From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

The Children of Men

P.D. James

Start date: January 15, 2016

Finish date: February 1, 2016

Discussion: AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

Discussion leader: Gertie

Why we're reading this: FEBRUARY book club, read by February 1st, then discuss here:
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What Members Thought

Apr 16, 2009 Michele rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia-apocalypse

Unusually for me, I saw the movie of this before I read the book. Both are excellent, but very different. In both, the population of the world has lost the ability to have children, there is one pregnant woman, and a few people including the main character trying to help her. Beyond that, the two diverge pretty wildly and are more like different interpretations rather than an original and an adaptation.

The movie's main theme seems to be environmental and social collapse (a kind of analogy/commen Unusually for me, I saw the movie of this before I read the book. Both are excellent, but very different. In both, the population of the world has lost the ability to have children, there is one pregnant woman, and a few people including the main character trying to help her. Beyond that, the two diverge pretty wildly and are more like different interpretations rather than an original and an adaptation.

The movie's main theme seems to be environmental and social collapse (a kind of analogy/commentary on our own issues with climate change and global warming; global infertility is implied to be a result of biological war and toxins in the environment) and the importance of hope (Cuaron has said that the ending is deliberately enigmatic, so that how you see it reflects your own optimism/pessimism).

The book's main themes, on the other hand, seem to me to be power and faith.

Theo's cousin, Xan, is the Warden of England, a sort of semi-benevolent dictator who rules with the help of a Council of Five. Theo used to be his advisor but he quit for reasons never really explained. There are a number of places where Xan's power is discussed explicitly: how he acquired it, why he keeps it, what he gets out of it, how he uses it or ought to be using it, etc. In addition to the question of what a person does with power, though, there is also the more subtle question of what power does to a person. This is brought out most obviously in the two instances where the Wedding-Ring of England is mentioned. The first is when Theo notices that Xan is wearing it, and observes that there was a time when Xan would not have felt the need to wear it, suggesting that there has been a change in the nature of Xan's power. The second is at the end, when (view spoiler). Minor instances of the power question are all over the place: the soldiers who (mis)manage the Quietus, the requirement that fertile domestic animals must be registered and their reproduction limited, the requirement for regular fertility testing of both men and women, the fact that (view spoiler), etc. In the end, I wondered if (view spoiler).

As for faith, it's there in both religious and secular terms. Churches have largely been abandoned but there is one rather haunting scene where Theo witnesses a christening party going into a church; the "infant" in the christening dress is in fact a cat, and Theo wonders what the Archbishop of Canterbury would have to say about that. There is mention of other countries practicing human sacrifice, particularly of the Omegas (the last generation born, remarkable beautiful but borderline sociopaths), and Theo wonders in passing what England would do if they were to discover that it works. Theo and the others also wrestle more than once with the question of whether/how the utter impossibility faith in the future excuses inhumanity in the present. Near the beginning of the book is a long passage on how science has been the god of civilized man for so long that when it fails them (in their inability not to solve the infertility problem but even figure out what is causing it) it's like a personal betrayal, your deity turning on you. A very perceptive observation.

All in all a thought-provoking book and a great read. I also highly recommend the movie. ...more

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Jun 15, 2017 Jennifer rated it it was ok · review of another edition

People haven't been able to have children for a generation, people are panicking over the human race ending but I don't think that after a generation that would be a problem with the population numbers but people are panicking anyway, maybe the lack of reproduction doesn't bug me because I've never wanted kids lol... and if a society is so concerned about finding a fertile male, why would you ignore a big chunk of the population because they have a disability, even a minor one?

Good world buildin ...more

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Jun 29, 2009 Katie Verhaeren rated it liked it

Decent book, some pretty big differences from the movie. May be one of the few times I've heard people say that the movie is better and actually agreed. In all fairness though, this could be because I saw the movie first. ...more

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