This Is the Way the World Ends

Rating:
Summary: Sign Your Life Away
Review: "This Is the Way the World Ends" is a moving, surreal book dealing with the ultimate cost of World War Three - extinction. George Paxton is one of six survivors saved from the nuclear war. The evacuees are on a submarine heading for the Antarctic, where they will face trial by the "Unadmitted" - the would-have-been descendents of those killed by the holocaust. George had signed a sales contract for a survival suit that would have saved his four-year-old daughter. The contract indicated he would do nothing to stop any nuclear war that may take place in the near future.

A short time later George saw first-hand the results of a holocaust he did nothing to stop. The innocents mutilated by blast, fire and radiation; thousands of years of human progress literally gone within a flash. One of the unforeseen effects of the nuclear war is time distortion. While a day passes for George on the submarine, years elapse for the dwindling population trying to live in a post-holocaust world. A world devastated by the effects of nuclear winter, ultraviolet light, plague, mutation and sterility.

George and his fellow defendents then have to justify their motives for allowing the ultimate atrocity to occur. Guilty or not guilty?

There is a mountain of books out there dealing with the nuclear holocaust, but this novel still comes across as original, sad and witty. You do have to read the book with an open mind. It's like one of those weird French films. I can just imagine the French making a film of something like this, along the lines of "La Jetee" or "Le Dernier Combat". As a satire, this book is excellent. When you find out how the holocaust started, you won't know whether to laugh or cry.

It's ironic to think that our fates depend on the decisions we make. Our lives are in the hands of people we vote for. The decisions seem sensible at the time, but then they become regrettable. In the most harrowing way, this book deals with consequences that come from an abundance of bad decisions.

Rating:
Summary: Even Bad Morrow Is Great Literature
Review: "This is the Way the World Ends" is one of James Morrow's early works, and when comparing it (somewhat unfairly) with more recent novels, like the Towing Jehovah trilogy, it's easy to see his progression as a writer, both in terms of ideas and style. While remaining firmly in the 'snooty intellectual' camp Morrow himself satirizes in his later books, "TITWTWE" is still a good read, and is a unique addition to the field of post-apocalyptic fiction.

Sandwiched between bookends of Nostradamus, the plot revolves around main character George Paxton, an everyman who carves tombstones for a living and worries about his family. When his neighbor invents something called a "scopas suit" that promises to be the device to change the nuclear balance of power, by allowing its wearer to survive and thrive after a nuclear exchange, George finds he cannot afford one - but makes a deal with a strange shopkeeper to get one on the cheap. On his way home, World War III erupts and George is caught almost at Ground Zero as he watches his family die from intense radiation poisoning.

That is just the setup for the meat of the book. George is rescued by a submarine and taken to Antarctica with five other survivors, to be put on trial for ending the human race. The judge, jury, and executioners? A race called "unadmitted humans," who came to be in the time-altering effects of the War. They bleed black blood and only live for a short time, but they nurse George to health so he can stand trial. Those familiar with "Blameless in Abaddon" will recognize the trial as a means for Morrow to tell his story, and the reader is intended to sympathize with those who created the nuclear conflict through lies like "mutual assured destruction," "deterrence," and so forth.

It may be an artifact of the Reagan years, but Morrow's "TITWTWE" remains a solid piece of literature, even if it tapers off (as another review put it, the middle is a part you have to force yourself to get through). Morrow's prose flows easily, and the trial is a clear indictment of both the no-nukes crowd and those who rely on nuclear weapons instead of human intelligence to solve problems. As usual, Morrow neatly destroys the traditional dualism inherent in the nuclear debate, leaving the reader to formulate new conclusions after the two most popular choices have been proven wrong. It may not be his best work, but it's worth checking out, and it belongs on any post-apocalyptic aficionado's shelf.

Rating:
Summary: A hilarious satire of the nuclear world.
Review: Although this book now comes off feeling somewhat dated, with the passing of the Cold War, it still stands as one of the best satires of the nuclear age. After the button is pushed, those held responsible for destroying the world, from a general down to worried parent who bought a SCOPAS anti-nuclear protection suit for his daughter, are judged by the Unadmitted- everyone who never got to live due to the world's premature destruction. Morrow at his allegorical, fantastic best.

Rating:
Summary: Worth thinking about
Review: I disagree with this writer on a lot of things-most notably all his other books (especially The City of Truth, his book about how wonderful it is to be a liar). However, this book is worthwhile; although disagreeable in many ways to my particular worldview. Let it never be said that Mr. Morrow does not have a brain. A lot of thought has obviously gone into this book. I just hope all those who read it put forth some of their own in response...this book deserves it.

Rating:
Summary: So this is the way the world ends... pretty lame
Review: I felt this book did little to captivate my attention. The introduction, with the use of the prophet, made it somewhat interesting, but then the book dragged on and on. The main character never seemed developed enough. This book bogs one down with pointless descriptions of EACH different type of nuclear weapon. The average reader will find this quite time consuming decifering what Morrow is trying to add here. I've read a few books about the world ending, but this one does little to excite me in terms of content. The actual destruction was brief, and 80% of the book seemed quite pointless. Either way, I hope you find a better book than this, especially if you enjoy these kind of novels.

Rating:
Summary: I liked this book
Review: I like end of the world books and this book was pretty cool. It made me want to go out and dig a serious bomb shelter. Actually, I've always wanted a bomb shelter. Like a big kid's fort.

This book was pretty harsh. The last EOW book I read that wasd this brutal was a book called Earth the new frontier. Both of these books are stark and vivid on the end of world scene.

Rating:
Summary: Certainly one of the best books ever written...period.
Review: I've just finished reading This is the Way the World Ends for the third time. I could read it another three times in the next week. It's a very visual book, never lacking in description. From the effects of radiation sickness to the plummage of a Teratornis, Morrow has delivered exactly the right amount of storytelling--not so little that you don't understand it, and not so much that you find yourself peeking ahead to the next chapter for a change of pace. It's worth the cover price just to hear Nostrodamus trying to explain twentieth century colloquialisms. --Darren Jame

Rating:
Summary: Armageddon and audacity mix in this darkly humorous tale.
Review: If Lewis Carrol, Douglas Adams and St. John the Divine had found some way to collaborate on a novel about the end of the world, the result might have been nearly as good as this masterwork by James Morrow. Fantasy, science fiction and humour, all of the darkest variety, mingle with horror, touching sensitivity, and piercingly brutal insights on the nature of man as the reader follows George Paxton, a simple gravestone engraver, to the the end of the world -- and beyond.

Not for the faint of heart or mind, "This is the Way the World Ends" rewards on many levels. Be sure to buy a resilient copy of this book, for it is worthy of repeated readings.

Rating:
Summary: Morrow constructs a wild end-of-world scenario
Review: In the same vein as the black comedy "Dr. Strangelove", "This Is The Way The World Ends" is a true achievement in cautionary satire. The men who helped launch the war and the civilian fighting for his life are held accountable for the world's destruction. Paxton's near-death and final reckoning with his family are among the most poignant work in any piece of fiction I've ever read.

To remember just how real the nuclear threat was not even so long ago, "This Is The Way The World Ends" is an absolute must-read.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and Moving
Review: It is rare to find a book that is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying. James Morrow's vicious and honest indictment of human madness and the complicity of inaction acheives both. This is not an easy book, becuase it doesn't flinch or pull a single punch. Few writers have the courage to directly confront issues of morality and religon head on, but Morrow does. It is a testament to his skill that after reading three of his books, I still could not decide if he was a devout Christian or a devout Atheist. (I've since found out he is a devout skeptic, which is healthy enough, I guess). I haven't yet embarked on his "Godshead Trilogy," but after this book, "City of Truth," and "Only Begotten Daughter," I know the glass knife of his wit is no accident. In a way, it is a shame he gets shelved in science fiction, since his is every bit the literary child of Swift and Twain. Kids will read him in future High Schools, if he and his books aren't burned as heretical first...