The challenging read of the week is "The Children of Men" by P.D. James. Recently made into a major motion picture, I figured (for once) I would read the book before seeing the movie!!!
Premise: In 1997, all men on the earth became infertile. Now in 2021, Mankind is coming to grips with the fact that it will soon be extinct. Post apocalyptic fiction at its best!!! The story opens with the narrator reading the obit for the youngest person in the world, who was 25.
I am in chapter 2 and the story is still being setup but so far so good. What I really like about the book is that it is indeed literature. This isn’t beach reading material. This isn’t done in 20 minutes, Stephan King popcorn fiction. This is real reading to challenge the mind. In the first chapter alone were two words that I wasn’t familiar with. I find this remarkable considering all that I do read. Between comics, the newspaper, Sports Illustrated, and the New Yorker I read a lot. To find words that I don’t immediately know is priceless.
I will keep you updated.
But with a sixth grade education their are lots of words you don't know.
ReplyDeleteStill let me know if it is a good read as I have Barnes and Noble gift cards left to burn.
I thought the reviews I read of the movie said that the women were all sterile. Is that a reversal of the book's premise?
ReplyDeleteomg, how can you have B&N gift cards left to burn?! I go through them so fast =/ The only reason I haven't spent the one you just sent me is because we're doing inventory and I've been too burnt out to go all the way out to the store.
ReplyDeleteYou know what makes me sad - is that all Stephen King writes is popcorn fiction. The one essay I read by him that wasn't within his normal genre was fantastic. It's always sad when a talented writer wastes their talent for fast cash.
Wasting your talents for fast cash is certainly a temptation, though. If I could stomach it, I'd start writing romance/fantasy novels, as those are getting quite popular. =D
ReplyDelete