A Canticle for Leibowitz is Walter Miller's classic science fiction novel about post-apocalyptic Catholic monks in the desert of Utah, preserving what scraps of ancient writing they have managed to gather together through a post-nuclear dark ages in which all scientific knowledge is seen as evil. The novel is composed of three sections, roughly analogous to the dark ages, the renaissance, and a new technological age. The Catholic church provides what little cultural stability exists in the period, and the story follows the history of the abbey of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz, founded by a scientist after the war who became a martyr in his attempts to save books from being burned by the barbaric remnants of human civilization.
This is one of the masterpieces of American science fiction. I'm glad to have finally filled this particular hole in my knowledge of the genre, and I really can't recommend this book highly enough.
Wow, Colin, this sounds very interesting! I just put a request in for it from our local library, Will comment again later!
ReplyDeletethis sounds dope colin, i will def read. altho you also said it was depressing, yes?
ReplyDeletealso, i took the liberty of adding tags, so pls edit if you disagree with them!
ReplyDeleteHa! Just got notified by email that the library is now holding the book for me!
ReplyDeleteWell, I finished this book and thought it was very interesting. For me, it was an unusual science fiction book in that there was not a huge amount of action - rather it's really a tale of ideas. And, again, perhaps this is due to my restricted reading in science fiction, but I sci fi books I have read (this is Asimov mostly) focus on the capabilities of man versus robots, that is, free will, and the nature of intelligence. In contrast, this was more of a study of the different roles in society of technology/science and religion. In this book, technological advancement drives the destructive, arrogant and non-reflective actions of humans, and the religious order preserves calm, reverence, and obligations to others. LOTS to chew on here -I feel like I probably missed a lot of it. Would be a good one to re-read after I've had some time for it to sink in.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Colin, for the interesting suggestion!