Karmic Reading
So an Amazon order showed up the other day with my copy of A Canticle for Leibowitz
. The book has often been described as a "classic" science fiction novel (its amazing how something published in 1959 can already be a classic) about a post nuclear holocaust world.
I think it was the passing of the John Paul II that got me to pick that book off my wishlist (which is about 70 books strong now) as I knew that the novel has a sort of religious subtext as well as being a nuclear age exploration piece. These are both areas that fascinate me. I was raised Roman Catholic so I identify with and understand a lot about the articles of faith as raised in the book as well as appreciate the idea that a Christian monastery rises around the reverence of a Jewish physicist as a saint. The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons
is another good look at a future age of Christianity, man and machines.
I've also been a fan of the "after the collapse" school of science fiction and fantasy. The Stand
by Stephen King was perhaps the first book I've ever read in that area and while it is mostly a fantasy I very much enjoyed the exploration of how the lone characters deal with the desolate world they are left in. I also remember reading On the Beach
by Nevil Shute when I was a freshman in high school. Not only is it a bit of a tear jerker it is a sort of frightening look at the last bits of humanity dying off after a nuclear war as the radiation slowly makes it's way to the southern hemishpere. I was deeply moved by this book and yet I've never returned to it for another reading. Maybe the ideas are too terrifying. Finally I come to Earth Abides
by George R. Stewart another after the plague book that is more of a look at social structures and education that the pure good and evil fantasy of Stephen King's book.
The Karmic thing about the reading was that A Canticle for Leibowitz not only addressed the role of the church in a post disaster age but it also reflected on euthanasia and the right to die in one section of the book and I thought this tied right in with some of the media hoopla from a month back. (She who I still wont name).
Anyway the book is broken down into three relatively short (hundred page or so) stories describing three ages so one can easily read a section and put the book down for a while and come back to it later. While the sections are interconnected each piece could stand alone. It's a thought provoking read I thought I would share.
More Laters
. The book has often been described as a "classic" science fiction novel (its amazing how something published in 1959 can already be a classic) about a post nuclear holocaust world. I think it was the passing of the John Paul II that got me to pick that book off my wishlist (which is about 70 books strong now) as I knew that the novel has a sort of religious subtext as well as being a nuclear age exploration piece. These are both areas that fascinate me. I was raised Roman Catholic so I identify with and understand a lot about the articles of faith as raised in the book as well as appreciate the idea that a Christian monastery rises around the reverence of a Jewish physicist as a saint. The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons
is another good look at a future age of Christianity, man and machines.I've also been a fan of the "after the collapse" school of science fiction and fantasy. The Stand
by Stephen King was perhaps the first book I've ever read in that area and while it is mostly a fantasy I very much enjoyed the exploration of how the lone characters deal with the desolate world they are left in. I also remember reading On the Beach by Nevil Shute when I was a freshman in high school. Not only is it a bit of a tear jerker it is a sort of frightening look at the last bits of humanity dying off after a nuclear war as the radiation slowly makes it's way to the southern hemishpere. I was deeply moved by this book and yet I've never returned to it for another reading. Maybe the ideas are too terrifying. Finally I come to Earth Abides by George R. Stewart another after the plague book that is more of a look at social structures and education that the pure good and evil fantasy of Stephen King's book.The Karmic thing about the reading was that A Canticle for Leibowitz
not only addressed the role of the church in a post disaster age but it also reflected on euthanasia and the right to die in one section of the book and I thought this tied right in with some of the media hoopla from a month back. (She who I still wont name).Anyway the book is broken down into three relatively short (hundred page or so) stories describing three ages so one can easily read a section and put the book down for a while and come back to it later. While the sections are interconnected each piece could stand alone. It's a thought provoking read I thought I would share.
More Laters
posted by Rich Rosenthal II at 11:48 PM
3 Comments:
It sounds like you might also enjoy Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.
Have you ever read A Girl Who Owned a City ?
It's a book for early teens but has the same basic plot as The Stand. The thing that I really got into was the author is from the Chicago 'burbs and uses Glen Ellyn, surrounding suburbs, and Glenbard West High School as the story setting.
When my son got old enough to read it he absolutely loved it and the kids in his class all wanted to borrow it when he was done.
Nothing is better than a book that gets kids hooked on reading :)
I love when people respond to my reading ramblings. With all the amazon links I feel like I'm just shilling for amazon instead of having a somewhat intelligent attempt to show the interconnectness of literature as the good english student should. Also there is the fact that it helps promote the mind control aspect of my Master Plan (to take over the world). Read what I read and be more like me then we all agree that I should rule the world.
Also I get to add your recommendations to my reading list. Picking out new authors can be difficult sometimes.
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