How Old is the Boy?

[jimster43]

Two questions:

1. How old do you think the boy is?

2. How many years after the catastrophe do you think the events of the story take place.

I don't think the boy's age is given in the story, but I don't think he would be more than 10 years old. He was born sometime after the catastrophe, but I am not sure if he was conceived before or after. If he was conceived before, his age would give us some idea of how long ago the disaster happened. It would also be interesting to know how many years the family stayed in their original location before setting out on the Road.

Interested to see your thoughts.

Jim

[bigkahuna]

I see the boy's age as ranging from 8-10yrs old.

[PoldyBloom]

The boy must have been conceived before the catastrophe:  On page 45 (hardcover), on the night of the event, the woman is "clutching  the door jamb and cradling her belly in one hand."  The child is born a few nights later, page 50.  Ten years seems to be about right.

[-Jake-]

I thought he was between 6-8.

[Eldanogrande]

I'd say 6-8 is right.  What he said and the way he talked could easily have been uttered by my own 6 year old son.  That's what made this book so devastating for me to read.  Since the author did not name the characters I could not NOT picture the characters as me and my son.  I finished this book weeks ago and I still can't get the dialogue from the last few pages out of my head.