Earth Abides (1949)

Este libro de hace casi 70 años es un jarro de agua fría en la cara de todos los que creemos que la solución a los problemas de la sociedad solo pasan por un mayor apoyo a la educación. Poniéndonos en un mundo en decadencia por la casi desaparición de la raza humana, el protagonista intenta reconstruir la civilización en la comunidad que va logrando reunir a su alrededor, solo para contemplar cómo no necesitamos Telecinco para ser una especie boba.

Cuando empecé a leerla por sugerencia de un amigo, pensé que no me iba a gustar, que iba a ser uno de esos libros que envejecen mal y que me iba a costar mucho empatizar; sin embargo, una vez la empecé apenas pude parar de leerla en cualquier rato libre que tuviera. El contexto no ha envejecido demasiado mal (un páramo post-apocalíptico es igual en casi cualquier época) y las preocupaciones del protagonista son tan semejantes a las mías que todo fluía rápidamente mientras hacía de su situación la mía. Aunque, como ya he dicho, su conclusión ha hecho mella en mis esperanzas; al menos ahora estoy preparado para nuestro propio yermo.

Sin conocerlo previamente, ahora lo considero imprescindible en cualquier biblioteca de ciencia-ficción que se precie de no quedarse solo en la superficie del género. De hecho se lo recomendaría a cualquier persona que sepa leer y que crea que los de su alrededor no: ratifica gran parte de nuestros temores. ( )

History was an artist, maintaining the idea but changing the details, like a composer keeping the same theme but dulling it to a minor or lifting by an octave, now crooning it with violins, now blaring it on trumpets.

I chose to reread this Science Fiction classic because of the Coronavirus Pandemic and my fond recall of this story I had read as a teenager.

With age comes much more appreciation for subtler things such as the interplay of history with 'reality' and the author's use of metaphor highlighting social and religious change.

Isherwood Williams starts out as the seemingly sole survivor of a great infectious disaster wiping the Earth of most of it's inhabitants.

Despite Ish's every attempt to raise the children as thinkers and to lead them away from superstition, his journey, as an intellectual overthinking philosopher, metamorphases into the leader of The Tribe, then ultimately, into a Deity.

Earth Abides is a love story to Humankind, a sonnet to the power of resiliency and one of the most well written Science Fiction books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

Pandemic novels may be all the rage right now, do yourself a favor and take the time to read Earth Abides. You'll be uplifted and cheerful at the end, rather than scared and anxious. ( )

This reminded me of The Lord of the Flies. To me, it feels like its companion piece. While LotF feels the loss of civilization in a generation's span to be woeful (cf. Lovecraft), EA argues that the loss of civilization is necessary and proper (cf. R.E. Howard). Moving piece; biblical and grave in tone; a bit slow in execution, but a cornerstone piece of philosophical sci-fi! And don't even get me started on the rich symbolism of Ish's omnipresent hammer! ( )

Even sixty years ago the Earth Firster's were crying out how Man is destroying the planet ( )

I read a kindle edition that could have used some editing, but it was a decent story. Strange writing style, but the point came across. Nice to read a post-apocalyptic story that didn't devolve into war, war, war. ( )