I've worn out 5 copies of this classic
This book was written in 1949. It has withstood the test of Time.
If You like a good Post-Apocalypse yarn, Read & Enjoy.
An Interesting Read, With A Few Issues
I enjoyed this book and appreciated the thoughtful way in which the author depicted how the world could be with only a few humans left in it. Stewart covers a lot of topics (religion, education, environment, race, family, marriage, etc.) and how they would evolve or devolve over several decades. He describes a world where random people are left alive and those people may not be the most suitable people to live under the new conditions. The story moves along fairly quickly and generally kept me interested, if not fascinated.
Some other reviewers mentioned how the main character, Ish, seems a little devoid of emotion at times. I agree, but I found another trait in main character more annoying. He spends a large amount of brainpower philosophizing and lamenting the lack of intelligence and motivation in the rest of the tribe. While Ish does some teaching, the children never learn reading or basic math skills. They also never work on any improvement projects or learn to recreate any of the basic disposable items they use regularly. My complaint is that Ish doesn't do any of those things either. I blame him for many of their failings. You could say that his shortcomings are realistic, but it drove me a bit crazy.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read.
The Earth Abides by George Stewart
I first read this book in the 60's as my husband and I were in university. I carried it for about 20 years and lost it and life took over and I never replaced it. But my mind has continued to reflect on passages, in fact, I will tell someone how racial prejudice starts and I got it from this book. It covers a frightening time but the ingenuity, focus, and just "I will not die" leaves in the reader ideas that will live with you forever.
This morning, I couldn't stand it and went to look for it and found it here at Amazon. Thank you, thank you.
For some reason, Disappointed
This review is a spoiler! Don't read on if you are intending to read it for the first time!
I had heard many times that this was a classic that would haunt me for life. But I was not impressed, partially because there were things that were left unanswered. I may have missed something - what was the significance of the car on the bridge at the end? Modern man's constructions were all around him...the Golden Gate Bridge, for example. Why the car? Why did they want him to die there, instead of with their tribe? I thought it weird, too, and unlikely, that he saw so few bodies in the aftermath. I liked the hammer symbol a lot - and the fact that he passed it on to the young man he'd chosen - and why. I liked that his gift of leadership helped humanity live on. I also liked the way that he changed his desperate struggle from lecturing - to action...his building of the simple bow and arrows. I loved that he continued to describe the inevitable and looming corrosion of the modern world. That did make him the last American - his final months spent with his oldest friend. Those things saddened me a great deal.
I have read another holocaust book that WILL haunt me for life...perhaps because it was on such a massive scale, and yet confined to only one remaining group of characters. The book is The Last Ship, by William Brinkley. I've read it 3 times, as has my oldest son.
In my opinion overrated
I read this book about half way in sophmore year, and quit reading it. Now I'm 20 and I decided I'd give it another try. I have about 60 pages left, and I gotta say, this book is one of the slowest I have read, up there with the lord of the rings fellowship. I know it's a classic, but man, I can't even read this book for more than 30 min. at a time. Usually I blaze through books within a few days, but I'm probably on a month and a half with this book. I work a lot, so I dont usually have much time for reading except while I'm going to the bathroom and before bed, but wow. I mean the book is ok, it's not bad, it's just not a pageturner, which is what I usually go for. The main character Ish is very paranoid, thinks to far into detail over everything, and is in my opinion is a coward. I also feel like there is too much side tracking in this book. It's also very repetuous. I feel like there is too much thinking and too little action about anything. In some ways I relate to the main character, because I overthink a lot of things, I'm not the biggest strongest guy, nor the most handy, but that doesn't make it any more interesting of a read. It kind of defeats the purpose of me reading a book. I read to meet interesting characters, be engrossed in a story that is not mine, and to entertain my mind. I don't want to read about a character thinking. If i did want to read about that, I would read a philosophy book and do the thinking myself, or better yet, I'd read nothing and just think. When I think of books taking place in a post apocalyptic world, I think of a little bit more than this gives you. There could have been a lot more interesting scenarios in the depicted world than the one focused on in this book.
I will say though that this book does use an interesting vocabulary, and I've learned a few new words. And the part's in Itallics are by far the best parts of the book. These parts do truly make an impression in your mind, and I would rate these as 5 star. Some of the itallicized parts are very deep and meaningful. I love this quote out of one of those parts "Between the plan and fulfillment stands always the frail barrier of a human life"
Overall: Id say it's worth reading, but it's by far not the best book ever like some of the other reviewers are saying. I liked Cormick Mcarthy's "The Road" as a post apocalyptic story better, it seemed more real, and it moved at a quicker pace.
(318 reviews)
