 |
The Round Table hosted by the lovely Amy at MyfriendAmy, is a group of bloggers who read books dealing with faith, religion and inspirational aspects. Six books were chosen this year and at the scheduled time we discuss the book and then post our thoughts on personal blogs. This years third book and discussion was:
A Canticle for Liebowitz
by Walter M. Miller
by Walter M. Miller
Published-1960 by EOS
Paperback, 334 Pages
Borrowed-Library Copy
Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M Miller Jr's A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of twentieth-century literature-- a chilling and still-provocative look at a post-apocalyptic future. In a nightmarish ruined world slowly awakening to the light after sleeping in darkness, the infant rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by the cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of the relics and writings of the blessed Saint Isaac Leibowitz. From here the story spans centuries of ignorance, violence, and barbarism, viewing through a sharp, satirical eye the relentless progression of a human race damned by its inherent humanness to re-celebrate its grand foibles and repeat its grievous mistakes. Seriously funny, stunning, and tragic, eternally fresh, imaginative, and altogether remarkable, A Canticle for Leibowitz retains its ability to enthrall and amaze. It is now, as it always has been, a masterpiece.
Thoughts
Lets see my first initial reaction before even cracking this book open was what the heck is a canticle* and who would name their kid Leibowitz*? But the second thing that I immediately felt was excited to dive into a challenging post-apocalyptic-dystopian read.
Unfortunately this was a DNF for me, I read the first and last story but could not make it through the second, I openly admitted to the group that I felt a lot of this book was just over my head, I couldn't grasp the symbolism in the novel and I had hard time digging into the psychological meanings Miller was hiding everywhere. I thought maybe it could be all the YA* candy I've read over the last two years, that is resulting in slowly shrinking my brain....but during the third story, truly realized I just didn't like the novel and the style was off for me. For discussion sake, I think the biggest issue that came up was the question of assisted suicide and the issue that if God was good and all loving why does he let people suffer? Its an age old question, one that gets asked of many Christians/Catholics and screamed about by secularists, its one of those heated topic buttons that can get tail feathers riled up and an excuse for many to walk away from or choose not to believe in God altogether.
CFL in my opinion, was a very challenging read and one that I think you need to have the right mind frame for, I wouldn't recommend this to people looking for fluff nor would I consider this humorous. I found nothing in Millers sad, depressing and sometimes doomed-filled writing funny, that being said for those of you looking for a deep dystopian with layers upon layers of contemplative scenarios I would dive in.
CFL in my opinion, was a very challenging read and one that I think you need to have the right mind frame for, I wouldn't recommend this to people looking for fluff nor would I consider this humorous. I found nothing in Millers sad, depressing and sometimes doomed-filled writing funny, that being said for those of you looking for a deep dystopian with layers upon layers of contemplative scenarios I would dive in.
DNF/5- Dystopian- Inspirational Fiction
*A canticle (from the Latin canticulum, a diminutive of canticum, song) is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as theTe Deum and certain psalms used liturgically.
*Leibowitz is a common surname among Jewish Culture
*A canticle (from the Latin canticulum, a diminutive of canticum, song) is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as theTe Deum and certain psalms used liturgically.
*Leibowitz is a common surname among Jewish Culture
*-please note- I love ya fiction and there are many talented and fabulous authors in that genre. Reading to many fluffy novels and not balancing it with adult, classic and nonfiction literature tends to take a toll on my comprehension. Which is why Im always learning, researching and studying outside of feel-good books to keep growing in my literary skills.
Check out the rest of the Round Tables thoughts on CFL
Amy (Host)
Ronnica
Carrie
Florinda
Wordlily
Heather
Julie
Sherry
Ha! I'm a fan of brain candy too. Sounds like this wasn't it.
ReplyDeleteThat was one thing that just stumped me - the descriptions of this book as hilarious! There were maybe a couple of moments of dialogue with the old wanderer that were slightly humorous, but I wouldn't call this a funny book at all.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking I didn't read deeply enough into it, and I might read it again one of these days.
ReplyDeleteOooo sounds tough. Thanks for your honest take on it.
ReplyDeleteiphone unlock
ReplyDeleteunlock iphone
unlock iphone how to unlock iphone unlock iphone
unlock iphone
unlock iphone unlock iphone [url=http://ounlockiphone.com]iphone unlock [/url] how to unlock iphone