This book played a pivotal role in my vocation as a teacher. Preserve, pass on. I've taught it several years, but I'm increasingly dissatisfied with the New Eve stuff at the very end, it feels tacked on and somewhat goofy in an otherwise great work. Sad, about him, another victim of the confusion of that era.
Ben, do you mean with Rachel? I'm never sure if that is supposed to be the second coming of Christ or some kind of Marian figure. Thanks for the comment.
Yes, exactly. Having read the book over and over, I can't help but see the Rachel/Grales mini-arc as a bit of undigested pride, a fantasist's desire to whut-if everything. In a better timeline, that perhaps initially harmless instinct would have been trimmed and pulled--but as it was, the bomb of Vat II landed a few years later, and weeds grew where they might have been pruned.
I like that book too! I actually wrote audiobook review on it last year, but I like how you looked the at the novel too. I hope it gets more attention mainstream!
My brother read Canticle in college and immediately bought copies for all of his siblings. It's become a favorite for everyone in my family, and one that we revisit regularly. Thanks for the sincere analysis
I enjoyed Canticle when I read it. I found the first two sections interesting and thought provoking. But I have to admit I did not understand the third section at all. I found it incongruent and odd. The book is still worth reading, but it never clicked for me.
Loved reading this post, thank you for sharing your thoughts about one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s a book that pops up in my mind every now and then. I don’t think I fully understood it when I first read it, but I loved it still. One time I was assembling a large shelving system and needed something to listen to, and I found a radio theater version of A Canticle! It was so much fun listening to it. I didn’t know that the author ended his own life and that saddens me. I think I first read his book in 1998.
Minna, excellent thoughts. Thank you so much. Yes, I agree, the suicide is deeply troubling, and it's hard for me to re-read Canticle with that not in mind. Again, thank you.
I am not much of a fiction reader but I read this brilliant, eccentric novel several years ago and was swept away by the questions it raises and the vision of a post WWIII world.
Excellent essay. I've not read the book-- I've never had much interest in science fiction. Your piece strikes what seems to me to be the right tone: appreciation for what Miller achieved in the book, tempered by an acknowledgement that it does not contain the answers to the questions it poses, which may be a result not of the nature of the questions but of Miller's limitations. That seems quite plausible.
Thanks so much, Sam. You should definitely read it. Would love to know your reaction to it. But, you might very well be right--Miller asked all the right questions, but never quite found the right answers.
Apparently I am in this comment's section's minority, because the final part of Canticle is one of the most beautiful, devastating, and profound things I have ever read.
Great post! I just finished this book a week ago. Profound, complex, brutal, thought-inducing and worthy of many discussions in front of a roaring campfire with great friends and good whisky.
This book played a pivotal role in my vocation as a teacher. Preserve, pass on. I've taught it several years, but I'm increasingly dissatisfied with the New Eve stuff at the very end, it feels tacked on and somewhat goofy in an otherwise great work. Sad, about him, another victim of the confusion of that era.
Ben, do you mean with Rachel? I'm never sure if that is supposed to be the second coming of Christ or some kind of Marian figure. Thanks for the comment.
Yes, exactly. Having read the book over and over, I can't help but see the Rachel/Grales mini-arc as a bit of undigested pride, a fantasist's desire to whut-if everything. In a better timeline, that perhaps initially harmless instinct would have been trimmed and pulled--but as it was, the bomb of Vat II landed a few years later, and weeds grew where they might have been pruned.
Really loved this 20+ years ago (hell, maybe 30). Due for a reread.
I like that book too! I actually wrote audiobook review on it last year, but I like how you looked the at the novel too. I hope it gets more attention mainstream!
I’ve wanted to read this for years and now you I’ve motivated me to do so.
My brother read Canticle in college and immediately bought copies for all of his siblings. It's become a favorite for everyone in my family, and one that we revisit regularly. Thanks for the sincere analysis
Why didn't After Virtue's use of Canticle get a shout-out? It's a reminder of the timeliness of this timeless novel.
I enjoyed Canticle when I read it. I found the first two sections interesting and thought provoking. But I have to admit I did not understand the third section at all. I found it incongruent and odd. The book is still worth reading, but it never clicked for me.
Loved reading this post, thank you for sharing your thoughts about one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s a book that pops up in my mind every now and then. I don’t think I fully understood it when I first read it, but I loved it still. One time I was assembling a large shelving system and needed something to listen to, and I found a radio theater version of A Canticle! It was so much fun listening to it. I didn’t know that the author ended his own life and that saddens me. I think I first read his book in 1998.
Minna, excellent thoughts. Thank you so much. Yes, I agree, the suicide is deeply troubling, and it's hard for me to re-read Canticle with that not in mind. Again, thank you.
I love this book - I just loaned my copy of it to my brother-in-law, but now I want to read it again
I am not much of a fiction reader but I read this brilliant, eccentric novel several years ago and was swept away by the questions it raises and the vision of a post WWIII world.
Agreed. Thanks, Robert.
Just ordered the book after reading this. Thank you.
I hope you love it, Josh.
Excellent essay. I've not read the book-- I've never had much interest in science fiction. Your piece strikes what seems to me to be the right tone: appreciation for what Miller achieved in the book, tempered by an acknowledgement that it does not contain the answers to the questions it poses, which may be a result not of the nature of the questions but of Miller's limitations. That seems quite plausible.
Thanks so much, Sam. You should definitely read it. Would love to know your reaction to it. But, you might very well be right--Miller asked all the right questions, but never quite found the right answers.
I just gave a copy to one of my closest friends. Always worth a re-read!
A favorite book of mine, too. A junior high teacher her recommended it.
Apparently I am in this comment's section's minority, because the final part of Canticle is one of the most beautiful, devastating, and profound things I have ever read.
Great post! I just finished this book a week ago. Profound, complex, brutal, thought-inducing and worthy of many discussions in front of a roaring campfire with great friends and good whisky.