ePub Ð A Canticle for Leibowitz ñ Walter M. Miller Jr.
In a nightmarish ruined world slowly awakening to the light after sleeping in darkness the infant rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to t Odd as it sounds this is hot toddy warm blanket comfort food for me Admittedly that’s not the typical description of this cynical bleak themed post apocalyptic SF classic However the easy breezy style with which Miller explores his melancholy material manages to pluck smiles from me whenever I pick it up This go around I listened to the audio version which was recently released it was as mood brightening an experience as my previous read throughDespite dealing with dark somber subject matter and ultimately ending on a tragic crescendo of “humanity is stupid savage and screwed” the journey of the novel is so filled with engaging characters and genuine humor that the surrounding depression and moroseness of the narrative theme just can’t seem to grab hold of you At least it never laid an accusing finger on me Canticle is broken up into 3 Sections each taking place approximately 6 centuries apart Beginning in the 26th century 600 years after the Flame Deluge when nuclear buffoonery laid waste to civilization the central focus of the story is a Roman Catholic monastery founded by a Jewish weapons engineer for the purpose of safeguarding and preserving human knowledge Shortly after the geniuses of the 20th Century decided to light up the globe like Hell's own 4th of July the surviving residents of Planet “radiation burn” decided that brains and books were overrated and followed up the Flame Deluge with the Simplification whereby they roasted all of the books along with any person smart enough to read or write one Isaac Leibowitz after being part of the military machinery that microwaved the planet made it his mission in life to try and preserve knowledge for the future Thus the Albertian Order of Leibowitz was founded The first third of the book introduces us to the post apocalyptic world and gives a back story on the Flame Deluge and the mission of the Order of Leibowitz Located in what was the Southwestern United States the Order tracks down and smuggles 20th century “memorabilia” into the abbey a process known as “booklegging” while trying to avoid being killed and possibly eaten by the self described “Simpletons” roaming the wastelands The next section of the book takes place in the 32nd Century and shows humanity finally emerging out of the dark ages of the Simplification and beginning to once again embrace the knowledge This section focuses primarily on the growing feud between the resurgent secular scientists and the Church over the control and distribution of technology Similar to our own renaissance period the story describes science and natural law going toe to toe with the info hoarding monks as powerful city states run by warlords play both sides for advantage Finally in the 38th Century the last section of the book shows humanity once again in the full flower of its technological brilliance and historical stupidity ready to give the Earth another nuclear facial NoteI was going to use atomic facial but the Urban Dictionary makes that term very inappropriate here War is coming and the forces of history are once again driving humanity like cattle towards the abattoir Thus we see the overarching theme of Mil
Walter M. Miller Jr. ñ A Canticle for Leibowitz reader
A Canticle for Leibowitz33 viewing through a sharp satirical eye the relentless progression of a human race damned by its inherent humanness to recelebrate its grand foibles and repeat its grievous mistak A Canticle for Leibowitz is Catholic science fiction clearly written in the aftermath of Hiroshima and the shadow of the Cold War It is mesmerizing drawing on history and speculating on the future focused around a small monastery in the American Southwest It is also profoundly pessimistic about the fate of man and the inevitability of nuclear war Note The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement You can read why I came to this decision hereIn the meantime you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook