Friday, April 13, 2007

I'm Sorry, Orson Scott Card



I have a new favorite book: The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. It's about a father and a son. It's about a world gone mad and bad. It's about personal fidelity in a time of prolonged crisis. It's about growing up. It's about transmitting sure and certain ideals down the ages, one child at a time. It's about hope, and it's about goodness. What do you do when all the trappings of your life have been stripped away? What do you do when it's just your family, against, seemingly, the entire world? What are you willing to do simply to survive? These are all questions that are answered by the lives of the protagonists in The Road.

The plot: A Father and his Son travel on a road through postapocalyptic America, heading for the coast, and they know not what else. And their road is not safe.

This book begs you to ask yourself the question, "Am I carrying the fire?"

I don't want to give away what this means, so I won't. You'll just have to read the book for yourself. But, I will say, it's pretty important to know whether we are or not.

On a personal note, I learned through reading this book that when I have sons, I want (and need) to teach them what it means to be a man. I need to teach them who we are, and why we do what we do. I need to teach how and why I became what I am. And how they can do the same for themselves. I can think of few things more powerful than a father teaching his son. Of course, I don't have any sons, so if there are any interested parties out there, you know where to find me. *Wink, wink*