The Innocents Abroad is the author's account of his travels to Europe and the Middle East on a pleasure cruise. With his trademark dry wit and keen observations, the author relates accounts of his pleasantly ignorant shipmates, as well as the foreign cities they visit and the ancient wonders they see. A mixture of amazement and sarcasm, this volume sweeps the reader into 1860s France, Italy, Palestine, and more. Major themes include the classics, the hypocrisy of religion, and the cultural gulf between Europe and America.
The Road is a post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son traveling and trying to survive after an unspecified global catastrophe. The father and son are attempting to reach the sea before winter. Along their way, they encounter other dangerous survivors, one of whom the father kills. Eventually the man dies and the son finds a family who take him in. The novel's simple prose style contrasts desolate imagery with symbols of lightness and hope.