July Group read - A Canticle for Leibowitz

[Jo]

This thread is for discussion about the book A Canticle For Leibowitz which was chosen as July's group read. Whether you have read the book already or plan to read in July please feel free to discuss.

[Jim]

I tried reading this book quite a few times over the years & could never get through the first book of the 3. I finally tried it as an audio book. I still found the first part difficult, but hung in there & actually began to like it by the end. The 2d & 3d parts were really good. It really is a classic & worth reading.

[Jo]

I really hope this isn't a difficult read, I couldn't get hold of an English copy so i've set myself the task to read it in French. If it's a difficult read it may take some time!

[Nic]

I read this one a while ago and actually really enjoyed it. Although the premise is a little weird, once you get going things get interesting. I'm not a huge fan of the sequel, but I do like this one.

[Jo]

So after last months Lord of Light comes another book with a religious underpinning, this time Catholicism. I see this was originally 3 short stories and these were expanded into the book. I've just finished the first book on the train this morning and I quite enjoyed it.

It did set me thinking about the underlying theme in sci-fi where artifacts are found and nobody really knows what they are for and try to find their signification. It made me wonder when and where this started.

[Buck]

I read A Canticle for Leibowitz last year. Gave it two stars. Here is my brief negative review:

This book is highly rated, so I expected more from it. I was disappointed. Perhaps if I were more steeped in Catholicism, I would have appreciated it more. I don't know Latin, so I don't know if all the Latin passages were actually Latin, or as I suspect, faux Latin. (Illigitimus non carborundum.) For me, A Canticle for Leibowitz dragged, especially after the first part, which takes place some six centuries after the death of Leibowitz following a nuclear holocaust in the mid to late twentieth century. The book spans centuries, and it really seems like it. It never really built to much of a climax, but at least it did reach a conclusion. Deo gratias.

[Jo]

I've finished reading this now and although well written it's not going to be one of my favourites. I enjoyed the first two parts but not the third.

I liked the idea of the Order and it's quest to save knowledge for the good of humanity. The third part was a lot further in the future and it just didn't seem in keeping with the rest of the book or maybe just the direction I wanted the book to go.

[Jim]

I thought the third part was the best. Not nice, although none of it was, but the situation with the victims was wonderfully done.

[Jo]

I agree the situation with the victims was well done. The third part was very bleak, normally this doesn't bother me but in this case I found it a bit depressing.

[Ellen]

Buck wrote: "I read A Canticle for Leibowitz last year. Gave it two stars. Here is my brief negative review:

This book is highly rated, so I expected more from it. I was disappointed. Perhaps if I were mor..."

I agree with Buck's comments. I use to be catholic and the book accurately described the rituals and hierarchy of the catholic church. I don't know if the Latin is accurate but church members were never expected to know the Latin the priest was chanting:)

[Susan]

I finally read this sci fi classic and I loved it. My review is here.

[Ed]

Susan wrote: "I finally read this sci fi classic and I loved it. My review is here."

I remember loving it. But it was so long ago that when I entered it here I put 4 just to be safe.

Do you know whether the priests were specifically Jesuit in addition to Catholic? I seem to remember that.

[Marc-André]

They were part of a made up religions order. Albertians. Jesuits are a real and different order.

[Susan]

Ed wrote: "Do you know whether the priests were specifically Jesuit in addition to Catholic?..."

Marc-André wrote: "They were part of a made up religions order. Albertians. Jesuits are a real and different order."

Like the Jesuits, they were concerned with intellectual matters. But Marc is correct, they are a fictional order.

[Ed]

Thanks for that. I was curious because I know several SF novels that specifically deal with Jesuits, including The Sparrow and, I think, Speaker for the Dead.

[Rosemarie]

I have just finished rereading this book, after a long interval and got so much more out of it this time. Reading part three was an intense experience, but each part was special.
As for the characters, Brother Frances is unforgettable.

[Atlanta]

We should reread this

[Susan]

Ed wrote: "I was curious because I know several SF novels that specifically deal with Jesuits ..."

If I remember correctly, the protagonist in James Blish’s A Case of Conscience is a Jesuit priest.

[Susan]

Rosemarie wrote: "I have just finished rereading this book, after a long interval and got so much more out of it this time. Reading part three was an intense experience, but each part was special..."

I have been doing a lot of rereading lately and I am also getting so much more from these books the second time around.

[Jim]

Susan wrote: "Ed wrote: "I was curious because I know several SF novels that specifically deal with Jesuits ..."

If I remember correctly, the protagonist in James Blish’s A Case of Conscience is a..."

I think Jesuit's show up is because they are the most scientifically inclined order. One of my favorite was the Jesuit priest in Arthur C. Clarke's 1955 short story "The Star". here's an interesting article from "The Atlantic" - Why Are There So Many Catholics in Science Fiction?

[Jim]

Susan wrote: "Ed wrote: "I was curious because I know several SF novels that specifically deal with Jesuits ..."

If I remember correctly, the protagonist in James Blish’s A Case of Conscience is a..."

You're correct. One of my favorites was Father Loyola in Artur C. Clarke's 1955 short story The Star

[Susan]

Jim wrote: "One of my favorites was Father Loyola in Artur C. Clarke's 1955 short story The Star"

That story just blew my mind.

[Ronald]

Jim wrote: "Susan wrote: "Ed wrote: "I was curious because I know several SF novels that specifically deal with Jesuits ..."

If I remember correctly, the protagonist in James Blish’s [book:A Case of Conscienc..."

I would rather say that the Jesuits are a scholarly inclined order. A Greek Orthodox Christian said to me that most Jesuits have at least a Master's degree. Wikipedia says "As Jesuits, particularly in the United States, serve on the faculties of high schools and universities, and in a wide variety of other positions, the Jesuit scholastic or Jesuit priest often earns a master or doctoral degree on some area—it may be, for instance, Theology or it may be History, English, Chemistry, Educational Administration, Law or any other subject. Hence, a Jesuit may spend another few years earning a graduate degree beyond the bachelor's."

As a former student of Jesuits, I can confirm.

[Jim]

Ronald wrote: "Jim wrote: "Susan wrote: "Ed wrote: "I was curious because I know several SF novels that specifically deal with Jesuits ..."

If I remember correctly, the protagonist in James Blish’s [book:A Case ..."

Thanks for the update on Jesuits. Scholarly is much more accurate that the "scientifically" I used.