The Children of Men by P. D. James (Epub)

Description

Told with P. D. James’s trademark suspense, insightful characterization, and riveting storytelling, The Children of Men is a story of a world with no children and no future. The human race has become infertile, and the last generation to be born is now adult. Civilization itself is crumbling as suicide and despair become commonplace. Oxford historian Theodore Faron, apathetic toward a future without a future, spends most of his time reminiscing. Then he is approached by Julian, a bright, attractive woman who wants him to help get her an audience with his cousin, the powerful Warden of England. She and her band of unlikely revolutionaries may just awaken his desire to live . . . and they may also hold the key to survival for the human race.

User’s Reviews

Review “A book of such accelerating tension that the pages seem to turn faster as one moves along.” —Chicago Tribune “As scary and suspenseful as anything in Hitchcock.” —The New Yorker “Extraordinary. . . . Daring. . . . Frightening in its implications.” —The New York Times “Fascinating, suspenseful, and morally provocative. The characterizations are sharply etched and the narrative is compelling.”—Chicago Sun-Times “She writes like an angel. Every character is closely drawn. Her atmosphere is unerringly, chillingly convincing. And she manages all this without for a moment slowing down the drive and tension of an exciting mystery.”—The Times (UK)From the Trade Paperback edition. From Publishers Weekly In her 12th book, the British author of the two series featuring Adam Dalgleish and Cordelia Gray ( Devices and Desires and An Unsuitable Job for a Woman , respectively) poses a premise that chills and darkens its setting in the year 2021. Near the end of the 20th century, for reasons beyond the grasp of modern science, human sperm count went to zero. The last birth occurred in 1995, and in the space of a generation humanity has lost its future. In England, under the rule of an increasingly despotic Warden, the infirm are encouraged to commit group suicide, criminals are exiled and abandoned and immigrants are subjected to semi-legalized slavery. Divorced, middle-aged Oxford history professor Theo Faron, an emotionally constrained man of means and intelligence who is the Warden’s cousin, plods through an ordered, bleak existence. But a chance involvement with a group of dissidents moves him onto unexpected paths, leading him, in the novel’s compelling second half, toward risk, commitment and the joys and anguish of love. In this convincingly detailed world–where kittens are (illegally) christened, sex has lost its allure and the arts have been abandoned–James concretely explores an unthinkable prospect. Readers should persevere through the slow start, for the rewards of this story, including its reminder of the transforming power of hope, are many and lasting. 125,000 first printing; BOMC main selection. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. BOOK ONEOMEGAJanuary—March 20211Friday 1 January 2021Early this morning, 1 January 2021, three minutes after midnight, the last human being to be born on earth was killed in a pub brawl in a suburb of Buenos Aires, aged twenty-five years two months and twelve days. If the first reports are to be believed, Joseph Ricardo died as he had lived. The distinction, if one can call it that, of being the last human whose birth was officially recorded, unrelated as it was to any personal virtue or talent, had always been difficult for him to handle. And now he is dead. The news was given to us here in Britain on the nine o’clock programme of the State Radio Service and I heard it fortuitously. I had settled down to begin this diary of the last half of my life when I noticed the time and thought I might as well catch the headlines to the nine o’clock bulletin. Ricardo’s death was the last item mentioned, and then only briefly, a couple of sentences delivered without emphasis in the newscaster’s carefully non-committal voice. But it seemed to me, hearing it, that it was a small additional justification for beginning the diary today; the first day of a new year and my fiftieth birthday. As a child I had always liked that distinction, despite the inconvenience of having it follow Christmas too quickly so that one present – it never seemed notably superior to the one I would in any case have received – had to do for both celebrations.As I begin writing, the three events, the New Year, my fiftieth birthday, Ricardo’s death, hardly justify sullying the first pages of this new loose-leaf notebook. But I shall continue, one small additional defence against personal accidie. If there is nothing to record, I shall record the nothingness and then if, and when, I reach old age – as most of us can expect to, we have become experts at prolonging life – I shall open one of my tins of hoarded matches and light my small personal bonfire of vanities. I have no intention of leaving the diary as a record of one man’s last years. Even in my most egotistical moods I am not as self-deceiving as that. What possible interest can there be in the journal of Theodore Faron, Doctor of Philosophy, Fellow of Merton College in the University of Oxford, historian of the Victorian age, divorced, childless, solitary, whose only claim to notice is that he is cousin to Xan Lyppiatt, the dictator and Warden of England. No additional personal record is, in any case, necessary. All over the world nation states are preparing to store their testimony for the posterity which we can still occasionally convince ourselves may follow us, those creatures from another planet who may land on this green wilderness and ask what kind of sentient life once inhabited it. We are storing our books and manuscripts, the great paintings, the musical scores and instruments, the artefacts. The world’s greatest libraries will in forty years’ time at most be darkened and sealed. The buildings, those that are still standing, will speak for themselves. The soft stone of Oxford is unlikely to survive more than a couple of centuries. Already the University is arguing about whether it is worth refacing the crumbling Sheldonian. But I like to think of those mythical creatures landing in St. Peter’s Square and entering the great Basilica, silent and echoing under the centuries of dust. Will they realize that this was once the greatest of man’s temples to one of his many gods? Will they be curious about his nature, this deity who was worshipped with such pomp and splendour, intrigued by the mystery of his symbol, at once so simple, the two crossed sticks, ubiquitous in nature, yet laden with gold, gloriously jewelled and adorned? Or will their values and their thought processes be so alien to ours that nothing of awe or wonder will be able to touch them? But despite the discovery – in 1997 was it? – of a planet which the astronomers told us could support life, few of us really believe that they will come. They must be there. It is surely unreasonable to credit that only one small star in the immensity of the universe is capable of developing and supporting intelligent life. But we shall not get to them and they will not come to us.Twenty years ago, when the world was already half convinced that our species had lost for ever the power to reproduce, the search to find the last-known human birth became a universal obsession, elevated to a matter of national pride, an international contest as ultimately pointless as it was fierce and acrimonious. To qualify the birth had to be officially notified, the date and precise time recorded. This effectively excluded a high proportion of the human race where the day but not the hour was known, and it was accepted, but not emphasized, that the result could never be conclusive. Almost certainly in some remote jungle, in some primitive hut, the last human being had slipped largely unnoticed into an unregarding world. But after months of checking and re-checking, Joseph Ricardo, of mixed race, born illegitimately in a Buenos Aires hospital at two minutes past three Western time on 19 October 1995, had been officially recognized. Once the result was proclaimed, he was left to exploit his celebrity as best he could while the world, as if suddenly aware of the futility of the exercise, turned its attention elsewhere. And now he is dead and I doubt whether any country will be eager to drag the other candidates from oblivion.We are outraged and demoralized less by the impending end of our species, less even by our inability to prevent it, than by our failure to discover the cause. Western science and Western medicine haven’t prepared us for the magnitude and humiliation of this ultimate failure. There have been many diseases which have been difficult to diagnose or cure and one which almost depopulated two continents before it spent itself. But we have always in the end been able to explain why. We have given names to the viruses and germs which, even today, take possession of us, much to our chagrin since it seems a personal affront that they should still assail us, like old enemies who keep up the skirmish and bring down the occasional victim when their victory is assured. Western science has been our god. In the variety of its power it has preserved, comforted, healed, warmed, fed and entertained us and we have felt free to criticize and occasionally reject it as men have always rejected their gods, but in the knowledge that despite our apostasy, this deity, our creature and our slave, would still provide for us; the anaesthetic for the pain, the spare heart, the new lung, the antibiotic, the moving wheels and the moving pictures. The light will always come on when we press the switch and if it doesn’t we can find out why. Science was never a subject I was at home with. I understood little of it at school and I understand little more now that I’m fifty. Yet it has been my god too, even if its achievements are incomprehensible to me, and I share the universal disillusionment of those whose god has died. I can clearly remember the confident words of one biologist spoken when it had finally become apparent that nowhere in the whole world was there a pregnant woman: “It may take us some time to discover the cause of this apparent universal infertility.” We have had twenty-five years and we no longer even expect to succeed. Like a lecherous stud suddenly stricken with impotence, we are humiliated at the very heart of our faith in ourselves. For all our knowledge, our intelligence, our power, we can no longer do what the animals do without thought. No wonder we both worship and resent them.From the Trade Paperback edition. –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ I just finished this – my first P. D. James novel, after 40 years of dodging this author because she was one of my mother’s favorites (how rational is that?). I plan to spend a great deal of time in the immediate future correcting this mistake.My mother told me about this book (the only P. D. James she HASN’T read – because it is “science fiction”!); she thought it would appeal to me for that very reason. And it did. And it does.HOWEVER – this is NOT a science fiction book. I’m sure you’ve read the premise by now; the BACKGROUND is science fiction – the STORY is pure character-driven suspense, and it is one of the most gripping mysteries I’ve encountered in a long life spent largely between the covers of books.You can read the synopsis elsewhere in these reviews; MY purpose in writing this is twofold: if you’ve never read P. D. James, START HERE. If, like my mother, you love the author but are wary of science fiction, do not fear: it is not the “SF” that controls this story – it is the P. D. JAMES. So if you’ve been avoiding the “SF” factor, again I say: START HERE.

⭐ I started reading Children of Men expecting something deep and insightful, because the movie based on this book, staring Clive Owen, is really good. Unfortunately, it seems to me that Ms James had a wonderful first idea (what would happen in a world without newborns) but didn’t have the stamina to develop it further. Her solution was to blend her original idea into a discussion about power and how people get seduced by it, but that doesn’t really work well (and on the seduction of power, Vonnegut’s Cat’s Craddle is much better). The rest of the book is really a conventional dystopic plot, but one that is frequently implausible and for the most part boring. All through the second half, the characters just wander around, completely lost (and on that, The Road is much more poignant and strong). The last chapters are really difficult to read because they sound like a reprise of old TV series. Because of all these flaws, Children of Men seems to me much weaker than Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale. Here, in my humble opinion, the text lacks strength to be up to its first insight, it makes too many wrong decisions. For instance, the idea of mixing Theo’s diary with a third-person narrative (which is questionable even in Handmaid’s Tale) seemed to me a technical mistake (more so because it doesn’t get nowhere, or maybe, it gets to the bottom of the lake…) I know I’m being really harsh, but, maybe the movie had raised my expectations too high, credit, of course, to the screenwriters who amended all the plot traps Ms James unfortunately fell into when writing the book…

⭐ P. D. James is undeniably a master of the detective novel, so why she decided to stray from her forte and write this futuristic dystopian novel is a mystery to me. I suppose she saw it as an opportunity to say something fundamental about power, governance, and political resistance that couldn’t be done in format of a policiere. The story struck me as being pointedly allegorical.If it’s a heart-pounding thriller you want, watch the excellent “Children of Mem” movie, which is based rather loosely on this novel. The movie is great science fiction although it lacks the novel’s powerful political allegory. If you’re a fan of James’ stately manner of story-telling and trenchant insights into the characters who populate her story, you’ll also want to read this book.

⭐ P D James, in an arresting thought experiment, pictures a world the sexual revolution was to provide. Sex without consequences was the goal of some radical thinkers and libertines. James does not appear to be moralizing as much as to observe an impotent, dark and frightened world. How do we live when all humanity is dying, and the planet is not? This is, in my mind, her greatest work. I know she is a “crime writer.” Yet she writes like an angel at times. I know nothing of her religious beliefs but she clearly knows the Prayer Book and how appropriate it can be in the tumultuous vagaries of life. We are strange, noble and pitiful creatures, we children of men. James sees us in all our moral and psychological complexity, our great intelligence and ignorance, our sorrow and our hope.

⭐ In the near future, for inexplicable reasons, humans have lost the ability to reproduce. The backdrop of this story is the slow descent of a dystopian decay. As others have noted, there is no cataclysmic event that sends this world into spiraling chaos. No asteroid has crashed into the planet and spread a galactic virus. Instead, people just stop having babies and slowly and steadily, things just get weirder and weirder. People are just going on with life with no youth about the place to inherit their progress and mistakes. Interestingly, the natural world is gradually creeping back into the life of man, squeezing in from all sides. The wilds of the world are returning.We see the story through the perspective of the main protagonist, Theo, who is a professor. The author switches between diary entries by Theo and a third-person narrative. The flipping back and forth is a strange choice, and I’m not sure if I liked that element. The point of this was to build-up Theo’s background and flesh out his relationship with the story’s chief antagonist, his cousin, Xan.Theo’s whole life has been ineffectual, spending most of his childhood growing up in the shadow of Xan whom excelled at everything he set his mind too. Both Xan and Theo have sort of detached relationships with their families and people in general, however it’s clear that Xan is even more detached. Xan’s character seems to be ambitious merely for the challenge of it. As if Xan has sat back and observed society simply to figure out what people consider interesting and then decided that that is what he ought to do. Indeed his adept abilities propel him so far a front that he manages to get himself appointed dictator of England in this new world, taking the title “Warden”.Xan has managed to take power, but maintains some illusion of democracy by installing three goals for this government’s last hurrah in the fading future: freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom from boredom. He caters to the base needs of man. The Isle of Man becomes a dumping ground for prisoners and dissidents and nobody even dreams of forgiveness and redemption or second chances. People are forced to learn skills that will be necessary in the future. Fertility tests are mandatory for society’s best and brightest in the hope that there might still be a small chance that someone will be able to reproduce. The old are encouraged to end their lives with dignity before they become too much a of a burden on society’s waning population, a phenomenon called “The Queitus.” Also, the state has opened pornography centers to cure boredom.Theo, being Xan’s cousin, enjoyed an advisory role on the Warden’s special council. However, when the story begins, we learn that Theo has left this position because he discovered that nobody really cared what he had to say. We get the impression that even though, he had no real “voice” in things, Xan wanted him there-perhaps as a last vestige of human connection. Both of them are detached, but they have no real family relationships other than each other. That bond can’t seem to die, however seemingly unimportant the two make of it.The character of Theo is deeply flawed and it is difficult to completely give over to him. We learn that his life is marred by a failed marriage, one that he had entered into because his chosen mate seemed to fit all the necessary requirements. He was never motivated by love. He doesn’t seem to know how to love. This trait is, of course, echoed ten-fold by Xan, whose decisions are based on reason, pragmatic rationality and ambition. However, Theo’s past is further scarred by the horrible death of his own child, which he has disassociated himself from.What is really deep and profound in this story, is the love that does motivate these two apathetic characters. Theo has not ever learned what love is and perhaps Xan’s detached disposition has rubbed off on him. So, when Theo leaves the Warden’s council he has an opportunity for personal growth.Xan is driven by ambition and power and though his methods are cruel, he seems to lack a sadistic mindset or will. He doesn’t have these kind of feelings. Steps are taken which will bring about the logical results he wants. If certain unpleasantness must be engaged to accomplish his goals, then that is just what is necessary-he takes no particular pleasure from this. Is Xan an amoral Vulcan?And yet, there is still a thread of desire in Xan for something more. He hangs onto Theo as if the protagonist is his last chance at being a “real” person. Theo is his sole representative of family–of brotherhood–of connection beyond simply a means to an end. He is not happy that Theo has left the council, but he will not dismiss him outright–even when he suspects Theo is plotting against him. In the inevitable show down between the two, Xan loses himself. Although it is not immediately apparent, I feel that Xan has hesitation about ending their relationship, not simply by happenstance, but because there is some tiny, fractional, minuscule, infinitesimal part that wants to feel love and a true connection or bond with another human. Perhaps Xan knows that if Theo is gone, then so is his last remaining piece of humanity? This trope of evil incarnate is not necessarily new, but it is so very believable for this character. Darth Vader had trouble killing Luke even at the behest of his boss, the Emperor.The somber mood pervading this story, the awful lingering question of “What’s the point of anything anymore?” is well developed by PD James. How quickly would society devolve into chaos and struggle to hold order when the future is taken from it? This story is a strong exploration into the meaning of life. So much of living seems to be purposed on propagation, people’s ability to leave something behind of themselves to share with the world. And yet, intermixed with this is mankind’s self-awareness. Beyond reproduction-what then? Perhaps that is the back on which society is born–the building block of morals and values? Of mutual respect and dignity.Theo’s redemption from abject callousness begins with the Five Fishes. This small group of miscreants has formed as a counterpoint to Xan’s puppet council of advisors. The group protests the apathy in which society is fading away. The lack of dignity in it all. They seem to cry out, that there is a point to life beyond the mere continuation of the species, beyond satisfaction of man’s most base animalistic needs. Being a direct relation to Xan, the group seeks Theo’s intercession–a last plea for change before things need to resort to violence. Theo is still floundering in his pointless existence and not particularly motivated to help them, so they urge him to see things as they really are. Here we learn that, unsurprisingly, Xan is not really meeting all society’s needs as well as he could. People are baptizing pets and treating dolls with unnatural attachment. The solution to crime, removing all troublemakers to an island to fend for themselves, may not be so straightforward a solution as it seems. And of course the Quietus, Theo is finally turned to the rebel cause, when he realizes that these dignified suicides are not so dignified or voluntary as he was led to believe when he was employed by Xan.The second part of the book becomes a sort of “Lord of the Rings” quest, when Theo wholly throws his lot in with the Five Fishes and they must race against time to fulfill their destiny. They scramble through the wilder parts of the world and attempt to do this one thing that might change everything, if only they can be left alone long enough to let it happen. It’s not so difficult to suspect what this might be, or where this story will end up. Yet, what is heartfelt is the sacrifices that the characters must make to accomplish their goal. Even more important is Theo’s discovery that he can actually feel real empathy and genuine love. The protagonist’s progression from his apathetic beginnings, devolution and surrender into ultimate detachment until at last he finds redemption for his soul and a purpose for all the buried pain is heartfelt. This is the real story. The imperfection of love and life and society, and how these pieces do not fit so cleanly together. In the end, Xan’s more rational, more calculated and more reasonable stratagems cannot win. Theo’s character is well-crafted and perhaps masterfully developed in his faults, and faltering growth.This book is the sort of thing that moves along at a decent enough pace. I’m not familiar with PD James’ other works, but I suspect this one differs from her more “thriller” type background. Initially, Theo’s career as an Oxford professor and his strange relationships in this dystopian future are stuffy and not overly interesting. That said, the setting is intriguing enough to peak your interest from the outset and the story finds its legs as it progresses along. However, the deeper themes and questions and evolving relationships are such that you don’t get a sense of what’s happened until you’ve finished reading. Then you set the book down and later it hits you. Wow.Podcast: If you enjoy my review (or this topic) this book and the movie based on it were further discussed/debated in a lively discussion on my podcast: “No Deodorant In Outer Space”. The podcast is available on iTunes or our website.

⭐ P.D. James crafted an incredibly enthralling and essential novel. The Children of Men comments on how hope is the only thing that matters. The story’s world is a horrible place to live. It is dark and desolate, countries across the globe have fallen. In this modern dystopia women have become infertile and mankind is rapidly approaching extinction. The novel explores the true nature of man when there is no future. Life becomes trivial if there is nobody to pass your achievements down to. When people have nothing to lose savagery ensues. As mentioned earlier hope (or the lack thereof at points) is a recurring motif throughout the piece. This motif is often expressed through children. In dystopian London the youngest person alive is 26 years old. This 26 year old is hailed as a messiah of sorts in the society and the last successful childbirth. After Julian gives birth her child becomes a beacon of hope for all who are around it. A society certain that they would be the last generation to walk the earth is finally given a reason to live. Without children the world becomes silent and depressing, each passing day represents humanity taking one collective step closer towards extinction. I believe that The Children of Men is an incredibly underrated novel, one which everyone should read. Not only is the book engaging but James shows off what a technically sound writer she is. The pacing of the novel was something that I thought was incredible. The story is always on the ‘upswing’ with every passing chapter (aside from a few here and there). Most chapters build off of each other becoming more interesting. James is also able to craft a few great characters in this story. Theodore Faron is one of the realest characters I have encountered since Holden Caulfield from ‘The Catcher in The Rye.’ Theodore Faron is far from a perfect character, the occasional inconsistency or hole in his development is what makes him seem truly real. People do not act consistently, humans are fickle. Theo is also a fairly crappy person. In the same breath Faron mentioned how horrible he felt about running over his infant daughter and how he did not love said daughter as much as himself. P.D. James’ commentaries on mankind in The Children of Men are something that needs to be recognized once again in our society. Mankind are still animals deep down and our ultimate goal as a people should always be securing the future. In this day and age we have become increasingly distracted from this primitive goal. War, politics, etc. have taken off of our original track. Overall, I believe that P.D. James’ The Children of Men is a very compelling story. It tells a fairly entertaining story, that is well-paced, and is technically sound. The concept of the story is also very original and one which narrates an important commentary on humanity. The novel has a lot going for it but for whatever reason I cannot say that it is incredible. The book does have a fairly slow beginning and does seem to get distracted at times. In conclusion, this book is one which is worth reading resulting in its 4 stars out of 5.

⭐ I picked up this book because I loved the movie and was interested in the source material. My primary issue with the book was the lack of engaging characters. We spend the vast majority of the book inside the head of a character while having realistic and relatable thoughts ends up seeming rather bland and two dimensional. I also find myself having similar issues with the other characters.

⭐ The Children of Men is a book that paints a disturbing picture – if human beings ceased to be born, what would happen to the world? How would we continue to function, knowing that as a species, we are dying out? There are some sad, touching moments in this book – the mass suicide of the elderly (willing or not), women cherishing dolls as if they were babies, and kittens being as the ageing population try to find a substitute for childbirth and child-rearing.The main character, Theo, is not instantly likeable, seemingly happy to be self-reliant and distanced from the people around him, teaching history to bored middle-aged women and reminiscing on his earlier years with his cousin Xan, Warden of England. However, as the story progresses, through his willingness to become involved with the underground who are striving to make the dying world a better place, even although on the surface he seems to most unlikely candidate for rebellion, and his particular way of caring for Julian, he develops into an intricate, fascinating character.The writing is incredibly descriptive, perhaps for some readers overly so, and I had to call up my dictionary more than once.There are some negatives to this book – I found the middle part to be incredibly slow-moving after a riveting start, however the action does pick up again. I also didn’t fully understand the relevance of The Painted Faces, and wanted to know more about what they represented and why they were terrorizing people so randomly.However, The Children of Men is today also a relevant social commentary, as the average life-span of humans continues to grow, in places the elderly outnumber the young and in first world countries the birth rate steadily falls, how immigration is managed (or mismanaged) by wealthier countries and the trial and punishment of criminals is undertaken. Perhaps, after reading P.D. James’ dystopia, there could be some changed opinions

⭐ I picked up this book after recently watching the 2006 Alfonso Cuarón adaptation. The movie, excellent in its own right, is quite different from the book.Instead of trying to paint a complete picture of dystopian world, James gives us a slice of one man’s extraordinary personal encounter with what many have accepted as the end of humanity. The story as a whole is good, but I think I appreciated more the anecdotal reflections of the characters about man, evil, power, God, etc.Reading this book, written in 1992 but set in 2021, can be a little jarring for the contemporary reader. The setting firmly (welcomely?) pre-dates the internet age, so it takes a bit of faith on the reader’s part to imagine a world without cell phones, computers, GPS devices. For the most part, the author works around the unknown of the future and lets you simply engage with the characters and their experiences.Part of me wishes the book were a bit longer, taking more time to get to know the characters towards the end. Overall, very happy with this book.

⭐ My favorite book. It’s hard for me to write in words how much this book impacted me. When I finished it I had to read it again and then again for the third time. There are passages of it I had to go back and read and really think about. It’s a cultural story, it’s a love story, it’s predictor of the future and can make you very sad or hopeful. Please read this book.

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