Told with P. D. James's trademark suspense, insightful characterization, and riveting storytelling, The Children of Men is a story of a world with no children and no future. The human race has become infertile, and the last generation to be born is now adult. Civilization itself is crumbling as suicide and despair become commonplace. Oxford historian Theodore Faron, apathetic toward a future without a future, spends most of his time reminiscing. Then he is approached by Julian, a bright, attractive woman who wants him to ...
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Told with P. D. James's trademark suspense, insightful characterization, and riveting storytelling, The Children of Men is a story of a world with no children and no future. The human race has become infertile, and the last generation to be born is now adult. Civilization itself is crumbling as suicide and despair become commonplace. Oxford historian Theodore Faron, apathetic toward a future without a future, spends most of his time reminiscing. Then he is approached by Julian, a bright, attractive woman who wants him to help get her an audience with his cousin, the powerful Warden of England. She and her band of unlikely revolutionaries may just awaken his desire to live . . . and they may also hold the key to survival for the human race. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Add this copy of The Children of Men to cart. $2.29, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Random House Value Publishing.
Whenever I speak about this book with friends, I always call it the worst book I've ever read. Not because of the writing style nor the story premise. In fact, the premise is what first caused me to pick the book up. I bought it at a time when money was tight and I counted my pennies carefully so perhaps that is why my disappointment was so complete. The book was very interesting throughout the first two-thirds, but the ending was so absolutely unbelievable, I felt gypped. The author could have done so much more, but instead I felt I had wasted my time and money.
Ellyb
Mar 19, 2008
Quiet terror
This book resonates with sadness. It is introspective, slow moving, and thoughtful, which is not what you might expect for a story about the end of the human race. What struck me about the story is the quality of stillness inherent in many of the tableaus, even as the main characters hurtle towards their fates. Outlandish, violent things are happening, yet the predominant imagery is of trees and woods and quiet English countrysides. It's an interesting juxtaposition that worked for me but I can see how it might not be an effective tool for everyone.
ChrisC
Apr 24, 2007
Here's a change - The movie's better!
After seeing the well-made movie, which due to its violence was diffcult to get through, I decided to "relax" and read the book. I was surprised that the only similarities between the book and movie were the title, the main character, and the premise. In terms of plot and theme, the two extensively differed. Of the two, I would recommend the movie. It was more effective at conveying the results of no more children being born, people turning either apathetic or savage. It's a wonderful premise. I only wish P.D. James was as good a writer as the movie's screenwriter.
Bart
Apr 4, 2007
First half really good, second just OK
I read this book before the movie version (with Julianne Moore and Clive Owen) of it came out . The first half of the book was really interesting and went into a lot more detail than the movie did about the social problems caused by men not being furtile anymore. The second half of the movie was very different, though, and was kind of suspenseful but you don't learn enough about the characters to really care what's going to happen to them. Without giving away too much detail... there's one character that falls in love with another, but we don't really know anything about that other character besides their name, so it gets a little irritating sometimes.
Overall the book was a fun read, but I would give it a better rating if the second half was as good as the first. Also, if you saw the movie first, expect the plot of the book to be very different.
