Townhouse Books

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

The Children of Men-P.D.James

This was an interesting book about the future. This book is about what would happen if all of a sudden our race stopped producing children. What would the reaction of the general populace be? This book focuses solely on the reaction to this kind of an epidimic in england. The theme recalls Herbert's "White Plague" without the whole vengeance angle.

Specifically the story details the accounts of one man who has intimate connections with the leader of England, but has also been contacted by members of a rebel group. The story flows at a decent pace, and doesn't let the reader down when it comes time to make hard choices. However, I feel that the author stumbled at the end, and produced an inadequate solution. That is just a fancy way to say I despise how this book was ended. So if you want I can rewrite the last 3 pages for you.

I believe that an erroneous observation was written into the entire latter portion of the book, but I can look past that for the most part. I believe that the author is trying to insinuate that everyone would love for a baby to be born, after 20 some odd years of no babies, and no hope for babies. It is my hypothesis that the general populace would prefer at that point to just let the race die in peace. I don't know maybe that is just me.But again, the very end did not sit well with me.

Jason

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4 Comments:

  • I read this book when it came out -- P.D. James has written a bunch of great detective fiction, and this is her first foray into what I think of as Margaret Atwood territory. Your point that many would be willing to let humanity die in peace is interesting -- never occurred to me when I was reading the book. Children of Men vs. Oryx & Crake: similarities? differences?

    By Anna, at 7:16 AM  

  • Yeah, and I meant at the end of the book I thought that the Warden would be cast differently. I assumed he would just kill everyone and say that it ends here, or something to save his control over England. It also seemed to me like with the Quietus' and what not, that humanity was actively trying to be "ok" with the end of humanity. Definitely the same feel as Oryx and Crake, but I enjoyed that more. I would be willing to read some of P.D.'s Detective fiction.

    The whole Omega thing seemed extremely weird and somewhat implausible. ... Because they are treated specially they turn in to Savages??

    -Jason

    By Jason, at 9:51 AM  

  • Her main detective is Adam Dagliesh. I can't remember which is the first book in the series, but the two that stand out in my mind are Devices and Desires and Cover Her Face.

    By Anna, at 7:28 AM  

  • Guardian
    Unlimited | Special reports | Expert fears fertility problem for 1 in
    3 couples
    : "
    Expert fears fertility problem for 1 in 3 couples

    James Meikle, health correspondent
    Tuesday June 21, 2005
    The Guardian

    Couples in Britain and across Europe are facing a fertility timebomb
    which would see as many as one in three unable to conceive without
    treatment in 10 years' time, a fertility expert forecast yesterday."

    By Jason, at 10:24 AM  

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