Canticle
Born in Florida in 1923, author Walter M. Miller Jr. served in the Army Air Forces as a radioman and tail gunner, flying more than 50 bombing missions over Italy during WWII. He was a fixture in sci-fi magazines, having more than 30 stories published from 1951-’57. He wrote only two novels, 40 years apart. The first, A Canticle for Leibowitz, was published in ’59 and is still selling modestly today, never having gone out of print. It received the Hugo Award for Best Novel by The World Science Fiction Convention. I just finished it. It’s a post-apocalyptic tale set from circa 3200–3800, although one source claims 2600, which illustrates my difficulty with the novel. Earth has not yet recovered fully from a nuclear war in the 1960’s. At the start life seems more like that of the dark ages, although electricity is about to be rediscovered. The action centers around a monastery out west, USA, where the staff preserves mankind’s knowledge, even things not fully understood. It is part satire, as it seems Leibowitz, an electrician who survived the nuclear holocaust only to be murdered, martyred, is canonized in part because of a shopping list he made out that no one knows the meaning of. But religion is treated fairly throughout the narrative, so it’s not correct to dub it a hit on faith. Characters move in and out. The tone is grim. It is a tough read geared perhaps to the smartest readers. Latin is used constantly. I skipped most of it. I’m surprised I stayed with it until the end. As usual I cherrypicked excerpts: “In the same way all change comes to pass, I fear. And I’m sorry it is so. It will come to pass by violence and upheaval, by flame and by fury, for no change comes calmly overt the world.” It would be tough to argue against that except for the internet. And: “The closer men came to perfecting for themselves a paradise, the more impatient they seemed to become with it, and with themselves.” And: “Bombs and tantrums, when the world grew bitter because the world fell somewhat short of half-remembered Eden.” That’s a novel explanation for mankind’s folly, restlessness. There are also arguments about abortion and euthanasia along the way. I was frequently lost, puzzled. The 313 pages of the Bantam paperback read like a heckuva lot more. 3397 users at Amazon have rated A Canticle…, forging to a consensus of 4.4 on a scale of five. It has been adapted three times, only on radio. It is ranked 16th on the planets.org Top 100 sci-fi books of all-time. The sequel, Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman, was published posthumously. Miller passed away at 72 in 1996. A canticle is a “hymn or chant, typically with a biblical text, forming a regular part of a church service.” I imagine a lot are being offered these troubled days. Photo from Google Images:
It’s always fun to see leftists turn on one of their own. Headline from foxnews.com: “Buttigieg chased from event by left-wing climate activists: ‘Petro Pete is a coward’.”
For the past week I experienced a massive slowdown on my PC that took the joy out of surfing. Videos constantly paused. Surveys wouldn’t load. Facebook was finicky. Getting rid of unwanted emails was very difficult. Graphics were pitiful. I assumed the problem was T-Mobile’s weak connection. Yesterday I recalled I’d downloaded a Microsoft Update, one of which had fouled up the machine’s performance a couple of years ago. I uninstalled what I could but there are two that won’t cooperate. The device is operating better, but still far from where it was. I asked Google, which recognized the problem, others having experienced it. I’ve done all except a total reboot. I bought a laptop a few months ago, just in case. The Sicilian in me will not break it out until the current one is exhausted.
Not much action at today’s session of the floating book shop, despite the perfect weather. My thanks to the woman who bought a paperback in Russian, and to the one who again overcompensated me for two hardcovers in that language; and to Dave and Candy, who donated three more stellar cookbooks.
