The Road by Cormac McCarthy [$14.95]

Oprah is right on target with this one. The apocalypse is not to be tinkered with lightly, or given to writers of lesser caliber. McCarthy has long had a mean, or at least a cold-blooded, streak to him; here, he shows more of a heart than he has for some time. This is not just a litany of despair, it is a lament for all that was lost, and thusly, a celebration of the here and now. This may have the trappings of a horror film, but with his stubborn wanderers diligently batting their unanswerable questions back and forth in a godless waste, McCarthy enters the land of Beckett. [Amazon]