A Canticle for Leibowitz

Wow. Merely minutes ago I finished A Canticle for Leibowitz (by Walter M. Miller Jr.). This was recommended to me by a friend and I had not heard anything about it before. Little did I know, it is considered by many readers and quite a few polls to be the best science fiction novel ever written. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I was blown away. It is very different from what you would expect of a post apocalyptic science fiction novel. The author decided to focus the story on relationships, religion, and human nature in general. When I think of a story about a civilization after massive nuclear war, I think of a horror story filled with chase scenes and ominous mutants, not the canonization of the patron saint of electronics. Nor do I think of the reinvention of electricity or the re-emergence of a cold war. Frankly, there was so much meaning packed into this three part, three hundred page novel, that I don't even know what to write about.

I suppose I want to focus this entry on the theme of human nature and sin. There are several times when these themes are brought forward directly in the dialogue and there is also a general undercurrent of the themes going on throughout the novel. The direct references are usually in the form of a sermonette from an abbott to either a certain person or just directed at the world in general. The sermonettes usually invoke the horrors of "the flame deluge" (nuclear war) and are not focused on condemning the advancement of scientific research (the Albertan Order of Leibowitz regards properly practiced science as an act of worship), but they are actually focused on the condemnation of humankind's pride in their advancement.

I felt while reading the book that the author obviously was a student of scripture and Christian tradition based on his mature depiction of what sin was and how it worked in the character's lives. After lots of study and thought I came to the conclusion that I believe sin isn't found in action, inaction or even in thought. It is only found when our motives are selfish and our selfishness in some way affects those around us. I would say that the monks in A Canticle for Leibowitz would agree with this belief, and that Walter M. Miller Jr. probably has a similar understanding of what the traditional definition of sin truly is.

With that said, while reading A Canticle for Leibowitz, you see humans throughout the novel falling into the same trap that they fell into at the time of the nuclear war. I wanted to believe that after the initial time of anarchy after the blast, the world would realize that war and hate are not going to advance any civilization or solve any problems, but just result in the eventual destruction of humanity. That didn't happen in this novel. The survivors of the initial war all have the same, built-in flaws of the original humanity before the nuclear destruction. There was hope from some of the scientists in the second part of the novel that humanity had learned not to repeat history, but some characters also sincerely doubt humanity's ability to save itself and call upon God to miraculously save us from ourselves.

I feel that though the virtue of hoping for the best is important for the continuity of personal faith, it is in vain if you aren't aware of the necessity of intervention. Whether you are a stern atheist or fundamentally religious, I believe there is a sense we have where we naturally understand that intervention is necessary if we are to become truly moral and virtuous beings. Not necessarily the intervention of gods or supernatural forces, but just that something outside of the self (nature, other humans, etc.) is necessary for us to see the error of being completely selfish. As a Christian, I believe it is necessary for Christ to intervene in order for us to bring about any type of new eden or utopian society, but not necessarily through the means of a literal second coming. This is a mere conjecture, a weak theory, but I'll share it anyways. I believe it is possible that the second coming is through His body, the church, finally realizing it's form and acting as the body of Christ through and through. I think even if you disagree with the part about Christ, and would say it just takes humans entering into each other's lives and teaching one another about love and peace and self-sacrifice, we wouldn't be too far apart in our beliefs.

Anyhow, I guess that's what I got most from this book. The fact that the only way we can prevent ourselves from complete annihilation is through miraculous intervention. And I think that is part of what Walter M. Miller Jr. was trying to say as well. Even in the novel's ending (which I wouldn't dare reveal here)* there is hope for some form of miracle to save humanity.

This was a great book, with countless other lessons to learn from it. Everyone with a brain should check it out.

*I found this a funny thing for me to say, since I only know one person who reads this blog regularly. Who would I be ruining the ending for?