Excellent story about a group of people who survive a plague that kills off 98% of the population... ( )

I’m not a fan of deeply introspective novels so this really something I would have been drawn too if I knew more about it going in. I always thought I was a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, but I’ve found I’m really a fan of post-apocalyptic zombie fiction. Earth Abides is a remarkable book, though, and I can appreciate it for the work Stewart put into it. I think I would be a fan of his non-fiction more than speculative sci-fi. (Not a fan of sci-fi at all.) ( )

Did not finish, badly written. ( )

Published in 1949, I was amazed that the book did not seem dated at all. Obliques references and keeping the story on track helped to achieve this aura of timelessness. The beginning was very good but, towards the end it became long and drawn out. I still enjoyed it and found it hard to put down. ( )

Mediocre post-apocalyptic novel assigned in my Sociology of Intentional Communities class. The protagonist finds himself a survivor of a global epidemic and searches out others with whom to found a community. The book spans several decades and we witness the development of a community calling themselves "The Tribe" as grows from a handful of middle-aged, middle-class white folks into a multigenerational neo-primitive society with a unique culture.The author tries to confront the following issues:-What is the value of trying to preserve the intellectual and cultural products of Western Civilization when they have no apparent survival value?-How can the community balance its dependency on the material leftovers of a dead civilization with the need to develop new skills that will soon become necessary for survival?The book completely neglects the challenges posed by the environmental pollution which our civilization leaves behind, but it was written in the 50s, so that's probably too much to ask.It loses points simply for the fact that it begins and and ends with the same line, which also contains the title. Did I mention that the author was an English professor? ( )