Re: The scientific aspects always seemed secondary to me
Brian Send a noteboard - 19/09/2009 10:07:28 AM
I have a copy that is so old the pages have all separated from the binding.
I love those books. They are some of my favorite ones in all honesty. I sometimes come across these books in antique shops, and second hand book stores that are beat to hell, and you know that someone, somewhere loved that book enough to read it until it was about to fall apart. I have a very very old copy of Stranger in a Strange Land that's like that.
I always felt this book was really more about the isolation of an individual who is (so far as he knows) the only of his kind left, having to deal with a world that is completely changed and the crushing sadness of having lost his family. Can you imagine anything worse than having to take your dead loved one to a huge firepit and she gets thrown in with all the other plague victims? *shudder* There is also the added emotional shock at the end of the book, when Neville realizes that HE is now the enemy and the scourge to the budding society that is being rebuilt by the survivors. HE is legend.
Indeed, and to me, that's why the ending of the book, and closing with the simple sentence of "I am legend" was so brilliant. It's understated, incredibly powerful, and completely accurate all at once.
Seriously though...for me the worst part of the book was the dog part. That was just....soul crushing. The poor guy is so alone and tries so hard to save this poor little dog, the first possible companion he's had in years, and nothing he does can save it.
The scientific aspects always seemed to me to play more of a supporting role, giving Neville a sense of purpose at a time when he needed it most. I always thought that his immunity as the result of a vampire bat bite was super flimsy as an explanation, and the idea of his research felt more like a vehicle Matheson used to get Neville off his duff and doing something constructive. It forced him out of his safe-haven and basically delivered him into the clutches of the vampires. Of course, we all know this isn't a good idea. World taken over by vamps, you're the only person left, STAY IN YOUR REINFORCED HOUSE, MAN! But of course, his interaction with Ruth makes that impossible, and he is forced to realize that his fate has been sealed much longer than he thought.
So, really, I guess I agree that the microscope and all the other things he does to figure out his enemy aren't necessarily accurate as far as actual applied science goes, but sometimes you just have to suspend all that in favor of a good adventure. Yeah?
So, really, I guess I agree that the microscope and all the other things he does to figure out his enemy aren't necessarily accurate as far as actual applied science goes, but sometimes you just have to suspend all that in favor of a good adventure. Yeah?
Oh I agree, which is why I liked it so much, but it was still a little bit jarring when you're going along and really liking a story, and then the other part of your brain kicks in and goes "I'm sorry, I can't believe this, it's a bit too ridiculous." It only passes through my brain for an instant, but it almost kicks you out of the story. Now...I suspect that if I had read this...oh, 40 or 50 years ago, I probably wouldn't have had the same reaction, I think it's more a problem with modern learning than it is with the book itself.
So, I Am Legend by Matheson....
- 19/09/2009 01:01:40 AM
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The scientific aspects always seemed secondary to me
- 19/09/2009 02:31:46 AM
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Re: The scientific aspects always seemed secondary to me
- 19/09/2009 10:07:28 AM
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For those of you who like the book but not the (recent) movie . . . .
- 21/09/2009 07:06:39 PM
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