It was with a thumb wet with his own tears and stained with her blood...

[jackshoegazer]

I finished P.D. James' The Children of Men.  Like many, I came to this book after seeing the excellent film by Alfonso Cuarón based on P.D.'s book.  Let me state unequivocally:  if you are expecting to read the book version of the movie, you will be sorely disappointed.

The book shares very little with the film.  In fact, I can share the similarities with you.  The premise is the same - humans can't breed, there have been no births for over twenty-five years.  The main character's name is Theo.  He has an elderly friend named Jasper.  There is a character named Julian.  There is a pregnant girl. There is a scene where a log is blocking a road.  That about covers it.

Now, one might think that this means the book was not good, however one would be wrong.  The book is excellent, absolutely entertaining, shocking, and melancholy.  The first quarter of the book reads like a beautiful eulogy for the human race.  The characters are flawed, and so like real people. trapped in their unconscious programming and only change when the universe, or in this case, P.D. James, whacks them upside the head with the consequences of their actions.  Actually, like the film, it's dark, yet ultimately hopeful.  And somehow it makes you wonder if perhaps it had been best if we'd died off anyway.

I think it best, that if you're coming to this book after having seen the film, you must erase your mind of the movie, and think of this as a completely different entity with only a few coincidental similarities.  Otherwise, the memory of the phenomenal film could taint one's experience and ruin a perfectly good novel.

Comments

[mnemsyne.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this. I have been debating whether to find out and find the book. I had read a few reviews elsewhere that were mixed in their outcomes and I just didn't want to see Theo end up being some sort of nonhero driven only because he wants to posess the girl and her child.

I want to see the movie again. :(

[holographia.livejournal.com]

i just watched the movie friday night and have to admit i thought it was kind of a silly movie. there were elements i liked but overall i thought the tone & characters were a little too goofy and over the top for a movie with such a serious tone. all the dreadlocks! O_O

anyway, if the movie did anything for me it was making me want to read the book. the movie had potential and i figured it must have come from the original material- i get the feeling i would enjoy that much more and get the satisfaction i couldn't get form watching the film.

[(Anonymous)]

But does it have space lizards?

[oxy-irony.livejournal.com]

Undeniably unrelated, but:

[rubberkeyhole.livejournal.com]

have you read James' The Murder Room?

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Nope. CoM is the only James I've read. Is it good? I really liked CoM (the book), which, oddly, reminded me a lot of V for Vendetta (the movie).

(I also liked CoM the movie, but I needed to specify that it was the book that reminded me of V and not the movie, since they're so different.)

[rubberkeyhole.livejournal.com]

I haven't read it yet, but it looks interesting. However, if it's as literature-ish as CoM, I don't think I'll be picking it up anytime soon...I usually read fiction that's easy to read and forget when I go to bed at night, and that book was definitely not meant to forget!