The Children of Men

"Despite being dull and very British, this was an interesting book. Less plot-driven than I expected from the summary; you get very into the MC's head, and his growth as a person is just as important as what actually happens in the book. I wish there was an actual resolution, though. By the end of the book, nothing really changes in the big picture, which is fairly disappointing. "

"read this for my English class, and it might be the first book I've read for school that I've truly enjoyed! it's so quotable and I like the pacing and hinting that James uses. i don't like Theo as a main character, and the whole ending leaves something to be desired for me - I don't like the religious emphasis - but the simple idea of humanity unexplainably becoming unfertile is such an interesting concept, the faults of the book do not matter so much. also, it's pretty different from the movie! "

"So dull it was painful and the audiobook narrator was terrible. "

"One of my very favorites that explores the hopelessness of the end times, and the fear to allow hope once again inside your soul."

"Usually when I finish a book on the MAX I immediately grab another from my bag. After finishing this one I had to take a few minutes to mull over the book. This novel dealt with so many issues....marriage, children, society, power. P.D. James writes literate, complex mysteries and this is an unexpected departure for her. I have not seen the movie and really can't imagine that it would be an improvement on the book. For a thought-provoking read this is a great choice."

"imho the best anthropocene book ever written, brilliant! for the non-readers, the movie is pretty damn good too! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VT2apoX90o"

"bored out of my mind."

"This book disappointed me. I'm a big fan of the movie and I am usually a person who prefers the book to the movie so I was optimistic. But it's clear reading this that Alfonso Cuoron and his co-writers improved on the book a lot when they adapted it. P.D. James spends a lot of time describing the physical appearance of characters (at one point two pages describing the members of the evil ruling council), but the characters still seem sketchy and not really evocative. Her version of Theo is a lot less likeable-- instead of being an everyman, he's the cousin of the Warden who's the dictator of England. He seems more concerned about getting to hook up with Jules than about the first human birth in 25 years. There is a lot more about the Warden specifically than there needs to be. He doesn't come off as really charismatic or interesting, he's just... present a lot. Also Alfonso Cuaron made a great decision when he chose to play up the "immigrant/refugee" angle of the story. It means so much more to have the Madonna of a New Age be a single black teen refugee mother than a white Christian British lady. The chase through the refugee/immigrant camp is much more interesting and also really emphasizes the conditions in the camps. Still, PD James did have an interesting concept which the movie really benefited from."

"3.5 stars"