i read the book . i do not find it particularly good and and i have read a lot of post apocalypse sf . these fall into two category represent realistic attempt to examine behaviour in the aftermath of some catastrophe . the most recent one i would recommend be octavia s butler parable of the sower . the second category be nihilistic despair romance . anna kavan ice where the world be smother in ice and some early ballard be in this category . so be the road ( book and film . the road be basically ridiculous . neutron bombing . nuclear winter . giant asteroid hit . plague . humanity eat by giant mutant pink ant . the author doesn not tell u because he simply hasn not think it through . unlike most regular hard sf apocalypse writer who usually work our their premise carefully you can pick out the sheer silliness of it all yourself but i just put out a few pointer represent 99 % plus of the population have die in 10 year but they do not have clothes to wear or a decent tent . only two round of ammo . just so the author can set up a fake dilemma . farming human for cannibalism . if you have food to fee human and you would eat it yourself and rather than loose calorie . leave the bunker the height of stupidity . wait out and try to rebuild . and one presumes that the people who set it up would have a ) stock it with weapon and ammo b ) medical supply . so when the dolt ( we can not really call him a man ) get shot with an arrow he should have have antibiotic etc so he wouldn not die . medical supply represent ditto the ship . question why do he swim back be there no life raft or lifeboat leave on the ship . you could carry a lot more supply safely . madden brigand and bandit represent this come to the heart of the matter and even bandit be likely to negotiate first . they can not afford wound and loss of member and and may even want to recruit more people into their gang . safety in number . it just ridiculous that there be no government at all survive and or people band together for skill share and mutual defence . why would the nuclear family with the dog accept a lone boy into their group . unless he have skill that be useful he just a worthless mouth to fee . if you have read anything about people survive in adversity and without have a rise tinted view of humanity and the road be hokum .