Author : P.D. James
Children of Men is a dystopian novel set in England, in the year 2021, in a fictional world full of suffering and pain, dealing with an issue of mass infertility. Human population has gone sterile and there are no children.
In short, with no scope of the future generation, the human
race has given up hope. The devout look for a reason behind God’s curse and science
is researching for a cure to end infertility. The premise is very depressing,
where senior citizens are offered death by choice and the immigrants are
treated as slaves. England is under ruthless dictatorial rule, where the
mandate is to kill and crush any sort of rebellion.
The narration, happens both in first and third person,
through the protagonist Theo Faron, an Oxford Historian, who is already
resigned to gloom. So, when a group of rebels, called The Fishes, who do not
share this disillusionment of the masses, approach him for help, Theo shows a
lot of resistance before the reality shakes him up. The Fishes convince him
that there is still hope and not all is lost. Now it is up to Theo, a pessimist
himself, to stand up and take action in a society which is heading for its own doom.
This is one of the books where I took a complete U-turn from
wanting to abandon it midway to finishing it in one stretch. To its advantage,
it is a short book. But true to its dystopian nature, the first 100 pages of
book are filled with misery and suffering. There are few horrific incidents which
make you cringe.
It is the second half which picks up pace, it becomes more
like an action-packed chase game. In the end, the book feels like a glorified
trophy presented to you for the pain which you endured in the first half. The
narration is more prosaic, so it does nothing to alleviate the suffering and
pain. The brutality hits you on your face.
There are many reasons why one chooses to read a book. It
depends on what you are looking for. I cannot think of anything which we can
gain by reading so much suffering except the fact that it urges you to
appreciate what you have and be grateful for your existence. The world of
literature exposes you to many things and if you can filter the information
well enough, it transforms you into a better person.
To summarize, If you like dystopian novels and books like
1984 and Animal Farm, pick this book. I cannot deny the fact that despite all
the misery, I was impressed. Any day if
ever a discussion crops up, I will still bat for it and say “That was one good
book”!
My rating: 👍👍👍👍
