oprah & cormac on the road

I was baffled and delighted yesterday when I heard the news that Oprah's latest Book Club selection is Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I discovered the news when The Road appeared as an Amazon recommendation with that ubiquitous Oprah sticker in its corner. After convincing myself I was not hallucinating, I went looking for confirmation, and there it was.

Right now, as I write, women across the U.S. are purchasing The Road, and thinking, "Well, the cover's not that inviting, but I'm sure it'll be a good read. Oprah said so." Then they're settling down on their overstuffed couches and starting to read the most horrifying, gut-wrenching tale of apocalyptic devastation to come out in a long time. Too much has been made of this, but we're talking about roasting babies on spits here. I wonder how Oprah really feels about her audience. If I got a little chuckle out of the above scenario, she must have, too.

Yet Oprah has always been about the spirit, and one of the reasons I loved The Road to the extent that I did is that there is spirit and love oozing from the pages of that book. In this way, her choice makes perfect sense. McCarthy obviously felt so; he's granted his first television interview ever. (I'm amused by the Franzen pity and impressed by Oprah's continued willingness to jump into the literary fray - pun intended.) My emotional connection to The Road inevitably extends to the man who created it, and the idea that he will never want for anything material for the rest of his life - thus is the power of Oprah's magic sticker - moves me almost as much as the novel did. It is a well-deserved gift, and I think McCarthy has the gravitas to accept it without even the slightest shadow of selling out.