The Way
A postapocalyptic road trip and a quest for redemption.
It's 2048, and the world has been ravaged by a lethal virus. With few exceptions, only the young have survived. Cities and infrastructures have been destroyed, and the natural world has reclaimed the landscape in surprising ways, with herds of wild camels roaming the American West and crocodiles that glow neon green lurking in the rivers.
Will Collins, the last surviving resident of a Buddhist retreat center in Colorado, receives an urgent and mysterious request: to deliver a potential cure to a scientist on the West Coast. So Will sets out into an unknown and perilous world, haunted by dreams of the woman he once loved, in a rusted-out pickup pulled by two mules. He doesn't have much time--temperatures are rising to lethal heights, a hit man is on his tail, and armed militias patrol the roads. The only way he'll make it is with the help of a clever raven, an opinionated cat, and a tough teenage girl who has learned to survive on her own.
A highly original contribution to the canon of dystopian literature, The Way is a thrilling and imaginative novel, full of warmth, wisdom, and surprises. It raises age-old questions about life, death, and how to live, while reflecting our own world in unsettling, uncanny, and even hopeful ways.
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Cary Groner's debut novel, Exiles, published in 2011, was a Chicago Tribune favorite book of the year. His award-winning stories have appeared in publications including Glimmer Train, Salamander, Sycamore Review, American Fiction, Southern California Review, and Mississippi Review. He lives with his wife in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"This epic journey through a near-future, postapocalyptic landscape blends extreme suspense with serene meditation. . . . Groner offers a contemplative take on the postapocalyptic genre that leaves room for hope but doesn't stint on realism. This novel reads like Cormac McCarthy's The Road meets Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance."--Library Journal (starred review)
"The novel blends action with deep philosophical reflections, offering a hopeful perspective on life after disaster. Perfect for fans of Station Eleven and Oryx and Crake, The Way is a triumphant success."--Booklist
"Groner paints a persuasive picture of his dystopian world, peopled with strong characters and driven by cinematic action. This reinvigorates an overworked genre."--Publishers Weekly
"Not many writers could match the marvelous, imaginative achievement of Cary Groner's The Way. Groner creates a post-apocalyptic world that is frighteningly believable and populates it with finely-drawn characters--both gracious and wicked--whose capacity for love, hope, and cruelty mirrors what we encounter in our real, present world. Part page-turner, part love story, partly a plea for respect of both human and animal life, The Way heightened my appreciation for what I too often take for granted."--Roland Merullo, author of Breakfast with Buddha
"A thrilling, life-affirming adventure, The Way is a bold blend of a post-apocalyptic scorched earth, ancient Buddhism, and interspecies relationships--all packed into a tightly woven story of horror, hope, and love."--Katie Hafner, author of The Boys
"Part survival story, part grimoire, The Way is a magical book. Cary Groner is a master storyteller. His glorious, enchanting prose cast a spell on me from the bleak beginnings of his post-apocalyptic tale until its symphonic conclusion. In the end, The Way tells us that the only way to survive this world we've destroyed is to make better friends with the animals who remain."--Domenica Ruta, author of Last Day
"Cary Groner's The Way, with its post-frontier Buddhism and thrilling quest, is everything that apocalyptic doomer novels should be: entertaining, unsparing, and spiritual. This is an invigorating addition to the vital literature that bears witness to what we can't afford to ignore: our collective patterns of self-destruction. I loved it."--Claire Vaye Watkins, author of I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
"An ultimately hopeful vision of the aftermath of disaster. . . An engaging window into a strange new world."--Kirkus
