Update: Our book club in Portland keeps misreading the ending of 'The Road'

Everyone says the boy finding the family at the end is hopeful, but I think Cormac McCarthy leaves it intentionally bleak. The man with the shotgun mentions they've been watching the boy, which implies they might have darker motives. I've read the last 10 pages three times and the dialogue feels deliberately ominous. What specific lines make you think it's actually a positive resolution?

2 comments

2 Comments

reese_hill1mo ago

Wait, didn't McCarthy himself say in an interview that the ending is supposed to be good? I swear I read that somewhere. But I get your point, the "we're watching you" line is super creepy. The whole "carrying the fire" thing feels hopeful, but then the writing stays so cold and empty, it's hard to trust it. Maybe that's the whole point, like you can't ever really know if it's safe again.

emery181mo ago

Spot on, life's full of those mixed signals.