Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller

Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one of the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of twentieth-century literature—a chilling and still provocative look at a post-apocalyptic future.

In a nightmarish ruined world slowly awakening to the light after sleeping in darkness, the infant rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of the relics and writings of the blessed Saint Isaac Leibowitz. From here the story spans centuries of ignorance, violence, and barbarism, viewing through a sharp, satirical eye the relentless progression of a human race damned by its inherent humanness to recelebrate its grand foibles and repeat its grievous mistakes. Seriously funny, stunning, and tragic, eternally fresh, imaginative, and altogether remarkable, A Canticle for Leibowitz retains its ability to enthrall and amaze. It is now, as it always has been, a masterpiece.

Enjoy!!

Audiobook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4rZG...

I hope you all enjoy this one! I loved it!!

I got the audio from youtube so I'm not sure if it will be taken down at some point. If it does, let me know and I can find another :D

I have just started a reread of this one- and I remember Brother Francis and the mysterious pilgrim.

I have ordered it from a remote library. Of course all the libraries are closed today.

I hope you enjoy it Bernard!!

I enjoyed A Canticle for Leibowitz - it was a bit scary for me to start this since i don't ever read this genre. It really was a good surprise that i do enjoy it. My son says he will share with his friend as he knows he'd love this - and since he's a voracious reader, i feel pretty good being able to share something new thanks to this group.

I am glad you enjoyed it. This was one of the first science fiction books I read, back in the 70s. It's great that your son is going to share it with a friend, so that the next generation will keep on reading this book.

When I was a child, I knew it was regarded as an SF classic, but I never got round to reading it.

Join us Bernard!

I must say I like it, although I was full of anxiety. I feel sorry for not having enough time to read it without stopping. But the moment when Franciszek confessed that he finally ate the lizard made me laughing at the bus :D
I read it in polish, and I hope it does not matter.

Ewa, you can read any of our group read books in the language you prefer. The important thing is to enjoy!

Poor Brother Frances!
That part really is funny!

It's good news because I read in the language, I can get the book - Polish or English. SF can be hard so it is better for me to read in the native language.

Have you read anything by Stanisław Lem? His books are written in Polish and I have read two of his books in English, Solaris and His Master's Voice. I plan on reading more.

Not yet. I've tried to read Lem before, and it was hard for me - maybe I was too young. In another group, someone suggested me to start with something easy like The Invincible. I have it in my plan for this month.

What is your opinion about Lem's works? If you wrote any reviews about them, please send me links. I will read them willingly.

I didn't write any reviews but I rated both books 3 stars, which means I enjoyed them.

I'm glad you like it, and I have hope it will be more approachable this time for me to read it.

I have finished part one- Fiat Homo.

I've finished part one, poor Brother Frances! I will miss him :(

Frances is a special character.

I finished Chapter 14 and there are changes coming. Scientific discoveries are happening again.
I like the wry humour in this book. The first chapter in Part 2 had a scene where there was a cockroach floating in the punch. The author doesn't say who, but some one did unknowingly swallow it. 🥴

Haha yeah I remember that part!

Hmmm. I thought it was about spirituality, our place in the cosmos, etc. And now its down to swallowing cockroaches???

There is a lot of humour in this book, Bernard, despite its theme.
The author is good at creating memorable characters.

Ha ha ok! I think I can tolerate a little cockroach swallowing.

So far the most sympathetic character in Part 2 is Dom Paulo, the abbot of the monastery.
The mysterious pilgrim from part 1 is now a mysterious hermit.

I just finished Part 2. It has a dramatic ending.

Now on to the final section.

I finished the book. Part 3 was intense!

As far as I concerned, I have the emotion that this book is timeless.

Despite the fact, nothing like world destruction had happened, metaphorically, however, yes. It happens every single day. Many people don't read, and they are capable of being proud of it. Science struggles with ignorance.
What is more, the church has the best collection of books and manuscript that is not accessible to everyone.

I agree, Ewa. This book is timeless. The ideas are applicable to all time periods.

I read it last year and I loved it. My review is here.

The book has arrived! I have paid the 60p. Now I can read about the cockroach.

You can also read about the goat and the lizard, Bernard.

Is it only me who thinks that the third part is the most attention-demanding? I feel like many things said between the lines. Except for the book, I need to read the description later because something is missing. I'm in the middle of the third chapter.

Maybe it is just because of the time skip....

The third part is more demanding than the first two, I agree with you,Ewa.

I just read the introduction. I have read some Catholic novels, but I am not sure I am ready for an intensely Catholic one.

It is not intensely Catholic, Bernard. The monastery in this book is in Utah, centuries after a nuclear war, trying to preserve and find lost knowledge and records.

Ha ha ok! In that case I will press on. But Utah? Surely that is all Mormons .....

Not after the Apocalypse.

Rosemarie wrote: "Not after the Apocalypse."

Ah yes of course!

I've read the third part, and I must say that the book was good. I understand why it is so valued. It shows me how humans seek self-destruction independently from history knowledge and their awareness. I'm glad I've read it.

Disappointing. Obviously my taste is out of sync with the majority.

Nuclear armageddon was of course an obvious theme in 1959. And science as the new religion has been a popular topic with SF and other writers. In fact the rationalist Comte, the father of positivism, substituted a “religion of humanity” for the worship of God. He would wear sorcerer robes at gatherings of loyal positivists.

Bernard, I can understand that this book is not to everyone's taste. Kudos for reading it!

I did like the cockroach bit though!

That was funny!

It was. In bad taste, but funny.

Don't you wonder who got it? It was either disgusting and curios who swallow it. However, I liked more the situation with the lizard. :)

I hope that an annoying character got the cockroach.

I do too. Brother Francis is my favourite character.

Brother Francis was my favorite too.

Read this recently—oddly wholesome, I felt, in the midst of loss. If you like this, you might enjoy Anathem by Stephenson. And Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco. One could do a monastic triptych sampler!