The Way by Cary Groner explores the resilience of the human race following a cataclysmic event where half of Earth’s population is nearly extinct. We see the perseverance of the human spirit, the willingness to survive against all odds, and the struggle to retain your humanity in a world without rules and structure.
Synopsis:
Will Collins is traveling across a post-apocalyptic America with his animal companions, a raven named Peau, a cat named Cassie, and two mules hauling a hollowed-out pickup after it’s been ravaged by the pandemic known as Mayhem. His mission is to meet with a scientist on the West Coast to deliver a potential cure for the deadly virus. So, begins Will’s perilous journey as he grapples with grief for his lover Eva while overcoming the wild elements including wild animals, a sarcastic teenager named Sophie, intense heat, and a hit man that’s relentlessly pursuing him.
Content ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Way by Cary Groner explores one man’s journey to find peace and purpose through his deliberate retreat from society in favor of a meditation center where he can focus on his pursuit of enlightenment. Then a pandemic is unleashed, changing everything and wiping out over half of Earth’s population. Sending him on a journey of self-reflection and discovery.
I appreciated Groner’s focus on finding humanity in such extreme conditions and how he explored this from Will’s philosophical and religious beliefs as well as how each of the communities Will passed through exhibited a different type of approach to a broken world.
Groner didn’t prioritize the doom and gloom but showed a broad spectrum of civilization in which people were still able to come together and build community. While there were some instances of violence and survivalist behavior which one could expect under the circumstances, they were actually few and far between. Allowing the reader to marvel at the ingenuity and the indomitable spirit of humans.
I also enjoyed Will’s companionship with the animals. It was cute the way they could communicate and understand each other and how they all looked out for each other. Making this such a unique found family element in this story.
Writing Style ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The tone in this novel felt introspective and reflective, which felt at odds with the tension Groner would intermittently introduce as Will encountered the mysterious man who was tracking him and threatened him.
This gave me whiplash and made the story feel a little disjointed as so much time was spent establishing Will’s self-growth and his philosophy instead of the conflict with the man chasing him.
Also, the prose was okay but not my favorite. It was very dry and in the beginning, I found it challenging to become emotionally invested in what was happening in the initial first few chapters.
Readability ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I enjoyed this read but can’t say it was something I felt compelled to read. Indeed, what I connected to most in this novel were Will’s ruminations and philosophies. Perhaps my favorite parts of this story were the literary elements as those shined bright and kept me coming back.
Plot Development ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The slow, meandering pace of this story didn’t work for me due to the high-stakes plot involving the man who was tracking Will and wanted to kill him. We would be introduced to a scene with this mysterious tracker and would be left hanging for pages on end as to what was going on with him tracking and following Will. This also made the pace and tone of the story feel a little off.
Additionally, the mix of plot-driven and character-driven elements didn’t work for this story either. I feel Groner should have chosen one of these elements to focus on instead of meshing them together as they made the story feel disjointed.
Another issue is I feel we didn’t get enough exploration regarding the mysterious tracker. He’s mentioned in the premise as a key plot point and yet we get so little from him. There were some early establishing scenes to introduce him in the beginning, but aside from one major scene in the middle and towards the end, we don’t get that much from him. And in these two major scenes where he and Will have an exchange, we learn more about his motivations. Yet, it’s still not enough to fully flesh out this storyline. And the ending was super anti-climactic and didn’t entirely make sense. It felt rushed as if it were thrown in to wrap everything up. However, the reader is left with questions and not fully satisfied.
There was another plot point in this story that wasn’t properly fleshed out as well, leaving the reader wondering and questioning what the truth was. And this wasn’t done in an open-to-interpretation kind of way. More like I’m not going to let you know the answer to a story element that I introduced you to but don’t want to flesh it out and go there. I’d rather leave you hanging.
Characters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When it came to creating complex and realistic characters, Groner did an amazing job. I enjoyed many of the characters that I was introduced to. I loved the found family aspect with Will and the animals and I appreciated the father-daughter dynamic between Sophie and Will. Their relationship was a unique balance and there were many times when Sophie had more common sense, situational awareness, and self-preservation than Will did.
