"The Road" by Cormac Mcarthy - chosen by Dennis
The Road, despite, or perhaps because of, its dark theme was very well received by the BBC members. Scores were as follows:
Andrew 7.5
Helen 9
Kevin 8.5
Mark 10
Kevin 7
Leanne 8
Dennis 9
Average 8.5
A film based on the novel was announced to be in development on April 2, 2007. John Hillcoat is set to direct, and the adaptation will be written by Joe Penhall. The lead role of the father will be played by Viggo Mortensen. Guy Pearce may also have a role. Also joining the cast is Charlize Theron.
Viggo Mortensen is perhaps best known for his roles as Aragorn in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and as Nikolai Luzhin in David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises.
It will be very difficult for the Americans to do this story justice (despite it being an American story), the Canadians would have a much better grasp of it. Still it’s great to see someone of the capability of Charlize Theron in it – pity it can only be a tiny role.
One question was answered for me by Wikipedia (though this may have been known to other members – I thought it was a made up word). ”The father struggles in times of extreme danger with the fear that he will have to euthanize his son to prevent him from enduring a more terrible fate – horrific examples of which include chained catamites kept captive by a marauding band.”
Apparently a catamite is the younger partner in a pederastic relationship between two males and was a popular arrangement in the ancient world, especially ancient Rome.
Here is some more edited text of interest about The Road, and its stern warning to humankind, also thanks to Wikipedia
British environmental campaigner George Monbiot was so impressed by The Road that he declared McCarthy to be one of the "50 people who could save the planet" in an article published in January 2008. Monbiot wrote, "It could be the most important environmental book ever. It is a thought experiment that imagines a world without a biosphere, and shows that everything we value depends on the ecosystem." This nomination echoes the review Monbiot had written some months earlier for the Guardian in which he wrote, "A few weeks ago I read what I believe is the most important environmental book ever written. It is not Silent Spring, Small Is Beautiful or even Walden. It contains no graphs, no tables, no facts, figures, warnings, predictions or even arguments. Nor does it carry a single dreary sentence, which, sadly, distinguishes it from most environmental literature. It is a novel, first published a year ago, and it will change the way you see the world."
The next book is a return to the Graphic Novel genre "Watchman" by Alan Moore. To be held at at Andrew's place in Darlington on Wednesday 26th March at 7.30pm.
The Billingsgate Book Club Blog is managed by Mark Gordon of Hunt Online Marketing Sydney
Andrew 7.5
Helen 9
Kevin 8.5
Mark 10
Kevin 7
Leanne 8
Dennis 9
Average 8.5
A film based on the novel was announced to be in development on April 2, 2007. John Hillcoat is set to direct, and the adaptation will be written by Joe Penhall. The lead role of the father will be played by Viggo Mortensen. Guy Pearce may also have a role. Also joining the cast is Charlize Theron.
Viggo Mortensen is perhaps best known for his roles as Aragorn in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and as Nikolai Luzhin in David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises.
It will be very difficult for the Americans to do this story justice (despite it being an American story), the Canadians would have a much better grasp of it. Still it’s great to see someone of the capability of Charlize Theron in it – pity it can only be a tiny role.
One question was answered for me by Wikipedia (though this may have been known to other members – I thought it was a made up word). ”The father struggles in times of extreme danger with the fear that he will have to euthanize his son to prevent him from enduring a more terrible fate – horrific examples of which include chained catamites kept captive by a marauding band.”
Apparently a catamite is the younger partner in a pederastic relationship between two males and was a popular arrangement in the ancient world, especially ancient Rome.
Here is some more edited text of interest about The Road, and its stern warning to humankind, also thanks to Wikipedia
British environmental campaigner George Monbiot was so impressed by The Road that he declared McCarthy to be one of the "50 people who could save the planet" in an article published in January 2008. Monbiot wrote, "It could be the most important environmental book ever. It is a thought experiment that imagines a world without a biosphere, and shows that everything we value depends on the ecosystem." This nomination echoes the review Monbiot had written some months earlier for the Guardian in which he wrote, "A few weeks ago I read what I believe is the most important environmental book ever written. It is not Silent Spring, Small Is Beautiful or even Walden. It contains no graphs, no tables, no facts, figures, warnings, predictions or even arguments. Nor does it carry a single dreary sentence, which, sadly, distinguishes it from most environmental literature. It is a novel, first published a year ago, and it will change the way you see the world."
The next book is a return to the Graphic Novel genre "Watchman" by Alan Moore. To be held at at Andrew's place in Darlington on Wednesday 26th March at 7.30pm.
The Billingsgate Book Club Blog is managed by Mark Gordon of Hunt Online Marketing Sydney
posted by Corporate Photography Sydney at Thursday, February 28, 2008
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