Ok, let me start by saying that I started the book on Monday (on the plane), and finished it last night at the hotel. It was tough for me to put it down, and I can honestly say that it's been a good long time since I've been affected by a book in such a personal and emotional way. There were time on the plane ride when I had to put the book down to avoid the golf ball welling in my throat.

Although this is an "apocalypse" piece, I never really got caught up in the Mad Max or Red Dawn aspect of the book--that all sort of washed away in the amazing description of the relationship between this man and his boy. The small victories that they had together really kept me turning the page.

Now, for a question. Although I get (right from reading the title, of course) the epic journey aspect of this story, I would like to hear others' thoughts about why the father was so driven to keep moving. There were times (particularly the stocked bunker and the farmhouse with all the jarred food and the big fireplace), when I might have been inclined to hunker down, set some noisy traps, and make a go of it. And, with that said, is there something too convenient in the way the story ends, or is it really just poetically beautiful?

-gunklestiltskin