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bookwormrj's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I’m honestly surprised I hadn’t heard of this book before. Moving, tender, charming and so damn prescient for when it was written. Excellent stuff.
dylex's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
4.0
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This is the 1,000th book I’ve read according to Goodreads!
The Hopkins Manuscript by R.C. Sherriff is a 3.5-star book, rounded up to four. At the heart of the story is Edgar Hopkins, a retired teacher who just wants to be left alone with his chickens in a sleepy English village — that is, until the moon changes course for Earth.
This book reminds me a lot of On the Beach by Nevil Shute, another apocalyptic book that is more interested how everyday folks survive and maintain control and normalcy. Instead of prepping for the end of the world, Hopkin’s wants his cup of tea (done just right) served every morning, newspaper to be delivered on time and a stroll to be taken in the evening. Fight or flight? To Hopkins, he much prefers to stay put.
Not only does the disaster jolts him out of his daily routines, we also see this petty, small-minded Englishman transform for the better over the course of the book. There is something to be said about holding on to our humanity despite the world coming to an end.
WIth that said, I do have some complaints. The book has zero basis in science, so don’t expect any factual accuracies. Also, Sheriff does come across at times as being rather anti-government, with politicians actively downplaying the disaster at hand. Characters who followed the government’s last-ditch advice to hide underground all end up drowning during the ensuing flood. Considering the pandemic and the amount of people who still think the government is lying about COVID-19, I can see how this book might be, unfortunately, misconstrued.
Ultimately, though, the book means well. It’s a critique of humanity and how we succumb to greed. Even after the apocalypse, humans will still find ways to kill each other for our own gains. It’s a precautionary tale from even before WW2 and continues to be relevant to today’s world.
This is the 1,000th book I’ve read according to Goodreads!
The Hopkins Manuscript by R.C. Sherriff is a 3.5-star book, rounded up to four. At the heart of the story is Edgar Hopkins, a retired teacher who just wants to be left alone with his chickens in a sleepy English village — that is, until the moon changes course for Earth.
This book reminds me a lot of On the Beach by Nevil Shute, another apocalyptic book that is more interested how everyday folks survive and maintain control and normalcy. Instead of prepping for the end of the world, Hopkin’s wants his cup of tea (done just right) served every morning, newspaper to be delivered on time and a stroll to be taken in the evening. Fight or flight? To Hopkins, he much prefers to stay put.
Not only does the disaster jolts him out of his daily routines, we also see this petty, small-minded Englishman transform for the better over the course of the book. There is something to be said about holding on to our humanity despite the world coming to an end.
WIth that said, I do have some complaints. The book has zero basis in science, so don’t expect any factual accuracies. Also, Sheriff does come across at times as being rather anti-government, with politicians actively downplaying the disaster at hand. Characters who followed the government’s last-ditch advice to hide underground all end up drowning during the ensuing flood. Considering the pandemic and the amount of people who still think the government is lying about COVID-19, I can see how this book might be, unfortunately, misconstrued.
Ultimately, though, the book means well. It’s a critique of humanity and how we succumb to greed. Even after the apocalypse, humans will still find ways to kill each other for our own gains. It’s a precautionary tale from even before WW2 and continues to be relevant to today’s world.
jrreads1012's review against another edition
Maybe I’ll come back to it one day, but not quite the novel I thought it would be.
tealightfultomes's review against another edition
5.0
This isn't a book I would have picked myself, but it was in my end of the world reading club box so I figured I'd give it a go. I usually don't tend to like sci fi like this, but it was an amazing book.
I felt really irritated by the narration but for some reason I couldn't stop reading. Hopkins is the most self-centered, self important idiot I've read about in ages but every time I started to get annoyed with him and think about putting the book down for a bit, there'd be a new plot hook to keep me interested and wondering what happened next. I also loved that there was character development as time went on, and Hopkins' narration is really self-aware. You can really get a sense of his shame over the way he used to behave before everything went to hell and his misplaced guilt over not saving his village when he thinks he may have had some wild chance of doing so. He feels almost like a real person, which is largely because of his blatant personality flaws.
The description of the cataclysm was really visceral and real and I could easily picture the chaos, and there were some really tragic but believable twists and turns in the story. Even if you don't like sci fi I'd recommend giving this one a go. It's given me the bug now, I'm going to have to go on a bit of a sci fi binge.
I felt really irritated by the narration but for some reason I couldn't stop reading. Hopkins is the most self-centered, self important idiot I've read about in ages but every time I started to get annoyed with him and think about putting the book down for a bit, there'd be a new plot hook to keep me interested and wondering what happened next. I also loved that there was character development as time went on, and Hopkins' narration is really self-aware. You can really get a sense of his shame over the way he used to behave before everything went to hell and his misplaced guilt over not saving his village when he thinks he may have had some wild chance of doing so. He feels almost like a real person, which is largely because of his blatant personality flaws.
The description of the cataclysm was really visceral and real and I could easily picture the chaos, and there were some really tragic but believable twists and turns in the story. Even if you don't like sci fi I'd recommend giving this one a go. It's given me the bug now, I'm going to have to go on a bit of a sci fi binge.
lauren3101's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
bothwell's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fsbwaters's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bherrmann525's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No