The Children of Men - The Library of the Uncommons

Paperback, 256 pages

English language

Published May 16, 2006 by Vintage.

ISBN:: 978-0-307-27543-1

"The year is 2021, and the human race is - quite literally - coming to an end. Since 1995 no babies have been born, because in that year all males unexpectedly became infertile. Great Britain is ruled by a dictator, and the population is inexorably growing older. Theodore Faron, Oxford historian and, incidentally, cousin of the all-powerful Warden of England, watches in growing despair as society gradually crumbles around him, giving way to strange faiths and cruelties: prison camps, mass organized euthanasia, roving bands of thugs. Then, suddenly, Faron is drawn into the plans of an unlikely group of revolutionaries. His passivity is shattered, and the action begins." "The Children of Men will surprise - and enthrall - P.D. James fans. Written with the same rich blend of keen characterization, narrative drive and suspense as her great detective stories, it engages powerfully with new themes: conflicts of loyalty and duty, …

"The year is 2021, and the human race is - quite literally - coming to an end. Since 1995 no babies have been born, because in that year all males unexpectedly became infertile. Great Britain is ruled by a dictator, and the population is inexorably growing older. Theodore Faron, Oxford historian and, incidentally, cousin of the all-powerful Warden of England, watches in growing despair as society gradually crumbles around him, giving way to strange faiths and cruelties: prison camps, mass organized euthanasia, roving bands of thugs. Then, suddenly, Faron is drawn into the plans of an unlikely group of revolutionaries. His passivity is shattered, and the action begins." "The Children of Men will surprise - and enthrall - P.D. James fans. Written with the same rich blend of keen characterization, narrative drive and suspense as her great detective stories, it engages powerfully with new themes: conflicts of loyalty and duty, the corruption of power, redemption through love. Ingenious, original, irresistibly readable, it confirms once again P.D. James's standing as a major novelist."--Jacket.

15 editions

PaperbackReader reviewed The Children of Men by P. D. James

Review of 'The Children of Men' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I'll admit, I'm wondering if I didn't like the movie more. I'll freely admit that my enthusiasm for the book was dimmed by the narrator's obnoxious accent, though I wonder if he wasn't chosen to narrate this book BECAUSE of that accent. The main character, Theo, is from Surrey, and a scholar at Oxford, so that posh sound might've fit the author's vision best. In any case, it didn't work for me.

Still, I found the ending to be too...clear, somehow. Too precise. The film leaves the ending much murkier, less comforting, and that suits me better with my apocolyptic fiction.