The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion
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The Last Man
Group Reads 2020
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"The Last Man" - April 2020 Group Read
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I am at the third chapter. I am really curious by how the story will develop from now. This story has not the usual flavor that sci-fis usually have. It is written in the 1800's literary style. Which is quite different from the 1900's that I am familiarized to in this genre.
I'm looking forward to this re-read. I read it way back when I was in my romantics phase, but I cannot remember any details.
That's it, I managed 70 spongy pages, but am not going to do 700 more. I'd like to see here what everybody thinks. And in the meanwhile read something more crunchy.
Leo wrote: "That's it, I managed 70 spongy pages, but am not going to do 700 more. I'd like to see here what everybody thinks. And in the meanwhile read something more crunchy."I gave the book a reluctant 3 stars, mostly because of its influence. If I hadn't read it as an audio book, I wouldn't have made it through, though. The first part is a pastoral English novel that introduces the characters in 'stunning' detail. By 'stunning', I mean that I was almost stunned into insensibility by sheer boredom. Think Pride and Prejudice on Prozac.
The most redeeming features were the autobiographical (She's Verney.) & biographical references/comparisons to her circle of friends (Most especially Percy as Adrian & Byron as Raymond.) so if you're not familiar with who she was & hung out with, read her bio on Wikipedia first. These references run throughout the novel.
Shelly has a real flair for description, although a grounding in the classics is required to understand many of her allusions. There I was on firm ground, but again I wish I knew Latin. I had to translate that which required searching the text copy & I don't spell Latin any better than American. It was trying at times, but generally the meaning was clear enough without translation. I see her influence here on Zelazny & this part of her style, more than anything else, gave me the ability to get through the seemingly interminable first volume.
If you think the audio book might be better for you, it's available for free from Librivox. The edition I listened to can be found here:https://librivox.org/the-last-man-by-...
It's 30 chapters were read by a dozen or so narrators so the quality varied, but most were quite good & all were acceptable. My appreciation to all of them.
The text is available for free on Project Gutenberg in a variety of formats here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18247
Mod
Can any of you provide a link to an abridged version?
Jim wrote: "If you think the audio book might be better for you, it's available for free from Librivox. "Thanks, but in this book I often need to read sentences more than once to understand. So audio is no big help here for me. Maybe an abridged version would be.
I am enjoying it more now. It improves after the second part although the first one is important to the following ones. The first part was very slow but not different from any 19th book, MS could not imagine how the 21st century could be. She actually just wrote a 19th century book but said that it was in the 21st century. People use carriages, travel only by boat, But she cannot be shamed by this. All our technology would seem alien to her.
How are you going Rafael? I must say that I picked it up again, curious for the turn the story apparently has to make. But up until now, 1/3 in, I'm still reading a veeeery slow romance / drama. Good stuff for a lock down.
I finished it today. I really liked it. The first part is, indeed, a romance, the post apocaliptic scenario builds up at the second part. And is a great story, well written. MWS writes in such a poetic style that the words flow as the waters of a stream.Now I will make a comment that could be viewed as a spoiler by some so I recommend that you should only read it when you have finished the book (view spoiler)
I wrote a review here (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) in case anyone want to read it. English is not my first language but I tried to write it as accurate as I could.
This story was already adapted to the cinema? If it was not it should be.
Good review, Rafael. In your review, you wonder if if microorganisms were known when this book was written. They weren't & wouldn't be for most of the century. Around 1840, there was a cholera outbreak in London & a couple of guys traced it to the water of a specific well rather than just putting it down to miasma or bad vapors. In about 1850, Pasteur started proving germ theory, but it took several more decades to refine & catch on. IIRC, Mary Shelley's mother died of child bed fever a few days after she was born. In 1850, Semmelweis proved that child bed fever was due to doctors having filthy hands. They'd spend the morning dissecting corpses & then do their maternity rounds without changing clothes or washing their hands. Mothers tried to get into the ward where midwives worked as their chances of survival were much better. Unfortunately, Semmelweis wasn't very politic & his methods didn't catch on for several decades.
I started the book yesterday and oh boy is there a lot of rumbling? I'm surprised that my vocabulary is quite enough to go thru XIX century text.In the books of the period sexual intercourse and the like are never directly stated, so I'm unsure whether Lord Raymond and Evadne Zaimi were lovers after he met her or not. For if not, why he is blamed by the narrator so, e.g. quote:
In the midst of his greatest suspense and fear as to the event, he remembered the festival given in his honour, by Perdita; in his honour then, when misery and death were affixing indelible disgrace to his name, honour to him whose crimes deserved a scaffold; this was the worst mockery.
erms, hanging for supposed infidelity?
Mod
Well, I'm not feeling masochistic right now!
Oleksandr, good for you trying such old-fashioned vocabulary and text style.
Microorganisms were known at that time, at least to some. It certainly wasn't accepted that they cause human disease, but it had been proven by Agostino Bassi that a microorganism caused disease in silkworms. Shelly may very well have read about that.
There is a movie with Vincent Price called "The Last Man on Earth", but it isn't directly related to this. Instead, it is a version of the story "I am Legend". It is a bad movie in some respects, but still I watched it last month and enjoyed it.
Ed wrote: "Microorganisms were known at that time, at least to some...."Right! The microscope had been invented, but they didn't know what 'animicules' did. I should have said 'germ theory' wasn't known or accepted yet.
I really liked "The Last Man on Earth". IIRC, they screwed up the point of the book somewhat at the end, but of the 3 movies that I'm aware of, it followed "I Am Legend" the best. "The Omega Man" was just 70s B movie fun with a waving acquaintance with the book. The one Wil Smith was in was awful.
I certainly found the book a slog, especially the first part. It got better as it went on, but that first part almost did me in. As Rafael mentioned, it's to important to skip or skim much.
Oleksandr, I'm sorry but I don't remember well enough to answer your question.
I don't remember either, Oleksandr. Do you remember which chapter this quote came from?Jim wrote: "Good review, Rafael. In your review, you wonder if if microorganisms were known when this book was written. They weren't & wouldn't be for most of the century. Around 1840, there was a cholera outb..."
Thank you, Jim!
Rafael wrote: "I don't remember either, Oleksandr. Do you remember which chapter this quote came from?"Vol. 1, Ch. 9. The quote is an example, my question is just to classic XIX century innuendo, which make me guess :)
Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding. I am not sure but I guess when I read it I thought in it as a rape, not as infidelity. But I don't remember why I thought this way. If it was just infidelity probably I didn't consider the 19th century mores, like you did.
Guess what. I finished it. I had the same question as Rafael in his review, MS sets the story some 200 years in the future, but setting and technology doesn't seem to have changed. So why bother this 200 years.
Another thing already mentioned; there must be people or groups of people spared by the plague, when living isolated. But otoh MS doesn't say that could not be the case, it's Verney who is convinced he's the last man.
I sure found it a struggle this book, but in a way it was interesting enough to finish it.
I'm still slowly making my way through the book. There are some things I definitely liked better when I was in my romantic youth phase. Now in my granny days the melodramatic love stuff is more on the side of annoying.
While I didn't care too much for this book, I can certainly see its influence on later works that I really did like. The trek through Paris & Rome with his increasing sense of isolation reminded me a lot of Earth Abides. Richard Matheson took the dog & gave it a far more important role in I Am Legend. Both Stewart & Matheson added really good twists to their stories & tended to concentrate on their themes better, IMO. I wonder if they could have written their stories without this one as a starting point, though.
@Jim: that's a feeling I have with several classics. Enjoyment wise I would have to rate them 2 stars, but then I think of the influence they had and don't dare to only go with my personal taste which mostly ends up in 3 stars.
Leo wrote: "MS sets the story some 200 years in the future, but setting and technology doesn't seem to have changed. So why bother t..."It is more surprising if you note that during MS life there was a shift from wind to steam power - a huge change
Gabi wrote: "@Jim: that's a feeling I have with several classics. Enjoyment wise I would have to rate them 2 stars, but then I think of the influence they had and don't dare to only go with my personal taste wh..."Precisely the way & why I graded the book as I did. We seem to be on the same page there.
Leo wrote: "But otoh MS doesn't say that could not be the case, it's Verney who is convinced he's the last man."Indeed. You are right. Thank you for enlight it.
The Evolution of Science Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
Earth Abides (other topics)I Am Legend (other topics)
Pride and Prejudice (other topics)
The Last Man (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Richard Matheson (other topics)Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (other topics)
It was chosen by the results of a poll for books published before 1920.
Quick summary from Wikipedia: "The Last Man is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague."
(This topic will be opened on April 1.)