Depressing, ultimately frustrating
I was really looking forward to reading this book as I have lately been going through a post-apocalyptic literature jag. After thoroughly enjoying "On the Beach", I purchased "Earth Abides". While "On the Beach" centers on humanity's ability to stay hopeful while facing the inevitable, I was confused by the intended message of "Earth Abides". The book's protagonist, Ish, likes to think of himself as the forward-thinking leader of a new civilization, but he comes across as more of an apathetic dreamer. In the twenty-plus years following a devastating plague, Ish and his companions evolve from foraging through supermarkets for food to....foraging through supermarkets for even older food. And I guess that is the really frustrating element of this book- in all that time no one has the foresight or gumption to make more than half-hearted attempts at creating some sort of self-sustaining community. The 'Gilligan's Island' crew did more in two years to create a society than this motley crew does in thirty!
Kidding aside, I am sure that the author is making a statement about mankind that others have picked up on and that has apparently gone way over my head. I actually look forward to reading more learned reviews of the book to figure out what I missed.
an old book that honestly doesn't hold up
earth abides may have been original when it came out a zillion years ago but it's dated now and can't compete with stories being written today. the hero is some boob who survives the plague only by stepping on a rattlesnake? wow. and then he can't even teach children to read. why not? there are some good moments here and there, but in the end this book is a yawn.
i keep thinking about this book....
I read Earth Abides months ago, and I still find myself thinking about it often. Some of the reviews I read before I read the book mentioned the book remaining with the reader for years and years; I didn't expect that to be the case for me, but now I think it will. We take so much for granted, both things and people, but what would we do if life as we know it basically vanished? How would we manage alone? What abilities would we need which we don't have now? So much to think about!
Almost a great end-of-the-world novel
This book is not so much about the end of the world itself; instead, it uses the end of the world - the end of most of mankind, anyway - as a plot device to explore how a new, small, totally contained society would develop out of the leavings of the old one. This task it accomplishes quite well; the growth of the Tribe in San Francisco and their mythological beliefs, traditions, and practices is fascinating, if a little slow-moving in several parts. But because societal development is the primary concern of the novel, the little details are simply glossed over, and there are so many technical errors or things left unexplained that it had a tendency to lift me out of the story and re-engage my disbelief. For instance, most of mankind is wiped out by a mysterious, very viral disease, but it's never explained what the disease is, where it came from, or why some people are immune. In fact, the main character of the book comes down out of the hills after it's all over, having no idea what was going on the "civilized" world, but he shows a total lack of curiosity about what happened to everybody that I found unbelievable. And when several survivors get together, they never discuss where they were or what happened to them when the Great Disaster (as it's called in the book) went down, which I think goes totally against human nature. And the survivors continue to live off the leavings for forty or more years afterward, eating canned food that must have long since gone bad and even smoking cigarettes that had to have been unsmokeable after at least a year. They never bother to start even a rudimentary garden - an idea which I think would have occurred to just about anybody - but somehow manage to live in nearly perfect health until old age without eating any fresh fruits or vegetables. Again, I understand that these details weren't important to the author, but they were important to me, and so these little problems served to disrupt what was otherwise a well-written, intriguing take on the old end-of-the-world plot.
REALLY Let Me Down
I was very excited when I received this book, because I had read great reviews about it. However, it did not hold up to my expectations. The first two thirds of the story consist of the main character driving back and forth across the country looking for survivors (that is as far as I made it- leisure reading should not have to be a chore). When he does encounter survivors, he only stays for a brief time to visit with them and moves on. That is it. There are no conflicts. There is no tension or threat from others or nature. No plot. He simply drives back and forth looking for people, discovers them, and then moves on. I have never read anything more boring, not even required readings for courses I have taken. Perhaps this book was the first of its kind when it came out, and that may be why it has such acclaim, but the storyline is nonexistent. On the up side it does have some very well written descriptions of the land and animals (that is the only good thing I can say about this book).
