It's difficult to put this book down once you reach the middle. I can't help but feel cold and hungry as I read about the father and son trying to stay warm and find food.
I read this book a year ago, and it still bothers me that the mother left them. I don't think I could have left, but I'm not in the same frame of mind as she would have been in. We don't know what happened to her, but I assume she died in the woods from the cold or starvation. Her other solution wasn't any easier, but the thought of my child being alone in such a world would have been worse than taking his life. I don't know if I could do that either - maybe if the situation was so bad, but then how do you judge that? We also see the father wrestling with this thought. What would you do?
The event that destroys the world is not revealed, but we are given pieces of information; p.52, "The clocks stopped at 1:17. A long shear of light and then a series of low concussions." I would guess a nuclear destruction, but it could be something else - the sun? Why is everything burned? What do you think happened? Does it bother you that the author does not explain this?
Some reviews on Amazon mentioned that they did not care for his writing style or the fact that none of the characters have names. I think the story still reads well, and proves that writing does not have to be perfect to be good. By reading this book again, I am noticing less of the horror and more of the love and hope between the father and son. What are your thoughts so far?