The Children of Men
- Donna Reddick
- Sep 12, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 1, 2021
A suspenseful and engaging take on the possible end of the world. - The Bordeaux Side
Title: The Children of Men
Author: P. D. James
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller
Publication Date: 05/15/2006
Publisher: Vintage
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 256
EAN/UPC: 9780307275431
US SRP: $14.49
Additional Format(s):
Digital Format(s):
Nook Book: $9.99
Summary:
The story takes place in 2021 and no children have been born since 1995. This was the year that it was found that the male population of the world was sterile. As a result of this people are really losing hope and most people now believe that the world is coming to an end. The government has changed and Great Britain is now ruled by a dictator, Xan Lyppiatt, and he prefers to use the title, Warden of England.
Theodore Faron is the protagonist and he is narrating the story. He is an Oxford historian and he happens to be the cousin of the warden. Theo previously was an advisor to the warden and he is approached by a female student, Julian, on behalf of a group known as the Five Fishes. The group would like to get a meeting with the warden and believe their best chance would be to go through Theo. The group is concerned with the way the government is currently run because it no longer has the usual court system, Parliament is operating in name only, and there is now a dictator which other citizens are scared to speak out against. Men and women are now subjected to mandatory fertility tests and mass suicides are encouraged with the elderly. Theo reluctantly agrees to meet with Xan for the group, but when he gets to the scheduled meeting he finds that he is meeting with the council as well. The meeting does not go well because the council members don’t like that he resigned and didn’t stay to help with all of the problems which they were facing. Xan believes that Theo is there for others and he lets it be known that he will not tolerate dissidents.
Theo explains to Julian that he wants no further involvement, but if she should ever need any help to come to see him. Later she sends one of the group members, Miriam, to bring Julian to her. He was hesitant to go and wanted to know why she didn’t come herself and Miriam explains to him that Julian is pregnant. Theo does go see her and helps them go on the run until after the baby is born. Julian doesn’t want the Warden to find out and try to capture her and the baby. She believes that he will try and use the baby to his political advantage.
The mood of the book is very suspenseful. The reader will remain intrigued and the ending was definitely not predictable.
My Review:
I enjoyed reading this book because it was very suspenseful. The plot and the characters were well developed. The main flaw was that it took a while for the story to really develop. It took approximately 70 pages before I could get really into it. This is probably because the beginning concentrated so much on explaining the childhood and background of Theo and Xan. It also discussed how their relationship developed over the years. I can understand why it was necessary to do this because it gives the reader some insight into how both characters think and why they behaved a certain way. I just wish that it could have been cut down some. The story does elicit a lot of feelings. It was very sad to read the part on the mass suicides which were encouraged by the government and how they tried to market it as something that people wanted to do. An interesting part of the story concerned how women felt such a strong need to be mothers that they were adopting kittens and pushing them around in strollers. It was interesting to see how maternal instincts or desires were demonstrated.
Theo’s character development was very well done. He starts out as a person that did not seem to really need to have anyone in his life, but after he meets Julian that changes. He learns how to genuinely love and care about others. This transformation was very well written.
Ratings:
Quality: 🍷🍷🍷🍷- Sparkling
The plot and the characters were very well developed. This is an interesting take on how the world may possibly end.
Popularity: 🍹🍹🍹- Meet Up
This book would be good for a book club to discuss because the characters are diverse and their experiences are varied. It could lead to a very lively discussion about aging, assisted suicide, women still experiencing maternal instincts, etc. This novel could be enjoyed by individuals that like science fiction, thrillers, or suspense.
Significance of the book:
This book is significant because it makes the reader consider how life may be different knowing that no other humans will be born. Will people end up losing hope, how will people think about government and security? It also makes people think about the value of relationships.
Author's website and reviews:
"A book of such accelerating tension that the pages seem to turn faster as one moves along." —Chicago Tribune
"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
Appeal Factors: Complex, Character-driven, Intricately plotted, Intensifying, Bleak, Menacing, Strong, Sense of place, Compelling, Richly detailed
Read-alike Titles:
Black Moon by Kenneth Calhoun - Intricately plotted, Compelling, Bleak, Pandemic apocalypse
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood - Character driven, Intricately plotted, Compelling
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi - Climate change apocalypse, Intensifying, Compelling
Awards:
The author has won numerous awards and this is a sample of those she’s won:
Best Novel Award, Mystery Writers of America
Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction
CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger (lifetime achievement award)
Grandmaster Award, Mystery Writers of America
Booktalking Ideas:
Theo’s character in the book goes from being a solitary person to becoming infatuated with Julian. When Theo describes his relationship with his ex-wife he admits that he was never very taken with her, it was something that he just thought he should do. He believed he should meet a nice professional woman, get married, and have a child. This relationship wasn’t able to last after their child died. He accidentally hit the child with his car while backing out of the driveway. However, after he has the initial interactions with Julian he feels totally different. In chapter 19 he sees her from a distance while shopping and this passage on page 131 demonstrate his feelings.
“I was seized with a ludicrous urge to dash to the flower stall, press notes into the florist’s hands, seize from their tubs the bundles of daffodils, tulips, hot-house roses and lilies, pile them into her arms and take the bag from her encumbered shoulder. It was a romantic impulse, childish and ridiculous, which I hadn’t felt since I was a boy. I had distrusted and resented it then. Now it appalled me by its strength, its irrationality, its destructive potential.”
I would probably follow this up and ask why Theo disliked feeling this vulnerable.
Book discussion questions:
How would you describe the relationship between Theodore and Xan?
Did you perceive any underlying moral tones in the book?
Children of Men was made into a movie in 2006, have you seen it and how does it compare to the book?
Why I Chose This Book:
Science fiction is a genre that I honestly do not know anything about, and I realize that I need to expose myself to it in order to assist patrons when they are looking for suggestions on something good to read in this genre. So I decided to ask one of my coworkers, who is a big science fiction reader for some recommendations. She knows the types of books I enjoy reading and she thought I might enjoy it. When I read the inside cover it really intrigued me and it seemed like the novel could be suspenseful as well. I was also drawn to it because it is occurring in 2021. Which I thought was kind of interesting considering this has been a unique and challenging year for us all.
Clues for the Future: Sterility, Warden of England, Dissidents
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