

S'està carregant… Earth Abides (1949)de George R. Stewart
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What actually happens at a practical level when the majority of the human race is suddenly removed? How long do buildings stand, or the lights stay on, or water continue to flow? Some of these questions are addressed in this story, which grounds it, and stops it becoming just fantasy. Although the book was written in 1949, it has not aged that much, particularly in the light of COVID, and lockdowns. The passage of time accelerates somewhat in two bridge-like chapters, but this seems to work. There are times when the opposite happens, and there is a long period of philosophical reflection, which drags a little. The concern of the main character that the new community should be more creative rather than relying on stores of food and other necessities still available in shops, and the lack of response to the challenge of this idea is interesting. As is the rise of a new generation that has known nothing about how the world used to be pre-disaster. Recommended. ( ![]() History was an artist, maintaining the idea but changing the details, like a composer keeping the same theme but dulling it to a minor or lifting by an octave, now crooning it with violins, now blaring it on trumpets. I chose to reread this Science Fiction classic because of the Coronavirus Pandemic and my fond recall of this story I had read as a teenager. With age comes much more appreciation for subtler things such as the interplay of history with 'reality' and the author's use of metaphor highlighting social and religious change. Isherwood Williams starts out as the seemingly sole survivor of a great infectious disaster wiping the Earth of most of it's inhabitants. Despite Ish's every attempt to raise the children as thinkers and to lead them away from superstition, his journey, as an intellectual overthinking philosopher, metamorphases into the leader of The Tribe, then ultimately, into a Deity. Earth Abides is a love story to Humankind, a sonnet to the power of resiliency and one of the most well written Science Fiction books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Pandemic novels may be all the rage right now, do yourself a favor and take the time to read Earth Abides. You'll be uplifted and cheerful at the end, rather than scared and anxious. This reminded me of The Lord of the Flies. To me, it feels like its companion piece. While LotF feels the loss of civilization in a generation's span to be woeful (cf. Lovecraft), EA argues that the loss of civilization is necessary and proper (cf. R.E. Howard). Moving piece; biblical and grave in tone; a bit slow in execution, but a cornerstone piece of philosophical sci-fi! And don't even get me started on the rich symbolism of Ish's omnipresent hammer! Even sixty years ago the Earth Firster's were crying out how Man is destroying the planet I read a kindle edition that could have used some editing, but it was a decent story. Strange writing style, but the point came across. Nice to read a post-apocalyptic story that didn't devolve into war, war, war. Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
Pertany a aquestes col·leccions editorialsHeyne Science Fiction & Fantasy (3071/3072) Science Fiction Book Club (3676) SF Masterworks (12) Contingut aTé una guia de referència/complement
An instant classic upon its original publication in 1949 and winner of the first International Fantasy Award, Earth Abides ranks with On the Beach and Riddley Walker as one of our most provocative and finely wrought post-apocalyptic works of literature. Its impact is still fresh, its lessons timeless. When a plague of unprecedented virulence sweeps the globe, the human race is all but wiped out. In the aftermath, as the great machine of civilization slowly, inexorably, breaks down, only a few shattered survivors remain to struggle against the slide into barbarism . . . or extinction. This is the story of one such survivor, Isherwood "Ish" Williams, an intellectual loner who embraces the grim duty of bearing witness to what may be humanity's final days. But then he finds Em, a wise and courageous woman who coaxes his stunned heart back to life and teaches him to hope again. Together, they will face unimaginable challenges as they sow the seeds of a new beginning. "One of the finest of all post-holocaust novels." -- The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
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![]() GèneresClassificació Decimal de Dewey (DDC)813.52 — Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1900-1944LCC (Clas. Bibl. Congrés EUA)ValoracióMitjana:![]()
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