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pearsandmangoes 's review for:
The War of the Worlds
by H.G. Wells
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Quite a fast-paced book. A lot going on. I liked how it was a metaphor for colonialism. A passage from Wells' from the book summarises it perfectly:
“Before we judge of them [the Martians] too harshly, we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished bison and the dodo, but upon its own inferior races. The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?”
Without spoiling much, the book is great allegory for humanity's selfishness and arrogance, such that they only realise how evil they can be when their own lives are threatened. I wonder if the Martians were as ruthless as they were with Britain than with other countries on Earth. Could martians perceive oppressed peoples?
“Before we judge of them [the Martians] too harshly, we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished bison and the dodo, but upon its own inferior races. The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?”
Without spoiling much, the book is great allegory for humanity's selfishness and arrogance, such that they only realise how evil they can be when their own lives are threatened. I wonder if the Martians were as ruthless as they were with Britain than with other countries on Earth. Could martians perceive oppressed peoples?