The Children of Men - P. D. James

The Children of Men (P. D. James, 1992)

I have to admit, I saw the movie before I read this. And - though it pains me to write this - the movie is better than the book. It takes the best element of the book, namely the premise, and grafts on memorable characters and a more powerful plot.

So let's start with the premise. It's the year 2021, and all men have been sterile since around 1995. Scientists have worked furiously to determine a cause for the universal sterility of sperm to no avail, and the aging population of the earth is trying to adjust itself to a world without children or a future.

The strongest part of this book is how it fleshes out the likely consequences of universal sterility. The government starts sponsoring mandatory fertility tests and porn shops as human interest in sex dwindles. Some women think they are pregnant, even going into psychosomatic labor. Others treat dolls or kittens like their children, having them baptized and wheeling them around in strollers. The young people of the last generation, dubbed Omegas, are coddled and feared; the Omegas themselves are slightly psychotic, antisocial, and adrift. The utter inevitability of the human race's extinction casts a unique atmosphere over the whole book.

Unfortunately, the plot and characters are not as strong as they could be. England is ruled by the all-powerful Warden. His cousin, Theo Faron, becomes involved with an unlikely group of revolutionaries who carry hope for a new generation. When they go on the run from the Warden, things just start happening for no reason. The ending especially seems forced, hurried, and somewhat pointless. It's unfortunate, because the book could have been very powerful if things weren't so muddled. Still, the premise alone makes it worth reading.

Arbitrary rating: 3 out of 5 psychosomatic labors

The Alienist - Caleb Carr

The Alienist (Caleb Carr, 1994)

Starting with a midnight call to a grisly crime scene, The Alienist mixes history, psychology, and suspense to tell the story of a serial killer loose on the streets of New York City in 1896. The historical details are interesting - it's wild to imagine a world where fingerprinting isn't admissible court evidence - but they don't get in the way of the story, which is well plotted and well paced.

Since this serial killer preys on immigrant male child prostitutes, and since there is no immediately obvious way to tie anyone to the killings, the corrupt police department is not particularly keen on investigating. Undaunted, Commissioner of Police Theodore Roosevelt (yes, that Theodore Roosevelt) authorizes an alternative investigation led by eminent alienist (a.k.a. psychologist) Laszlo Kreizler, which tries to identify the killer by creating a full physical and psychological profile, based on the known facts surrounding the gruesome, yet consistent, killings. The closer they get to the truth, the more they court danger, not only from the killer but from New York gangs, the upper crust, and even the established police force, who resent Roosevelt.

The action is bracing when it hits, and the character development in between the action is well done. Probably the most exciting part is the investigation itself: we get the same thrill of affirmation as Kreizler's team when their careful, studied, yet ultimately tenuous deductions turn up solid clues. The intellectual exercise and the thrill of the hunt combine to make this a great read. Its pleasures are solid and composed: there is no outrageous plot twist, no surprise ending, just a well-told story of people working against time to prevent the atrocities of a deeply disturbed soul.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 tenuous deductions

The Cost of Discipleship - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Cost of Discipleship (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1936)

It seems like most of the discussion around this book centers on Bonhoeffer's subsequent life and death as a martyr in Nazi Germany. Even the copy I have includes an extensive introduction with an overview of his life and some poems he wrote while in the concentration camps. Granted, that is a very powerful source of discussion: here we have a theological treatise whose author lived it out dramatically, hanged as a traitor to his country for acting on his convictions, forfeiting his life rather than selling his soul.

However, I think it's worthwhile to look at the book on its own, especially since it was not written as a treatise on martyrhood, but as a spiritual wake-up call to every Christian believer. The German title of the book is Nachfolge, or Follow After, and it is a lengthy, detailed sermon on what it means to follow after Jesus, according to the Gospels and the letters of Paul.

Bonhoeffer starts with a discussion of cheap grace. Though a staunch Lutheran, ready to defend the doctrine of salvation through faith alone, he realizes the idea of God's grace has been diluted in his day, and the concept of giving one's life in response and thankfulness to God has been traded for using the doctrine of faith to justify living for the self and the world. He correctly understands that the free gift of God's forgiveness can only be received by those who renounce their old life and give over control to God.

To expound on what “giving over control to God” looks like, he devotes a large portion of the book to the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. Bonhoeffer's discussion is right on target, focusing on the completely revolutionary call of Jesus for how his disciples should live in the world. Rather than seeking power or status, he calls his followers to be meek, humble, poor in spirit, peacemakers; to do good without seeking approval or praise from others; to examine the heart's motivations rather than the outward appearance of morality; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

The Cost of Discipleship has relevant things to say to any Christian, and it does a good job of explaining and elaborating the fundamentals of Christianity and Christian living. It is pretty lengthy, and, though translated, the sentences can go on awhile, as I'm sure they do in the original German. The spiritual truths and challenges are worth the reading work, though.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 cheap graces