Mary Panttaja

Well, what a surprise. I did not know how timely I was in my comments on Cormac McCarthy’s most recent book, “The Road”. I am amazed that Oprah is recommending it, knowing what a broad reach of people will now read it. I am pleased for Cormac McCarthy and the readers who will get to experience this wonderful artistic effort. But I am still a little concerned for some sensitive readers who will take some time getting over the experience.

The violence in “The Road” is by no means gratuitous. It is core to his vision and allows him to set his elegy on human devotion in the most stark contrast possible. As I have said, it is a beautiful and startling achievement. But my daughter has taught me that we each need to be responsibile for what we read and watch knowing and caring for our own sensibilities, and that some of us are not able to find a manageable perspective or a relationship to difficult work.

I, for example, have tended not to read books or watch movies on the subject of losing a parent to Alzeihmers. It’s too close to my life and something I haven’t wanted to watch dramatized. Though I am starting to consider exploring the topic myself in my next novel. (And, for a weirdity, I never have watched “Jaws”.)

So read “The Road” if you are brave. (I think Oprah is quite brave to recommend it so broadly.) But don’t read it if you are prone to nightmares. At least don’t read it when you are home alone.