"The Children of Men" Review

Book 9 of 20 for the Dystopian Challenge

suzerainty

pabulum

perfidy

Nunc Dimittis

These are some of the words I learned from reading "The Children of Men." The use of language alone made this a worthwhile read; PD James writes with such a lovely talent that the book was a rare pleasure to read through.

More than vocabulary, though, the climax of the book was a reverently handled birth. It's as if the book was written just for me, with my interests in mind.

It serves as a counter reflection of "The Declaration," in which people opt out of procreation because they have found a way to stop the aging process. In "The Children of Men," people have lost the ability to procreate and are facing the extinction of the human species. It is told primarily from the perspective of a history professor, Theo Faron. He's reserved, intelligent, reflective, and he's definitely not Clive Owen.

It must be said. The movie version failed the book, miserably. The events and characters were changed inexplicably for the worse in the process of bringing this lovely piece of literature to the screen. Mr. Cuarón wanted to make a specific kind of film, I guess, and it wasn't really the same story that this book presented, so all kinds of liberties were taken, to its detriment. Sure, there are a few similarities, but not really very many. The book plays out much, much better, is more hopeful, and far less dramatic.

And the unfolding of the birth is so well written that it became firmly entrenched in my high estimation. Here's one of my favorite lines:

...it seemed to him that midwife and patient were one woman and that he, too, was part of the pain and the labouring, not really needed but graciously accepted, and yet excluded from the heart of the mystery.

Reading that makes me miss the book. It isn't even the best example of the language used, but it's plenty impressive.

The dystopia was entirely believable, too, with the resistance against it being also well portrayed. Nothing was beyond belief here. I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it, and so far, without a doubt, this is my favorite book from this challenge.