Thank you. Yes, I can see it being literary fiction over mainstream. But not sci-fi, right? That's what I was thinking when I read it.
Usually, SF focuses on a speculative scientific or social element or context. It doesn't have to be far future or inherently unrealistic, but it generally contains something that isn't present in our current society, or extrapolates something that is present into a future where it has developed in a certain way.
A Clockwork Orange, for instance, is often considered SF, because the story hinged on a treatment for sociopathy that doesn't exist now but possibly could.
The Road is more of a realistic look at what a post apocalyptic future might be, without any projection of technological, scientific, or sociological elements that don't currently exist in our world.
The writing style in
The Road is definitely on the literary end of the spectrum, but that's not why it's not generally thought of as SF. It's possible for science fiction to also be literary.
The Handmaid's Tale, for instance, is often classified as literary SF, because it speculates about the evolution of sociological elements and explores what a society might be like in a future where those elements have a free rein.
Thank you. Each of my Google searches were saying that all post-apocalyptic is considered sci-fi, which when I think of a book like "The Road," it just didn't seem like sci-fi at all to me.
I'll keep looking for other similar titles too. Thanks again!
Post Apocalyptic or Dystopian fiction could be SF, if it is exploring a speculative technological or sociological element that is (arguably, at least) realistic or explicable in terms of our consensus reality at some level. It can also be more in the realm of fantasy, if the explanation or premise for whatever destroyed society is less plausible or more magical or supernatural. A plague of demons that destroy society might be more of a fantasy type postapocalyptic, unless the emphasis is on inspiring fear and horror. Then it could be horror.
Some things sort of straddle the line, like psychic abilities or viruses that turn people into zombies. Stephen King's
The Stand is sort of a blend. The super bug escaping from government labs is a SF kind of premise, but the whole battle between God and the Devil (who were unambiguously real and present in the narrative, not simply presented as beings that the characters believed in) for the future of humanity was more fantasy like, and there were touches of horror and suspense too.
I think that's why Post Apocalyptic is sometimes assigned its own category.