[Books] Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
I've been totally into this post-apocalyptic kick lately, and sadly my library is sadly lacking in more than a handful of this genre. I got this one in inter-library loan after reading and hearing so many good things about it.
My initial impression is that it isn't what I was expecting, as far as narrative and writing style. It's not bad per se, it's just something that took me about a chapter to get settled into and reading.
Thus far, it's rather a stark and dry contrast to other post-apocalyptic things I've read. Of course, this was published in 1949 and the world (and our view of it) has changed a great deal in those 60+ years. There are few lootings (except of the liquor store) and riots, and the overall "fall of man," hasn't really been seen in the few chapters I've read. I don't know what's coming, so I can't say that we're not going to come across gangs of murderers and rapists, those with the guns having the power; given that the world was a simpler place, or at least seen as simpler, it might not be an exploration of the dark future that we inherently believe would rise if the apocalypse came tomorrow.
For me, due to the narrative style, it is a slow read. It holds my attention, but only for a chapter at a time. I'm going to keep reading, just to find out what all the fuss and hype is about.
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My initial impression is that it isn't what I was expecting, as far as narrative and writing style. It's not bad per se, it's just something that took me about a chapter to get settled into and reading.
Thus far, it's rather a stark and dry contrast to other post-apocalyptic things I've read. Of course, this was published in 1949 and the world (and our view of it) has changed a great deal in those 60+ years. There are few lootings (except of the liquor store) and riots, and the overall "fall of man," hasn't really been seen in the few chapters I've read. I don't know what's coming, so I can't say that we're not going to come across gangs of murderers and rapists, those with the guns having the power; given that the world was a simpler place, or at least seen as simpler, it might not be an exploration of the dark future that we inherently believe would rise if the apocalypse came tomorrow.
For me, due to the narrative style, it is a slow read. It holds my attention, but only for a chapter at a time. I'm going to keep reading, just to find out what all the fuss and hype is about.
This entry was originally posted at http://fikgirl.dreamwidth.org/172101.html. If you have a Dreamwidth account, please comment there using that account. If you don't have a Dreamwidth account, please comment there using OpenID.