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This is my first P.D. James novel and I will certainly read another. She spends a good deal of time developing her main character. Kinda getting in their skin.
I saw the movie before reading the book. They are very different. The movie has much more action and ends totally different then the book. The film versions charming Jasper played by Michael Cain has only a very minor part here. Theo's ex-wife also has a diminished role in the book and is merely another law abiding citizen.
Turns out I like both film and book versions because they vary so much. I fact, nothing in the book will spoil the movie or vice versa.
A very frightening, chilling tale about how mankind reacts to the knowledge of its sure extinction. What was most disturbing to me was how quickly the human race devolved into a group of uncaring, bored, apathetic, selfish, savage creatures in such a short time with the horrifying realization that there was no hope whatsoever that humankind would continue to inhabit the earth when the present population was gone. It made me wonder what the tiny thread of hope is that we cling to that keeps us (at least in our own minds) from being no better than savage animals. Is it faith? knowledge? prosperity? For we know that when things such as these are missing (Darfur, for example) we really are savages.
This was the first book I ever read by James, and by far my favorite. Very insightful, much deeper than one might think. I read the book long before seeing the movie. I thought the movie was an excellent adaptation, but had to be changed in order to suit the motion picture medium. Regardless whether you read or watch first, I recommend doing both and expecting the book and movie to be different.
If you saw the film don't let it keep you from this terrific book. The plot revolves around the proposition that the world would be a very different place if mankind lost the ability to have children. James explores some of the changes she thinks would occur. This is a rich complex novel that starts slow but becomes increasingly enjoyable culminating in a satisfying believable conclusion.
Far too much exposition and far too little story. Much of the first half of the book had little or nothing to do with the actual story and the ending was extremely unsatisfying. Cannot recommend.
I really enjoyed this book, mostly because it was one of the better written books I've read in a long time. James does an excellent job of creating effective characterizations- honest, human (or realistically inhuman), and believeable. It was not much like the movie, however.
From here on is a spoiler- important details will be revealed.
The premise is that there is a plague of infertility throughout the world in the late 1990's. The last generation to be born, the Omegas, are treated with almost religious awe in hopes they will reproduce (they can't). The first half of the book develops the history of the crisis and the cultural reactions developed to help people live in a world that is dying. Old people kill themselves in mass numbers, in events called a Quietus, because there is no one to care for them. As cities shrink, those remaining move to urban areas to concetrate services like power and water, which the government tries to guarantee as long as possible. Schools and colleges develop adult learning programs to take up time of those normally using it to raise children and grandchildren. Women invite friends for a celebration in the birth of a pet, who they christen like a child, or carry around dolls in prams to disguise their desperation to conceive. Others are expected to congratulate them on their new arrival. There is a general sense of hopelessness because it is certain there will be no human future.
The story is told through the eyes of Theodore, a history professor in his 50's, and cousin to the leader of England. The story deals with the relationship between the two men, interspersed with information about the world created by mass infertility. Theodore meets a woman, Julian, who approaches him to intercede for a group of 5 people who wish to reform the government, which they feel has become a dictatorship. Theodore quickly falls in love with her, unrequited due to her married state. He leaves the country for six months, only to return and find her the first pregnant woman in 25 years. The rest of the story deals with Julian and the birth of her child, which she wishes to conceal from the outside world as long as possible.
Brief literary analysis
This book reminded me a lot of 1984, and seems to especially follow the style and tone of the book. I almost wonder if James took up the project with this in mind. Theodore's constant relationship with his cousin is much like the protagonist of 1984 to Big Brother. Theodore is initiated into a protest of the leader (Xan or Big Brother)through his relationship to a woman who reveals to him the honest horror of aging. (Similar to 1984 where the protagonist confronts aging with an elderly prostitute, then finds love with a young woman who reflects his changing world view.) The ultimate conflict is with Theodore's identity becoming the state identity, a change Julian notices immediately when he puts on the ring of the dead leader, just as the protagonist of 1984 ultimately realizes after his torture, that he is Big Brother. The text is very rich and could be analyzed much further. I recommend it to anyone who likes books of the genre.
I thought the idea is a very interesting one-knowing that mankind will become extinct. I liked the beginning of the book, but then too many things got "hokey." I am usually not a "skimmer" when I read, but I did find myself doing just that towards the end of the book.
Glad I read it as it is not the genre I usually pick up. I just think it had the potential to be better than it was.
P. D. James' fluid command of the English language is thrust into the spotlight in this amazingly emotional and highly realistic story set in a dystopic future world where all women have lost the ability to conceive children. In a world without hope of any future, governments slowly erode and the youngest generation alive devolves into animalistic criminal behavior, while one man named Theo observes it all. The action is set in James' own England, and the plot is highly thrilling as secrets in this dreary, dying world are revealed and the stakes are raised for Theo and the other main characters. Written poetically, the novel is a prime example of dystopic fiction and spiritually-significant storytelling, and the stunning conclusion will stick with one forever. The film version, while somewhat different, is a great, fully-realized work of art, too.
New movin coming out in 2007 with Clive Owen.
The year is 2021 and the world is in dispair. No children have been born since 1995. gripping futuristic story.
