world, without the need of long descriptions or explanations.
In fact, we never know the names of the family, what triggered the apocalypse, where exactly they are traveling and, in general, what happened to the world. We have only glimpses of their past and hints of what the apocalypse was.
It matters not, as the story is about passing the humanity from one generation to another, in the microcosm of this father and his son. Luck is on their side, but all has a countdown.
The late author, Cormac McCarthy, was a prized Hollywood inspiration, this book and one other (No Country For Old Man) being transposed into movies.
Are we carrying the fire?
A beautiful and touching book.
Mike Bostan - personal blog on book reviews and energy studies 