Earth Abides

kcs_hiker

kcs_hiker

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just finished this classic. I'm not sure why I hadn't read it before...

anyway, I found the first 2/3 of the book rather monotonous... engaging but nothing new (although I grant that it WAS new, as Stewart may have been the first with some of the ideas, just not new to me).

the last 1/3 of the book however I thought was magnificent! Ish as an old man... tears streamed down my cheeks as I finished the last few pages. Although I am often moved, even to tears, by what I read... this particular passage was intimately touching. As a sensitive 'bookish' man, prone to worrying overmuch about trivia, moving towards old age (I know I know, 48 isn't old.... but it isn't young either, as my body never fails to remind me), I can easily and completely identify with Ish.

Anyway

felt like sharing a bit, hope I didn't come across as too corny or sappy :)
 
Well, I'm not sure he was entirely "new" even when the book was written... but his development of the character and the theme were both quite good, insightful, and summed up very well the paradox presented between such a man and the society around him.

I think the book works on many levels, the least of which is the most obvious -- plot. And, of course, one of the things I most appreciate about the book is that he avoided either a truly optimistic ending (the old order restored, as it were) or a truly pessimistic one (everything going to hell), and instead was very realistic... to use another quote of the same sort: "To every thing there is a season...." The fact that we can see ourselves in Ish's place, both himself and those things he believes in and holds dear being replaced as part of the nature of things not because of cruelty, or some evil, or a conspiracy against him, or even a fault on any side, but simply because life is change... that's what provides this book with its poignancy, I think....
 
Just got this on the SF Masterworks series, haven't read it yet, also 'More than Human' Theodore Stugeon, 'Star Maker' Olaf Stapledon and Bring the Jubilee' Ward Moore

All Classic I've been Informed :)

PS I wouldn't advise getting books from www.Play.com, the books don't really come in a condition that is satisfactory, it looks to me like they take on rejected stock from bookshops :mad:

Not really worth the quid less you pay for them, not at all
 
I'd agree that they are classics (though with some flaws). However, a word of warning about Moore's Bring the Jubilee... the style is perfectly suited, I'd say, to the novel, but it can be a bit off-putting to some; if this proves to be true in your case, I nonetheless highly recommend persevering, as the book is well worth it....
 
LOL... I've yet to read a book which doesn't have some flaws.... I just tend to warn people this way because what are small flaws to some are large to others; so if a little cautious leaven helps them to get past the occasional blemish.....
 
j. d. worthington said:
LOL... I've yet to read a book which doesn't have some flaws.... I just tend to warn people this way because what are small flaws to some are large to others; so if a little cautious leaven helps them to get past the occasional blemish.....
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Too True, Moby Dick is a classic book, but damned if I could get through Whale Morphology bits, skipped them anyway, loved the book despite that - it's good to mark which chapters to skip before you start actually - not cheating honest :D
 
Earth Abides is one of my top ten. I love the pace, the down-play, the evolution (bio/psych/social).

It may not be 'new', it may never have been, but I think Stewart hit a note all his own.
 
I really enjoyed Earth Abides. It was one of the first 'post-apocalyptic' books I read as a teenager and it was one of the better ones. I particularly liked some of the disputes which arose later in the book around the murder (and it was murder) of the drifter to prevent his influence on the rest of the society. Raised all sorts of moral issues without any 'happy ending' as such.
I thought each segment of the book (coming to grips with the lonliness of thinking you are the only survivor, struggling to survive on your own, the joy of discovering you aren't the only survivor and struggling to build a functional society) were all very well done. I also cracked a smile at the couple who filled their house full of lamps, tea sets etc to 'insulate' themselves from what had happened to the rest of the world. :)
 
3/4 way through the book now. It's a good read that seems to keep drawing me in, although I tend to disagree with most of what the protagonist has done so far after the first few chapters, and some of the scenarios that have occurred. I like the development of the story and the thought evoking situations that arise. I find myself thinking what I would have done in every scenario and how I would have done it differently.

The biggest weakness I think is probably not teaching the younger generation to read and write earlier. It seems highly improbable that as a graduate student Ish would put that so low down his priorities, especially when he doesn't seem to be doing anything else with his time (getting food from cans, not growing his own crops much, not trying to replicate useful technology). I guess that's where the "I would probably do stuff differently" feeling sets in.
 
Earth Abides is a book I've never warmed to, despite a couple of reads.
 
The Wanderer said:
Just got this on the SF Masterworks series, haven't read it yet, also 'More than Human' Theodore Stugeon, 'Star Maker' Olaf Stapledon and Bring the Jubilee' Ward Moore

All Classic I've been Informed :)

PS I wouldn't advise getting books from www.Play.com, the books don't really come in a condition that is satisfactory, it looks to me like they take on rejected stock from bookshops :mad:

Not really worth the quid less you pay for them, not at all
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mmm.. bought plenty of books myself from Play , all in perfect condition. It wasn't a Playtrader you used was it? Many of their books are second-hand , but are advertised as such.
 
Personally I loved the first part of Earth Abides. It details a trip across the United States a few years before the Eisenhower Freeway system was even started. That is a modern conveinance that few US citizens today can imagine being without. Read The Red Plague by Jack London when you are done. There's some strikingly similar imagery and characters in that book.

Bring the Jubilee is one of my favorite books. I love it as much as I love Dune, and for me that is saying something big. I try to reread it at least yearly. I hope you like it too, Wanderer.

More Than Human was odd. It was depressing and its very much out of the ordinary. Sturgeon was a better short story writer, but if you view the three books that make up More than Human as three separate works, it may come off better in the end.

Star Maker I liked more than Last and First Men. Its truly vast and amazing in scope - a bid dry in the delivery.
 
Omphalos said:
Personally I loved the first part of Earth Abides. It details a trip across the United States a few years before the Eisenhower Freeway system was even started. That is a modern conveinance that few US citizens today can imagine being without. Read The Red Plague by Jack London when you are done. There's some strikingly similar imagery and characters in that book.
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You mean "The Scarlet Plague"? I found that on amazon.com. Seems to be out of print, though. So it'll probably be impossible for me to get a copy where I live. Used copies from $57.31 :eek:

Just finished the book (Earth Abides) and I have to say it's very thought provoking, but I can't get round some of the actions of Ish. I guess it'll never be among my favourite book, but I would definitely recommend it to be read at least once.
 
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thesoothsayer said:
You mean "The Scarlet Plague"? I found that on amazon.com. Seems to be out of print, though. So it'll probably be impossible for me to get a copy where I live. Used copies from $57.31 :eek:
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Definite Yikes! And yes, I had the title wrong. I do that all the time.

Save you money. here is a link to an online version of the story.

Just finished the book (Earth Abides) and I have to say it's very thought provoking, but I can't get round some of the actions of Ish. I guess it'll never be among my favourite book, but I would definitely recommend it to be read at least once.
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Like what? Destroying the library?
 
Omphalos said:
Definite Yikes! And yes, I had the title wrong. I do that all the time.

Save you money. here is a link to an online version of the story.



Like what? Destroying the library?
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I guess a more accurate word would be inactions of Ish. The thing I have mentioned earlier was not teaching the children to read until it was too late. Other things that bug me was not trying to recover some basic technology that could provide a springboard for faster advancements or passing on skills that they had to the young (George's carpentry skill).

Basically, I felt he just passively sat back and kept worrying about the future rather than actually doing anything about it. As a researcher, I would think that he would've been more systematic and organised. He would probably have thought of a way to recover and pass down vital knowledge to the next generation.
 
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