A Canticle for Leibowitz

Rating:
Summary: Faith and Reason Explored via Classic Apocalyptic SF
Review: This classic tale of nuclear holocaust is written in 3 sections; Fiat Homo (Let There Be Man), Fiat Lux (Let There Be Light) and Fiat Voluntas Tua (Thy Will Be Done). The "Flame Deluge" (i.e. nuclear holocaust) has occurred at the "twilight of the Age of Enlightenment" (i.e. the 1960s) and is already six centuries in the past as the story opens.

In the first section, we meet Brother Francis Gerard of Utah, a novice of the Catholic Albertian (named for Magnus Albertus, teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas and patron saint of scientists) Order of Leibowitz whose abbey is located in the southwestern desert. The Order had been founded by a weapons engineer before he was hanged by the post-Deluge mob during the time of "Simplification" along with all men of learning for their presumed role in the catastrophe. After many (well described) years of routine abbey life, Brother Francis is selected to make the long and arduous journey east on foot to deliver the "blessed blueprint" for the Church's canonization of Leibowitz. Unfortunately, on his way back to the Abbey, he is killed by a bandit.

The author is fond of representing the passage of time from the perspective of the buzzards of the region, repeating often that they "laid their eggs in season and lovingly fed their young." He adds comically that the buzzard "philosophers" have determined that the supreme being has tailored the world to their needs, since there is always so much to eat (perhaps implying similar deficiencies in our own thinking?). Eventually the great city-state Texarkana rises from the prior destruction.

By 3174 (6 centuries later), Texarkana Emperor Hannegan is plotting conquest against the other major powers of the time. A scholar of his court, Thon Taddeo, becomes interested in the Leibowitz documents. When he visits the Abbey, we feel the tension between the faithful, meek obedience of the monk scholars vs. his cold, skeptical, hungry and proud attitude (typical of the secular scholars). Like many seculars, he has had a loveless childhood and has used his great intellect as a weapon to humble those who have refused to love him. He views Hannegan's plottings for dominance as undesirable but inevitable and necessary to the support of his greatest goal, the revival of learning and civilization. Abbot Dom Paulo can't understand how the Thon can justify his emperor's acts in this way. This still speaks to us today, as we witness the moral ambiguity of learning and even civilization.

By 3781 (6 centuries later), spaceships have been developed and nuclear weapons again perfected. There is growing tension between Texarkana's empire and the Asian Coalition. When a nuclear explosion destroys an Asian city, it is unclear who is responsible. The Asians respond by destroying Texarkana in a nuclear counter-assault. The code phrase "Lucifer is Fallen" is used in the last Canticle of the Leibowitz Brethren (thus the title) to warn members of the church to prepare for the likely worldwide nuclear holocaust to come.

In the aftermath of these attacks, the main concern of seculars is mercy killing (they set up a clinic just outside the Abbey in the desert to voluntarily "terminate" those with terminal radiation sickness), while the church is caring for those hurt and activating its special plan to launch a spaceship containing a remnant of 58 scholars, priests, women and children and the precious documents that have been preserved by the Order of Leibowitz. A philosophical and theological climax is reached when, during an argument about whether to use the Abbey for secular clinic work, the main secular character, Dr. Cors, claims that "pain's the only evil I know about, its the only one I can fight" and that society is the sole arbiter of right and wrong. Abbot Zerchi later reflects "Dearest God, how did those two heresies get back into the world after all this time". As the book comes to its close, Abbot Zerchi is trapped in the wreckage of the Abbey after another nearby nuclear blast, and the
remnant is lifting off for their one-way journey into space.

The author explores the "sacralization" of knowledge in the absence of science. The Abbey's prized artifacts are the blessed blueprint, the sacred shopping list and the holy shrine of Fallout Shelter. The monks have very little idea as to the meaning of these writings and artifacts, but nonetheless make it their lives' work to preserve them as sacred items for some future time when they may be understood. The implication is that ancient writings considered sacred by religion are merely not well understood today and that, given sufficient knowledge, could become demystified commonplaces of natural science at some point in the future (i.e. an attempt to reconcile faith and reason by elevating reason above faith).

Despite this, it seems likely that the author was a believer (he took his own life in 1997). He displays deep knowledge of and respect for catholicism (latin quotations pervade the story). As he grapples with the question of faith vs. reason, he sees that knowledge isn't enough to solve man's dilemma. All of man's attempts to create order (without God) eventually fail (giving the impression of an endless cycle of creation and destruction as portrayed in the book). A key role of the church is to preserve ancient knowledge during the inevitable dark years (even rediscovering some technical knowledge), but the author doesn't seem to develop the theme that a solution is available to this dilemma. When man admits his own knowledge and abilities are insufficient and seeks God's help, he finds forgiveness, moral insight and guidance, and courage to do what is right.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book with a flawed sequel
Review: The only book published by Walter Miller, a Canticle for Leibowitz is a timeless morality play that applies today as well as it did in 1959. Though some of the technology alluded to in the book is outdated, it is vague enough to prevent this from "merely" being an excellent book from the golden age of science fiction.

I would not have written a review at all if it were not for another review, which took its pro-Catholic stance as a reason to condemn it. Alas, this poor feminist of unknown gender did not understand that this was a book about a monastery (of monks0 and was expected to be lacking in women. A novel of a nunnery filled with male characters would have equally appalled me.

But that is beside the point. The novel is excellent as it stands. It is not biased towards the Catholic Church despite the accolades from the Christian Science Monitor -- and I am sure that I can say that ANY Christian Scientist would be shocked to learn that their Protestant denomination is an arm of the Catholic Church! Instead, I would put it as slightly heretical if anything. The story of the cenobite on his pilgrimage is enough to cast away idea that this work is propaganda of the RCC. And, unfortunately, that same story, which contained a total of two characters, the aforementioned monk and the appearance of the "Wandering Jew" did not have an opening for a female character. Perchance she could have appeared when the holy monk was trying to stone the Wandering Jew for wandering too near...

Alas, I will end this as my sarcasm ebbs. This really is a fun, irreverent book with a real moral: a moral about both nuclear war and the folly of forgetting one's past. All science fiction fans, even those who dislike golden age science fiction, should read this book.

As for the sequal, St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman, I could not finish it. While it was being written some 30+ years after Canticle with a co-writer, Miller took his own life, but sequal was completed and published despite this event. The only good news is that the sequal did not ruin my love for the original.

Rating:
Summary: Man May Perish, but Catholicism Shall Save Us
Review: As I recall, the copy I read included a hearty endorsement by the Christian Science Monitor. No wonder, as this terribly skewed book portrays the Catholic church as a preserver and creator of all worthwhile human knowledge and ingenuity through the "dark ages" of past and future. There is some small historical basis on which this post-apocalyptic tale of the church is written, though again history is viewed through jesus-colored-glasses.
If you're a hardcore feminist, you'll enjoy the fact that the *first* female character appears over 200 pages into the paperback. She's shrieking in horror at something, and we never see her again after she runs from the room.
The first female character we actually get to know is a woman who kills herself and her child, despite the best efforts of the head monk to convince her not to sin.
Though Jesus returns as a woman. And then that horrible Jew who turned Jesus away millenia ago finally gets to die.
On a positive note, it's a well written book, and it stands up to analytical literary standards. It's just very biased. So I give it two stars instead of one.
This novel WAS a groundbreaking one in some respects, and so it has been referenced frequently and subtly (Babylon5 & Terry Pratchett to name a couple). Read this book if you want to understand the development of sci-fi better.
Or if you're Roman Catholic, or just a bible nut.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the Best Book Ever
Review: I would have to rate this book as one of my favorites. If you're looking for a chilling story that will stay with you, then this is a good book. It is remarkably easy to read, yet unlike most modern "literature", the story has depth.

"Liebowitz" is divided into three separate parts, with the first and the last being able to stand alone, yet when put together compliment each other. The second part, on the other hand, needs the other two chapters.

I first read this book for my Sophmore English class in High School. I just recently read it again. In the years that I matured, the meaning of the story changed greatly.

I would recomend this book to anyone, young or old, who wants to read a wonderful piece of literature, or just wants a good story.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating - Sci-Fi for the Non Sci-Fi-er
Review: This is a great all-around tale. Fans of more story-driven sci-fi will enjoy as much as people who simply enjoy a great story. One of only 2 sci-fi books that I own (see also 'The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich' by P. K. Dick). A grim warning of what could become of the world after a nuclear holocaust-type event wipes out everything..leaving only brief and hard-to-descipher bits of written language from 'the past' (our present)..in this case..a grocery list from a Jewish family..including bagels! Funny and brutal, this is a oft-forgotten or overlooked classic.

Rating:
Summary: why is this book like the movie Psycho?
Review: Because both are classics that revolutionized the genre. When you watch Psycho, it doesn't seem that great because the techniques that the movie pioneered has been adapted by almost every other movie that followed it.

When this book came out, apparently it was a groundbreaking, astonishingly original book. I grew up reading books that (I now realize) must have been heavily influenced by this book. Having read the imitators, I don't think I was so impressed by this work as some of the people who read it when it came out, but still, it's a rattling good read.

In that context, I must rate this book 5 stars. Bravo.

Rating:
Summary: Rising From the Ashes?
Review: Miller's theme is that of man's inability to rise from the ashes and restore scientific knowledge without his base instincts causing him to use that regained knowledge to obliterate himself. As compared to the noble monks of St. Liebowitz, secular man fails to master himself not once but twice in successive nuclear holocausts.

As for the authorship of this novel, I found that the story is not based upon a character development model. It isn't about characters, it is about the theme. This novel is a good read if you like disturbed mutants and abstract discussions regarding man's desire to self-destruct. I, personally, enjoy both and Miller's commentary on man's self-destructive tendencies is right on point.

If you don't read this novel, you will be missing out on a classic. Miller's authorship is about as good as they come for classic fiction.

Rating:
Summary: you dont need me to tell you this is a classic...
Review: ...but i might as well.

i first read "canticle for liebowitz" some 30 years back when i was a high school student. (thanx for the recommendation, mrs solomon). since then, evry few years i have come back to it and with each re-reading find it a richer experience. miller's splendid storytelling weaves three related and distinct tales, each separated by six centuries, yet each linked by the commonality of the search for truth.

i suppose the first section, laying out the tale of brother francis gerard of utah, is the most celebrated in that as in all trilogies, the first section is the one that most easily stands alone; but the two later sections are equally wonderful in portraying the battle among blind faith, informed faith, technological wisdom, and naivete -- all finally adding up to something akin to truth.

and now to read the sequel, which has been sitting on my bookshelf for the past several months.

if this WAS miller's only book, his is once again proof of the value of quality over quantity.

Rating:
Summary: What a Book!
Review: WOW! I haven't much to say about the theme, because I haven't analyzed it enough. But I can say some very optimistic things about "Canticle:"

Though the characters are not very personal and emotionally developed, they are very well developed in terms of their roles in society, religion and to show us what this story is all about. You become attached to them, even if they do not touch you in a personal way. And a good thing too, because each segment is a few hundred years apart, you must move on.

As far as I could tell, from my point of view and others, the story was based on how humanity will not learn from their mistakes, and how science and technology don't mesh well with faith and religion.

The ending was expected when I read it, but later I realized that the climax is less important than the theme itself.

As for the characters, Leibowitz and Rachel are the most important to me, because they are connected in a not-so-subtle way, by the fact that they are the "hope" for the next civilization. We can refer them both to the "Wandering Jew" story. They were the chosen ones by Christ to live forever. Think about it, because it made a superb point in my presentation in class.

So, as I conclude, I can say that this book is definitely worth buying, if not, then reading over and over again, to satisfy your hunger for some good old sci-fi enrichment. I just hope that you know Latin.

Rating:
Summary: A Book to Read and Re-Read...And Then Read Some More!
Review: What an amazing story this is! Other reviewers have discussed the plot, characters, and setting, so I will bypass all that. A few other things then:

First, if you are Catholic and grew up before the Second Vatican Council, when everything was still in Latin, you're really going to feel at home here. If not, most of the Latin can be figured out from the context of the story.

Second, apart from a magnificent sci-fi story, there are some larger issues worth considering: The relationship of science and technology to religion; the reaction of the masses to scientific disaster; the sanctity of human life; finding holiness in secular activities; the old tomater woman and the need to forgive God (that one set me back on my heels!); Rachel, innocence, and redemption; the Church as the vehicle for continuing Divine Truth and human civilization; the question of history as cyclic or linear.

Third, Babylon 5 fans will want to watch out for some Leibowitz' references, such as G'Kar's eyeball, and the Rangers.

Of all the fiction books I have enjoyed, sci-fi or otherwise, "A Canticle for Leibowitz" is my very favorite and I have read it many, many times.