Within a couple of paragraphs the tension that has been growing as the father and son head down the road is there again and as they discover the cannibals retreat the horror is gripping. They stumble through the woods and only just manage to get away but the vision that McCarthy paints, albeit it very briefly, is etched into your mind and this book has you by the throat again.
"Huddled against the back wall were naked people, male and female, all trying to hide, sheilding their faces with their hands. On the mattress lay a man with his legs gone to the hip and the stumps of them blackened and burnt. The smell was hideous.
Jesus, he whispered.
Then one by one they turned and blinked in the pitiful light. Help us, they whispered. Please help us."
I have to put it down because of time but there is no way of knowing what will happen next and whether or not the road will lead to their salvation or their death.
More tomorrow…
