Brat McCay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness Podcast.

Now once a year I read The Road by Kormack McCarthy.

It's become this cathartic, annual ritual for me.

What is it about this novel that has such an impact on my soul and those of other readers?

Who is the man who wrote it?

And what was he trying to do with the story of a father and son struggling to survive

in a post-apocalyptic landscape?

For answers to these questions, I decided to talk to a foremost expert on McCarthy's

work as well as the literature of the American Western General.

His name is Stephen Frye, he's professor of English and novelist in his own right,

and the author and editor of several books about the reclusive, philosophical author, including

Understanding Kormack McCarthy.

We begin our conversation with some back on McCarthy, in a discussion of his distinctive

style and themes, and why he avoids the limelight and prefers to hang out with scientists

over fellow artists.

We then dive into the road, and Stephen Pax would inspire it as well as the authors and

books that influenced it.

We then dig into the big themes of the road, and how it can be read as a biblical allegory

that wrestles with the existence of God.

We delve into the tension which exists between the father and son of the book, and what it

means to carry the fire.

In winter conversation with why reading the road makes you feel both depressed and hopeful

...