This is the first time I've ever been tempted to utilize that "hide review because you're a big fat blabbermouth who can't talk about a book without ruining it for others" function. But the fact is, it's important for a reader of Z For Zachariah to be surprised by the nature of the stranger who shows up. And it's almost impossible to talk about the book in any detail without giving that away. And I want to talk in detail, because I like this book but I also find it rather baffling in certain respects, and enraging in others.So, fair warning: Here There Be Spoilers. Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers. I can't block them out because otherwise this whole review won't make any sense. I don't give away the ending, but I talk about a lot of important events leading up to it. If you haven't read this book but you've always meant to, don't read this review.Still here? Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you. One thing that ought to be better known about Z is that, although it's credited to Robert C. O'Brien, he died before completing it. His wife and daughter finished it, working from notes he left. I haven't been able to find out how much he'd written before he died and how much work they had to do, but I think it's pretty rude not to credit them on the cover rather than hiding their labors in the "about the author" note.Okay, time for some spoilers.This is a very strange book. Not because it's about a teenager who thinks she's the last person on earth, but because there's surprisingly little action. Which is fine, in and of itself. I love character-driven works, and as I mentioned in my review of I Am Legend, I have a soft spot for books about the everyday nuts and bolts of surviving in a strange world. I'd be happy to spend tens of pages on how Ann Burden, a sixteen-year-old farm girl, is keeping from starving and freezing to death.Trouble is, I'm hearing plenty about the combating starving and freezing, and precious little about how she feels. Who she is. This book is the diary of a traumatized girl. Her entire family died, and their deaths led quite reasonably to her conclusion that she's all that's left when it comes to the global human population. She can't leave the valley she lives in -- the rest of the world has been poisoned by a hideous war.And she doesn't seem to have much reaction to this. She refers occasionally to the family members she's lost, but we never get a sense of them. Was she fonder of one of her brothers than the other? Was she a little afraid of her parents, even as she loved them? Does she wake up from dreams of them that are so real, she feels convinced for a few minutes that this "real" world must be the dream? We hear nothing about any of this. She had a father, a mother, and two brothers. Now they're gone. The end.Ann is religious enough to keep the local church clean and visit it regularly. No one's left to preach, so she sits and reads the Bible. She's intelligent and devout enough to enjoy doing so (and her favorite book of the Bible is Ecclesiastes -- a nice touch). And that's all we hear.There needs to be more than that. She needs to be wondering if this is all part of God's plan, and why it happened. She should even wonder if she was chosen to survive for some great purpose -- or if her survival means she's been singled out for punishment. (Great -- now I want to write this novel.)People who are of a religious mindset and who suffer some great blow have one of two reactions: They become extremely devout (sometimes this means converting to a religion not previously their own), or they lose their faith entirely. Okay: or they think they've lost their faith, spend some time yelling at their deity, and then come back stronger than ever. At any rate, they have some kind of spiritual response.This would seem to be doubly important when it comes to a girl who has survived a disaster that is quite literally of Biblical proportions. The end of the world as we know it is mentioned in that Bible she reads so often. You can't create a Christian character, put her in this kind of situation, and then just not have her thinking about the Apocalypse. But her religious beliefs seem to have been given to her to establish her "good girl" creds. And these are important when a stranger comes to the valley.Spoiler alert: He turns out to be a jerk.And guess what? Other than defending herself as much as necessary from him, Ann doesn't have much of a reaction to this, either.Big-time spoiler alert, and also trigger alert: He tries to rape her (he comes nowhere near succeeding). She is able to flee. Because this valley is the only place that hasn't been poisoned by radioactivity and nerve gas, she can't just leave; so she tries to figure out some way of living in proximity with him while not getting any closer to him than she has to. Which is fine. But all we hear about this is the practical side of it. She'd thought this man might become her husband and father of her children. She nursed him through life-threatening illness and injury, and continues to take care of him even after he attacked her. (He'd die if she weren't willing to fetch water and food for him -- he's strong enough to be an attempted rapist, but not yet in good enough shape to haul buckets of water.) And this attack is how he thanks her.And her only recorded response is the practical side of things. No tears of rage or betrayal. She continues to bring him needed food and water without a single thought along the lines of "I should just let him die of thirst. That's a long, painful death. Okay, I can't do that, even to him, but I couldn't help thinking it." Nope. Nothing.Later, he tries to track her down with the help of her family dog. She has a gun and is watching from a distance. More spoilers: he deliberately shoots her with his gun, not to kill her but in order to injure her enough to force her to return to him. And what does she think, as she realizes she won't be able to hide from him any longer? She decides she has to shoot THE DOG. I realize there's a philosophy thought-experiment about morality, a sort of what-would-you-do problem: Let's say you saw a stranger and your pet dog drowning. You only have time and strength to save one of them. Which one do you save?Unless he's Hitler back from the dead, you're supposed to save the human. I assume. But in this case: seriously? The animal is innocent. The guy shot you after he tried to rape you. And you're aiming at which one of them?If that's the case, I need to hear why. Is it because of religious belief -- shooting him would violate a Commandment? Is it because, after so many people have died, you can't bear to kill one? Is it pure queasiness?It's never explained. Ann never even thinks about shooting this guy. When she considers using her weapon at all, she aims at the dog.In one way, it was a relief that Mr. Loomis turned out to be a total waste of space. He was incredibly paternalistic and condescending from day one, and I was worried that this was just because the novel was written in the early '70s and he's a grown man and she's just a teenaged girl and isn't it kind of cute the way he knows more than she does about all kinds of things? (Gag.) But no -- he's a full-fledged bastard, and we've had hints of this from the start.So: good plot, interesting twists, and a strong, surprising ending. But yeah, I'm pretty peeved that a first-person narrative would leave so little sense of the young woman who's supposedly telling her own story.
Yeah. That’s how this one is going to go. The expectations were high with this one. I first discovered this book when I found out it was being made into a movie so of course I was all about getting the book read first. Especially when I realized this author also wrote one of my favorites of all time: The Secret of Nimh. Naturally I couldn’t find a copy anywhere but FINALLY! Some luck blew my way and my library came through. I started it immediately. I finished it within 24 hours. And now I’m sad.First off, a few things you need to know. 1. This is a post-apocalyptic novel with not a whole lot of post-apocalyptic action going on. 2. If you picked this up based on the movie trailer, you’re going to be disappointed and/or confused because they have practically nothing in common. 3. There’s some animal cruelty that for once didn’t actually make me cry. Nah. I was enraged instead. And 4? There will be spoilers, but I’ll put them in tags.We’re introduced to Anne who is sixteen years old and has been living on her childhood farm alone for the past year now. She resides within a valley that because of an inversion has escaped the havoc that the rest of the world has suffered. Her parents and two brothers went out searching for survivors after the nuclear war that happened that we never get any other details of besides the fact that it happened. They never returned. She’s cultivated a garden, has cows and chickens to keep from starving, and fortunately there is also a country store nearby that was pretty well stocked. Anne has done a pretty amazing job surviving all on her own but is understandably curious when she sees smoke in the sky indicative of a campfire. She watches it day after day as it gets closer and closer to her farm; closer and closer to whoever is lighting the fire to discovering her home. She retreats to a nearby cave with her dog Faro to monitor the individual and determine whether or not to let him know there’s one other survivor besides him.John Loomis is a scientist from New York. His team was researching/developing radiation proof suits but there was only a single prototype in existence which is the only way he was able to survive the fallout from the bomb. Trudging through the remains of the Earth, he comes upon a strange sight: a green valley. After a year of walking, seeing nothing but Earth, the valley is a spectacular sight. He takes his helmet off and realizes he can breathe the air there as well. Unable to help himself, he dives into a small lake to bathe. Unfortunately, the stream that flows into that lake was still affected by radiation and he falls deathly ill.Spoilers, ahoy!(view spoiler)[So Anne decides she can’t hide in her cave while she watches quite possibly the last man on Earth slowly die from the contaminated water. She brings him food and water and nurses him back to health. What does she get for her good deeds? Nada. Because naturally dude turns out to be a fucking creep. For weeks, Anne maintained the farm and even expands on her plans to include him in the future. And then one night he comes into her room to undoubtedly sexual assault her. She escapes and runs back to the cave that fortunately she kept secret from him. Sure, she’s only 16, but she’s taken perfectly good care of herself up till the point he showed up. In my mind, defending yourself is the reasonable response. But nah, instead Anne tries to make peace with the crazy man and still shares half of all the food and water she gathers. That doesn’t go over so well because apparently he intends to capture her so he uses her dog Faro to hunt her down. He at one point shoots her in the leg too. He’s a real pleasant kinda guy, I totally get why she doesn’t shoot his ass. At the end he finally gets Faro to follow her scent and the dog is about to lead him right to the cave. What shall we do? 1. Shoot the creeper or 2. Shoot the dog so he can’t lead him to her only home? YES, SHE SERIOUSLY CHOSE THE SECOND OPTION. Except she doesn’t get a chance to go through with it because she missed her opportunity. So she goes with her backup plan: run through the contaminated creek so that Loomis won’t follow. But of course the freaking dog follows her. “…instead of following my trail on the rocks he had plunged into the water.” What fucking dog isn’t going to just jump in the water but instead stand on the bank looking for stepping stones. Poor Faro takes his last swim and dies of radiation poisoning. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Z For Zachariah (1976)?
Ann Burden is sixteen years old, and the last person alive. She knows this because after the disaster, her family went off to search for survivors, and they never came back. Her valley is safe, somehow protected from the nuclear disaster that has wiped out the rest of the world by some sort of weather formation. And so she tills her field and keeps her house and stays alive, alone. Until he comes. When John Loomis shows up in her valley, wearing a safe suit that protects him from radiation, Ann is cautious. When he accidentally exposes himself to radiation, Ann nurses him back to help. At first, she is glad to have human company, but her joy soon turns to fear as it becomes clear that John Loomis is a tyrant who will not be satisfied unless he is in control - of the valley, of the house, and of her. And now, Ann must decide how she will survive - and how she will live - in this new world.This is a powerful post-apocalyptic story, and I devoured it in a sitting. Ann's diary is thoughtful and reflective, making her a good narrator for the end of the world. John Loomis, seen through her eyes, is a fascinating and frightening - is the word villain? And their relationship is also fascinating and frightening to watch, at least from the POV of the reader, who can see where it's going almost from the start. The ending - especially Loomis's final and desperate request - is haunting.
—Lucy
История Евы и Адама. После ядерной войны никого не осталось в живых. Героиня осталась одна в своей защищенной долине с особым климатом. И тут пришел мужчина. Вроде все должно пройти мирно и спокойно. Герой чуть не умер, героиня его выходила и теперь казалось живите себе вместе. Но нет, герой оказался какой-то псих, что очень печалит, уж хотелось бы ХЭ. Как для подростка Ггя очень умная и храбрая, спокойно жила сама в долине год и хозяйство вела и продумала все. А тут пришел Гг и вместо благодарности решил на цепь посадить. Грустно 3 Ггя ушла искать других, а Ггй остался сам. Конец открытый и нам остается только самим придумать окончание. Не понравилось что ничего не рассказано о самой войне, откуда? как? почему? Ведь тот кто скинул бомбы должен был остаться в живых, потому вымерло все по идеи должно было только в Америке, а на других материках должны быть выжившие, но мы этого никогда не узнаем
—Cerera
This was a very haunting and engrossing book to read. I saw it was the author who wrote Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. I chose this one because I love dystopian books, and I needed something published in the year I was born for a goodreads reading challenge. The story was a post-apocalyptic tale of a young-girl, living alone in a post-war valley area that has not been impacted by radiation the way the rest of the world has. Her family is gone, and she is left to fend for herself.So, what happens when one day she sees a stranger approaching in a hazmat suit? Is he the only other human alive on earth? Is he good? Is he bad? Should she hide? All great questions! The young-girl has a conscience and ends up approaching the stranger when he gets radiation sickness. She takes care of him and nurses him back to health. But, will he be thankful, or will it be a Stephen-King-esque nightmare?This was a very thought-intensive book, definitely something that will give you lots of time to think -- what would I have done? I highly recommend it for fans of young-adult dystopia.
—FlibBityFLooB
