The Road is an audiobook by Cormac McCarthy, narrated by Tom Stechschulte. The unabridged Audible edition runs 6 hrs 39 mins.
Publisher’s Summary
The searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece. 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. The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,” are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 6 hrs 39 mins
- Publisher: Recorded Books
- Release year: 2007
- Audible category: Literature & Fiction / Genre Fiction / Coming of Age
Listener Ratings
The Road holds an average listener rating of 4.4/5 from 24471 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.6/5
- Story: 4.4/5
- 5-star ratings: 60% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “ARE YOU CARRYING THE FIRE?”
EVERYTHING COVERED WITH ASH<br/>Let me wipe my tears. This is a heart wrenching, moving novel. Decades from now (if we are still here), when they look back and study the period of time when Apocalyptic novels were so popular, they will single this one out as the best. McCormick writes very descriptively, but not overly so. He never mentions Nuclear Winter, but this is as close as you will get. The landscape is a main character. It is always cold, the sun has not been seen in years, ash falls from the sky constantly, their are no animals, no fish, no plants, man is the only thing to survive. <br/>THE BOY<br/>If you liked "Room" by Emma Donoghue , you will love this. We are not given an age, but he is probably around eight. He is an innocent. He has never seen the sun. You will fall in love with him.<br/>THE MAN, also known as Papa<br/>One of the most caring, patient fathers you will ever meet. <br/>Tom Stechshulte<br/>A fantastic narrator which makes this such a moving story with his talent.— Jim "The Impatient", Audible listener
3/5 stars — “Disappointed.”
I’d like to know more about why the country was scorched and how it became that way. I suppose not knowing the full story keeps you guessing. I story line or plot didn’t keep me ‘wanting more’. Half way through I was just looking forward to the end where maybe something interesting would happen or I could move on to the next book. I was hapy to know as I went through that it was a short story of just 6+ hours. The narrator did a good job but honestly, the voices never fit persons image I had in my head and there were only three voices to play so probably a routine job for Tom. Ah, start burying cans of food for the apocalypse?— L. Gallagher, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “I loved this book”
I like McCarthy’s writing style, but its never been better than in The Road. The setting is a bleak future, a man and his boy holding on to each other despite having absolutely nothing to live for. The story moves along well, with McCarthy’s brilliant prose, but the bleak atmosphere is not something all will appreciate.
Many criticize this book because of the lack of sophisticated dialog. In fact, a man and his son travelling along a road in the cold of winter probably would not have many deep, philosophical discussions.
The story is simple, but it’s what McCarthy does with it that gives its complexity.
There are some moments in the story that are some of the most memorable I’ve ever read; particularly the man’s remembrance of the final conversation he had with his wife.
The author manages to introduce a fair amount of realistic suspense into the story. I cringed at what the man found in the basement of that house…
McCarthy is one of the most brilliant writers, and he is at his absolute best here. But you’ll probably either love it or hate it.
Oh yeah, Tom Stechschulte’s narration is perfect for this book.— Barry S. Sharpnack, Audible listener
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