You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this as an exploration of how society would look if no children were born. I’d have really liked more of an exploration of that and ie the behaviour of the omegas, the reworking of towns, the treatment of the old, as I found the motives and actions of all the main characters (and particularly the relationship between Theo and Julian) quite weak.
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An awesome concept for a slow lurch towards extinction! But then I actually get down to reading Children of Men, & it's got a weird, meandering plot with cardboard characters.
There's the journal entry device that goes nowhere.
The megapreachers they introduce don't arise in any meaningful way.
There's the two characters that fall in love so obviously that everyone can tell, even though Theo admits that they've spoken only four(!!) times. No chemistry, especially when they randomly switch to only calling each other "darling" (after Julian's husband & the dude that knocked her up have left the story, of course). & the whole thing hinging on the woman wanting to be somewhere private to give birth is a bit thin.
The writing itself isn't bad; it's actually very lovely. I was just really curious about the way society was coping & instead of showing us, the characters only discuss that people are suffering & it's bad so we need to tell the Warden of England.
Maybe I like my dystopias gratuitously miserable, but the dark underbelly of society wasn't really described, just talked about. So it made the stakes seem lower to me than they supposedly were.
Anyway, I would skip the book & watch the movie.
There's the journal entry device that goes nowhere.
The megapreachers they introduce don't arise in any meaningful way.
There's the two characters that fall in love so obviously that everyone can tell, even though Theo admits that they've spoken only four(!!) times. No chemistry, especially when they randomly switch to only calling each other "darling" (after Julian's husband & the dude that knocked her up have left the story, of course). & the whole thing hinging on the woman wanting to be somewhere private to give birth is a bit thin.
The writing itself isn't bad; it's actually very lovely. I was just really curious about the way society was coping & instead of showing us, the characters only discuss that people are suffering & it's bad so we need to tell the Warden of England.
Maybe I like my dystopias gratuitously miserable, but the dark underbelly of society wasn't really described, just talked about. So it made the stakes seem lower to me than they supposedly were.
Anyway, I would skip the book & watch the movie.
I have made it no secret that I hate reading a book after I have seen the movie. I find it next to impossible to separate the directors vision of the book from my own. But sometimes, I had no idea a movie is based on a book until I see it, and this was the case with The Children of Men. I loved the movie. It was dark and there was this wonderful subtly to the sense of hopelessness in a society where no children are being born. I decided right there and then that I had to read the book. I immediately put it on my reading list, and just like the dog in the movie "Up" (Squirrel!!) promptly forgot about it.
Well roll around to 2016, and I am scanning my list for female authors to read and low and behold this book pops into my vision (Squirrel!!) and I decide now is the time to read it. I am about to say something that makes me die a little bit each time I am forced to say it. In the spirit of safety any small children, pregnant women, and people with a heart condition might want to stop reading this review now..........................................................................................................
The movie was so much better.
There I've said it. Please take a minute to pick up your shattered psyche, and try to find some way to continue with your life, you know, if you can.
Every character in this novel was a douche bag. None more so than Theo Faron. He spends the entire first part of the novel wallowing in a miasma of self-pity. I know that it was because of a general sense of hopelessness in the society, but it made for agonizing chapter after chapter to read. The second part of the novel was even worse because even though it was full of chasing, it was just long and dragging.
I did like the end of the novel, because Theo's true douchey nature starts to raise its head. But all in all, I would have rather just re-watched the movie.
Well roll around to 2016, and I am scanning my list for female authors to read and low and behold this book pops into my vision (Squirrel!!) and I decide now is the time to read it. I am about to say something that makes me die a little bit each time I am forced to say it. In the spirit of safety any small children, pregnant women, and people with a heart condition might want to stop reading this review now..........................................................................................................
The movie was so much better.
There I've said it. Please take a minute to pick up your shattered psyche, and try to find some way to continue with your life, you know, if you can.
Every character in this novel was a douche bag. None more so than Theo Faron. He spends the entire first part of the novel wallowing in a miasma of self-pity. I know that it was because of a general sense of hopelessness in the society, but it made for agonizing chapter after chapter to read. The second part of the novel was even worse because even though it was full of chasing, it was just long and dragging.
I did like the end of the novel, because Theo's true douchey nature starts to raise its head. But all in all, I would have rather just re-watched the movie.
I've had a much better experience with Children of Men than other P.D. James novels. My first attempt was Death of an Expert Witness and it was a meandering experience for me. Couldn't focus and my interest was never established. I've had a much better time with COM. The details were a little superfluous in the beginning, but mellowed out through the first half of the novel. The dying world and collapse of society is normally a philosophical debate I stray away from, but the accepted sadness and "rage against the dying of the light" are interesting dichotomies. Not your typical dystopia/apocalyptic collapse novel, but one that should be placed in the repertoire.
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This one took a while to get into. The book is split into two parts, and they almost feel like they could be entirely different books all together - perhaps this was intentional. Part one I found slow and difficult to read. There was little dialect and the story is mostly told through diary entries from the protagonist. Part two is incredibly fast paced, I couldn’t put it down. The increase in dialogue and storytelling in the third person gives you the feeling that Theo is finally in a place of belonging, and no longer alone.
Granted, part one is essential in building the picture of this totally unique dystopian future that James created. She teased out what it means to be human, and the complex emotions that would come with knowing the human race was at its imminent end. Would you lose your sense of purpose if you, and the rest of the world ceased to be able to procreate? Would your life’s work mean as much if in a generations time there would be no one left to remember it? It was at times hard to read, but to me that is part and parcel of a believable dystopian novel.
If you find yourself wanting to put this book back on the shelf - don’t! Persevere! Once I had finished and reflected on it as a whole, I really did love and appreciate the story.
