The Children of Men

 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: 👍👍👍👍

 

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