World War Z - Max Brooks

World War Z was excellent. One could be forgiven for thinking it would be pulpy drek (though I personally love zombie stories) -- however, nothing could be farther from the truth! Brooks treats the zombie virus rationally, using it as a thought experiment to explore the ramifications of rampant contagious disease and violence on all levels of society, world-wide, over a span of decades. Truly impressive and far-seeing. The novel is framed as a collection of survivor interviews, and Brooks' ability to compellingly embody many diverse characters and perspectives makes for very enjoyable reading. Some of the stories are very ugly and heartbreaking, but overall I found it uplifting, about the resilience of the human spirit. Would definitely recommend. 

As an aside-- the (very mediocre) disaster flick World War Z bears no resemblance to the book, they basically just copped the title. While the book is genius, the movie's sole virtue is that it features hottie Brad Pitt. Still, I enjoyed both. 

Slaughterhouse Five

 

Kurt Vonnegut’s voice is exceptional.  The main themes of Slaughterhouse Five are deadly serious, yet the story is rich in humor, both simple and mordant, and has a unique viewpoint that features time travel and intelligent aliens.  It’s a perplexing yet commanding combination.  The narrator of the frame story is Vonnegut himself, who was a prisoner of war and one of the very few survivors when Dresden was firebombed in World War II. But the protagonist is Billy Pilgrim, who travels in space and time with a view of his entire life.  Billy witnesses innumerable deaths, each commemorated by “So it goes”, from his unique whole-life perspective.  Fascinating, thought provoking, outrageously funny and heart-rendingly sad by turns.

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

This month's bookclub book is Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. I really enjoyed this highly original bit of sci-fi, which covers the period just before, during, and after a massive plague that wipes out 99.9% of humanity. Although many characters are followed over the course of the novel, it revolves most closely around the experiences of a loosely connected band of individuals - a famous Shakespearean actor (Arthur Leander), a child actress he once befriended (Kirsten Raymonde), his graphic artist ex-wife (Miranda Carroll), his current actress wife (Elizabeth) and son (Tyler), his close friend (Clark Thompson), and a paparazzo-turned-paramedic (Jeevan Chaudhary) who used to stalk him.

Station Eleven is a highly sensitive portrayal of human character, in all its beauty, ugliness, vanity, and complexities, and a compelling envisioning of what our post-apocalyptic society might look like.

I especially enjoyed the scenes with Miranda, whose magnum opus is the eponymous comic book series, Station Eleven. Her art is described in vivid terms, and its themes of isolation, longing, and exploration prefigure and contextualize the novel's broader themes.

Definitely recommend!

Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke

In Childhood's End, futuristic alien spaceships suddenly appear over major cities all over the world. Although the alien "Overlords" do not exit the ships, they issue a few dictates to humanity (such as the prohibition on harming animals), and allow a single human representative, UN Secretary Stormgren, to board the ship every few weeks and talk to their Alien "Supervisor," Karellen, through a voice apparatus. Mostly through gentle guidance, the aliens reshape earth's civilization entirely - there is no more crime or violence, everyone's basic needs are met, and the populace is free to live a life of idle pleasures. However, this has deleterious effects on human culture - the arts stagnate, and intellectual pursuits are cramped. Some members of human society want to rebel against the overlords, and especially, to at least SEE one of them.

This book is written in a charmingly writerly style evoking the time in which it was written (1953), but the ideas are entirely original, and some of the technology and concepts still feel futuristic today.

Would recommend!

Dawn - Octavia Butler

Octavia Butler's Dawn is a brilliant exploration of human nature under oppressive conditions, and of the psychology of surviving assimilation. I don't want to give away too much, but suffice to say that her highly original post-apocalyptic vision is powerful, visceral, and disturbing.

This was also the first book I'd read by Octavia Butler, a talented African American female sci-fi author (her Wikipedia page here).