From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

A Canticle for Leibowitz (St. Leibowitz, #1)

Walter M. Miller Jr.,

Mary Doria Russell (Introduction)

Start date: December 1, 2014

Finish date: December 29, 2014

Discussion: Book Discussions

Discussion leader: Bryn Hammond

Why we're reading this: Group Classic Novel Discussion December 2014
Hugo Award 1961
#35 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (…more
[close] Group Classic Novel Discussion December 2014
Hugo Award 1961
#35 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/1390858...
#19 on Locus Magazines Best SciFi novels of the 20th century http://www.locusmag.com/2012/AllCentu...

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What Members Thought

Nov 26, 2013 Jim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1audio, 2fiction, 3classics, scifi, apocalyptic

I've tried to read this in paperback several times & the first section always put me to sleep much like The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, yet both are classics that really should be read. Ben's bio was great as an audio book & this one certainly went along far better & was well worth listening to. It truly is a classic showing chilling possibilities to the cyclical nature of our history & uses the Catholic Church as its vehicle.

Told in 3 sections roughly 600 years apart, the first section I've tried to read this in paperback several times & the first section always put me to sleep much like The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, yet both are classics that really should be read. Ben's bio was great as an audio book & this one certainly went along far better & was well worth listening to. It truly is a classic showing chilling possibilities to the cyclical nature of our history & uses the Catholic Church as its vehicle.

Told in 3 sections roughly 600 years apart, the first section begins 600 years after a nuclear war has turned the world into a bunch of scavengers rooting for the dregs in the ashes. The 'beacon' of knowledge is a monastery devoted to Lebowitz, hopefully soon to become a saint. We learn who & what Lebowitz really was with wry, understated humor. There is a bleak sense of idiotic accomplishment, men doing the right thing even though the reasons are shrouded in myth & often ridiculous on their face. The church preserves, even though it does so in almost complete ignorance, enforcing a horrible humility upon its people. That it is better than the alternatives is just awful.

The second section revisits the same monastery at the time of a new Renaissance & poses some hard questions between about right & wrong without favoring one side or the other. Secular scientists, religious dogma, secular & religious rulers battle it out yet again. It was a great look at the growing pains of a civilization. Again the church preserves, but do they hold on too tightly? I don't think so, yet most who know me would probably think my sympathies would be with the scientist.

The third section brings us back to the height of civilization with the same problems that wrecked the last one. Everything has changed, but people & the monastery remain the same. Again, some tough questions are asked & the end is rather chilling, yet hopeful in some ways. (view spoiler)

One friend of mine says that it 'strongly condemns euthanasia', I found the religious order's beliefs as horrible as the doctor, so I'd say that people get what they want out of it. Miller doesn't try to change anyone's mind, he simply paints a very detailed, horrible picture & leaves the question in the reader's mind. Personally, I thought the abbott had a rather cavalier attitude toward street cleaners & was certainly brutal in imposing his beliefs on others.

There was also a really interesting part at the end with a mutant & a failed baptism. Was the church wrong in refusing their baptism? I wonder what it would mean to a Catholic or another Christian? I found it rather sad & bleak, but I that's how I feel about most religions anyway. That's another point for Miller, I think. My belief system doesn't matter save to me.

Running through the entire story was a figure of fantasy. Of of two minds about him. In many ways, the figure wasn't really needed. I actually resented the implication in some ways as I felt he weakened the story giving it a fantastic bent. In another way, he lends continuity, a sense of perspective, & some more wry humor.

Overall, I'd agree that this is one of the classics of SF, especially apocalyptic SF. It's a shame it took me so long to get around to reading it in full, but the religious idiocy of the first section is pretty hard to bear. Still, it's worth trudging through for the rest. ...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Jim rated it did not like it

Shelves: 3classics, scifi, 2fiction, 1paper, did-not-finish, apocalyptic

I tried this several times over several decades since it was supposed to be such a classic. I never could get into it. Miller's writing isn't bad, but the religious idiocy of the first part just bewilders & lost me. I just found it too idiotic & depressing, so I give it 1 star as a paperback since the author couldn't keep me interested.

I managed to get through this as an audio book & gave it 4 stars in my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This book is in good company on that sc ...more

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Sep 08, 2008 Kivrin rated it it was amazing

This is the second (or third) time I've read this book. It's always good, always thought provoking, always a little sad. A classic post-apocalyptic or apocalyptic (depending on how you view it) novel.

...more

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Apr 17, 2018 Shhhh... Books rated it really liked it

Shelves: scifi, adult, classics

So this is a classic of science fiction. Published in the late 50's, it satirically explores the arguments for nuclear war and unhindered scientific research through the lives and centuries of the monks in the abbey of St. Leibowitz. (Note the fact that these monk's saint is a Jew. This book has a sense of humor that way.) Anyway, at times I was floored and compelled and at other times, I was bored. (So probably closer to a 3.5) I think part of this has to do with how many books have copied this ...more

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