Rating: 
Summary: Science fiction for people who hate science fiction
Review: I snap up old used copies of "Mockingbird" whenever I find them so that I can loan it out with impunity. I have yet to find a person who has not liked or loved the book, including my science-fiction-hating mother and husband. This would be an outstanding book for a high school English course, or for a book discussion group.
Rating: 
Summary: Re-read after a long time...
Review: I sought this book out using Amazon's new "full-book" search feature. I had read it as a kid, but couldn't remember the title or the author. It was great reading it again. I appreciated Tevis' way with storytelling and the fact that he didn't waste time with too much scientific explanation.
Rating:
Summary: Re-read after a long time...
Review: I sought this book out using Amazon's new "full-book" search feature. I had read it as a kid, but couldn't remember the title or the author. It was great reading it again. I appreciated Tevis' way with storytelling and the fact that he didn't waste time with too much scientific explanation.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite future novels
Review: I think the other reviews explain and commend this book pretty thoroughly, I just wanted to add one more 5 star review. If you're still sitting on the fence when you're reading this, get off! And buy this book! It was unavailable for many years, buy it while you still can!
Rating:
Summary: Mockingbird by Walter S. Tevis
Review: If I had a classroom of students before me, no matter what the subject I was suppposed to be teaching, I would give them Mockingbird. I would count myself lucky to have just one of these students understand or appreciate this profoundly humbling work. Understated, plain-spoken yet intensly personal, this is the kind of writing that many writers spend a lifetime trying to perfect. In "Mockingbird", Tevis gives us notice that the failure to read is the failure to dream. That he manages to convey this deeply disturbing message in such sparse and spare language is nothing short of a miracle. Any words I can say about this monumental achievement are obviously destined for failure, and rightfully so. Plainly said, if you never read a book again, this is the one you should start, and end with.
Rating:
Summary: Walter's Masterpiece
Review: If I had a classroom of students before me, no matter what the subject I was suppposed to be teaching, I would give them Mockingbird. I would count myself lucky to have just one of these students understand or appreciate this profoundly humbling work. Understated, plain-spoken yet intensly personal, this is the kind of writing that many writers spend a lifetime trying to perfect. In "Mockingbird", Tevis gives us notice that the failure to read is the failure to dream. That he manages to convey this deeply disturbing message in such sparse and spare language is nothing short of a miracle. Any words I can say about this monumental achievement are obviously destined for failure, and rightfully so. Plainly said, if you never read a book again, this is the one you should start, and end with.
Rating:
Summary: Mockingbird by Walter S. Tevis
Review: If you ever know of anyone that has given up on reading, give them this one last book to read. Another Tevis masterpiece. Written simply and exactly from the point of view of two of the three main characters and narratively from the third. The adventure is terrific, the plot is solid and the twist, although it doesn't exactly come as a surprise, it puts the reader in the perspective of the drugged population for a moment who would not dare to imagine. Tevis accomplishes this easily by making everything else so perfect that the reader, while marvelling at what he is reading, is distracted from the direction it is taking him in.
There are many books you do not need to turn the page to know what is going to happen next, their plots loosely following a formula. Loosely enough that the content feels new, but enough that you don't feel that the author had anything of importance to say. This not one of those books. Tevis is not one of those authors. I was constantly surprised by the direction the story went in and barely anything that I was expecting to happen- happened. But the best part of the book for me, was the way Tevis managed to describe the world through the words of Bentley. Bentley was a simple, lonely man struggling to understand a whole new world that had opened up to him. He writes like a child, yet not childishly. He is a man who is experiencing everything for the first time, teaching himself and expanding his horizons while he reads; his loneliness, breifly muted with his almost spiritual connection with dead authors and poets instigating feelings which he previously had no words to describe. I get the feeling that the larger part of Bentley's character closely resembles Tevis' own, just as Bryce's did in Man Who Fell. Somehow they are always teachers. All in all, Tevis creates an all too believable image of the future:- Mankind paying a price for not thinking far ahead enough and their children paying the price for their mistakes. Incase you're wondering about the Empire State building relevance, it is addressed in a wonderful statement near the end of the book that sums up Mankind perfectly.
Rating:
Summary: a nihilistic story with a glimmer of hope
Review: Mockingbird is the only work of science fiction that I have wanted to read repeatedly. I bought this book years ago from a street vendor for 25 cents and it was the best 25 cents I ever spent. I have read it at least 3 times and I'm getting ready to delve in once again and then pass it along to a friend in England. I loved the singularly brave nature of the main characters who don't allow the dullness of other humans to kill their spirit. A book I will press on my daughter when she is old enough to appreciate it!
Rating:
Summary: A Nearly Perfect Cautionary Future Tale
Review: Since the earliest science fiction novels, the novel of a future gone bad, or "dystopian" novel, has become a staple of the genre.
One thing I like about science fiction is the use of present trends to extrapolate the shortcomings of our current directions.
In this way, science fiction "about the future" has never been really "about the future", but instead about the time we currently live in, enlivened by scientific or social speculation.
The key issue, though, is how to keep the ideas fresh and relevant, because so many of these novels have been written. Mockingbird avoids the "oft told tale" pitfalls that can too easily beset this genre. Tevis accomplishes the task by
creating believable characters, biting satire, and a pacing that is both leisurely and consistently interesting. We are in a time when humankind's pursuit of happiness has
been reduced to the pursuit of pleasure. Mechanical inventions have eliminated the need to read, to write or to work.
The zero hour work week is imminent. Who happens to the soul when it is freed from the mind?
Tevis answers the question brilliantly. This book is
a solid, strong read--it's a linear text, with little
time wasted on metaphysical author's voice. It uses quiet (if piercing) satire liberally, but not to the distraction of the plot. Tevis shows us a future all too much like our present,
only the trains have stopped running on time. My only criticism is that we are shown all the "no exit" spots in this dysfunctional world, but too few of the ways of escape. Highly recommended. Anyone who thought Tevis' Man Who Fell to Earth was a bit difficult to follow will find this one
a breeze and yet a very thought-provoking book.
Rating:
Summary: A Nearly Perfect Cautionary Future Tale
Review: Since the earliest science fiction novels, the novel of a future gone bad, or "dystopian" novel, has become a staple of the genre.
One thing I like about science fiction is the use of present trends to extrapolate the shortcomings of our current directions.
In this way, science fiction "about the future" has never been really "about the future", but instead about the time we currently live in, enlivened by scientific or social speculation.
The key issue, though, is how to keep the ideas fresh and relevant, because so many of these novels have been written. Mockingbird avoids the "oft told tale" pitfalls that can too easily beset this genre. Tevis accomplishes the task by
creating believable characters, biting satire, and a pacing that is both leisurely and consistently interesting. We are in a time when humankind's pursuit of happiness has
been reduced to the pursuit of pleasure. Mechanical inventions have eliminated the need to read, to write or to work.
The zero hour work week is imminent. Who happens to the soul when it is freed from the mind?
Tevis answers the question brilliantly. This book is
a solid, strong read--it's a linear text, with little
time wasted on metaphysical author's voice. It uses quiet (if piercing) satire liberally, but not to the distraction of the plot. Tevis shows us a future all too much like our present,
only the trains have stopped running on time. My only criticism is that we are shown all the "no exit" spots in this dysfunctional world, but too few of the ways of escape. Highly recommended. Anyone who thought Tevis' Man Who Fell to Earth was a bit difficult to follow will find this one
a breeze and yet a very thought-provoking book.
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