The Children of Men (Paperback)

by P.D. James (Author) "Early this morning, 1 January 2021, three minutes after midnight, the last human being to be born on earth was killed in a pub brawl..." (more)
Key Phrases: fertile sperm, porn shops, Warden of England, Five Fishes, State Security Police (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In her 12th book, the British author of the two series featuring Adam Dalgleish and Cordelia Gray ( Devices and Desires and An Unsuitable Job for a Woman , respectively) poses a premise that chills and darkens its setting in the year 2021. Near the end of the 20th century, for reasons beyond the grasp of modern science, human sperm count went to zero. The last birth occurred in 1995, and in the space of a generation humanity has lost its future. In England, under the rule of an increasingly despotic Warden, the infirm are encouraged to commit group suicide, criminals are exiled and abandoned and immigrants are subjected to semi-legalized slavery. Divorced, middle-aged Oxford history professor Theo Faron, an emotionally constrained man of means and intelligence who is the Warden's cousin, plods through an ordered, bleak existence. But a chance involvement with a group of dissidents moves him onto unexpected paths, leading him, in the novel's compelling second half, toward risk, commitment and the joys and anguish of love. In this convincingly detailed world--where kittens are (illegally) christened, sex has lost its allure and the arts have been abandoned--James concretely explores an unthinkable prospect. Readers should persevere through the slow start, for the rewards of this story, including its reminder of the transforming power of hope, are many and lasting. 125,000 first printing; BOMC main selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"A book of such accelerating tension that the pages seem to turn faster as one moves along." —Chicago Tribune

"As scary and suspenseful as anything in Hitchcock." —The New Yorker

"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

“Extraordinary … daring … frightening in its implications.”
—The New York Times

“She writes like an angel. Every character is closely drawn. Her atmosphere is unerringly, chillingly convincing. And she manages all this without for a moment slowing down the drive and tension of an exciting mystery.”
—The Times (UK) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446679208
• ISBN-13: 978-0446679206
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,212,109 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's a real dystopia, December 30, 2006

By	Frikle - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Children of Men (Paperback)

Note: for those who have seen the movie, remove your preconceptions when starting to read this book. It is quite unlike the movie.

The premise is simple - the entire human population has been rendered infertile. Any scientific attempts to find or fix the cause have failed spectatularly. And so, the world is heading to a very quiet and desperate extinction. The population ages and diminishes as people await the inevitable fading away of humanity. More importantly, hope and meaning have gone. There is no longer a point in doing anything because it will all soon disappear. The result is a world of atrocities and chaos. These have been largely avoided in the UK due to the rational dictatorship of the Warden and his cabinet, who have engineered calm and stability, with many tradeoffs on human rights and freedoms. Enter Otto, the Warden's cousin who is an academic and an unsympathetic snob. He is drawn into the beginnings of an extremely small, almost laughable rebellion, but one that changes Otto and the future of the country forever.

This is an extremely simple novel in its world description. Everything flows naturally from the premise, including all the new neuroses that society is stuck with. The book almost feels sparse. So if you insist on fast-paced thrillers only this is not for you. The reason I loved it was because in its sparseness it gives itself - and the reader - a lot of space to think and consider the issues. Unlike the movie where the government is sadistic and evil, things are much less black-and-white in the novel. There is almost an ambivalence for most of the work as to the question of whether the Warden's methods are wrong. The book is very emotional and almost spiritual -- James is magnificent at giving a sense of longing and nihilism present in a world that has no future. It's worth a read just for that.

43 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not slow at all..., October 27, 2006

By	Logical Libertine (Sarasota, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Children Of Men (Hardcover)

I have never read any works of PD James - however I wanted to read the inspiration to the film recently released.

Many reviewers feel that James is 'overly descriptive'... and yet I felt that was what kept me drawn in. Some writers 'write' ... PD James paints her story with her words. Not to mention so much of the descriptions were metaphores of the very stark world in which these characters found themselves in.

This isn't a book you rush through for plot... its a book you savor, with hopes that all will be well with the world in the end. Highly recommended.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Doomsday book, with a new wrinkle, March 16, 2007

By	Dave Schwinghammer "Dave Schwinghammer" (Little Falls, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Children of Men (Paperback)

As I was reading THE CHILDREN OF MEN, I couldn't help thinking about 1984 and BRAVE NEW WORLD. The similarities are certainly there. It's 2021 and England now has a dictator (or Warden). On the surface he seems benevolent enough, but he will do anything to stay in power. P.D. James also likes to employ the Greek alphabet, labeling the two sections of the book Omega and Alpha. The children born in the year 1995 are called Omegas. They are not only physically striking and intelligent, but also violent and cruel.

The book starts on Friday, January 1, 2021 and the last human being to be born on earth has been killed in a pub brawl. He was twenty-five years old. The narrator of the book is a college professor, Theo Faron, first cousin of the Warden of England and also once his principal adviser.

Faron joins forces with five people who are plotting against the warden's policies of voluntary suicide and deporting of criminals to the Isle of Man as well as the virtual enslavement of immigrants called Sojourners. Faron falls in love with one of the females, Julian, who he later learns is pregnant.

The theme of the novel seems to be "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts completely." The warden, a man named Xan, apparently started out with good intentions, but then used "the end justifies the means" to keep the surviving citizens of England safe. James shows us Xan's background to some degree, but I think he could use a bit more meat on his bones. Where did he go wrong? What incident provoked him into employing nefarious methods?

Much of the book reads like a thriller as Theo tries to help the five escape to Wales. James kept me turning pages and that's all you can ask from any book. I was especially impressed with the ending in that it merely suggests what might happen next, but she leaves enough clues so that you shouldn't have too much trouble formulating the ending she had in mind.