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mickyg1 's review for:
The Children of Men
by P.D. James
This book is a bit like the Fellowship of the Ring: if you can just get out of the Shire (and past Tom Bombadil), it’ll all be worth it. Unfortunately the “Shire” of this text doesn’t pass until the last fifty or so pages. But with that being said, those last fifty pages just about redeem what can otherwise be a dull, painfully slow plot trapped inside a hauntingly creative and compelling idea.
Also similar to Tolkien (perhaps unsurprisingly, seeing as how he and James were both Oxford souls), are the laborious poetic musings that lull the reader into a state of tepid boredom, only to be jarred awake with a philosophical observation or quip of dialogue that slices through the banality and directly into the heart of the reader.
There were moments while reading this book that I genuinely felt gripped with an unspeakable anxiety and a sense of unrecoverable loss for the world, the future, our collective hopes, dreams, and fears all bundled unknowingly into the future generation that we feel entirely, unquestionably assured will always follow us. Until they don’t. Until you realize that you’re the last ones to come, and after you there will be nothing left.
Admittedly, James’ baron world is surprisingly well-adjusted and perhaps a bit too civilized than her readers would like (or even believe). If this is the case, readers should check out the expertly crafted and macabre video game LISA: The Painful, which is loosely based on this text and frankly beats James at her own game. Still, her craftsmanship is consistent and the climax well-earned, not to mention the fact that the film adaptation received a coveted four stars from Roger Ebert! You might be tempted to just scan the plot summary on its Wikipedia page, but if you can find a few empty afternoons, this book is worth the read.
Also similar to Tolkien (perhaps unsurprisingly, seeing as how he and James were both Oxford souls), are the laborious poetic musings that lull the reader into a state of tepid boredom, only to be jarred awake with a philosophical observation or quip of dialogue that slices through the banality and directly into the heart of the reader.
There were moments while reading this book that I genuinely felt gripped with an unspeakable anxiety and a sense of unrecoverable loss for the world, the future, our collective hopes, dreams, and fears all bundled unknowingly into the future generation that we feel entirely, unquestionably assured will always follow us. Until they don’t. Until you realize that you’re the last ones to come, and after you there will be nothing left.
Admittedly, James’ baron world is surprisingly well-adjusted and perhaps a bit too civilized than her readers would like (or even believe). If this is the case, readers should check out the expertly crafted and macabre video game LISA: The Painful, which is loosely based on this text and frankly beats James at her own game. Still, her craftsmanship is consistent and the climax well-earned, not to mention the fact that the film adaptation received a coveted four stars from Roger Ebert! You might be tempted to just scan the plot summary on its Wikipedia page, but if you can find a few empty afternoons, this book is worth the read.