The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I’ve just finished reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy, WOW!

What a powerful piece of Eco-reading, despite the fact that the most likely cause of such an environmental disaster would be a volcanic eruption. But given that the book describes a future world where nature is as dead as many Chinese waterways are today, if reading it doesn’t make you want to make more environmentally friendly choices I don’t know what will.

Imagine a bleak world with no living animals (besides the last surviving humans), no fresh food, massive fires burning up all the dead and dry vegetation, an atmosphere filled with a cloud of ash, where the sun never shines. The death of nature and the slow agonizing demise of man as a consequence.

For those who have seen the movie, you should read the book because its a much more personal experience and allows to better identify with the characters and follow the slow grueling pace.

I’ve read quite a few negative reviews online, I wonder if the struggle described in the book is best appreciated by readers who have some outdoor experience and can identify with walking the rugged environment and sleeping outside, sometimes wet, cold and miserable.

Just how do you live in a world that is dead? What a haunting thought, but as a designer one that is inspiring, albeit in a different sort of way.

I think I’ll now go and sit on the grass for a few minutes, hug a tree, or smell some flowers.