“The Children of Men” by P.D. James

children

I watched the movie Children of Men several years ago, and thought it was really good, and that I should read the book, The Children of Men, by P.D. James. I chose it for my reading group Gods and Monsters. Even though I’d watched the movie years ago, the plot and visual details had remained with me. As I read the book, I kept wondering, where is this, what is that, why is or isn’t something here? The book, I found, was vastly different from the movie, so I had to turn off my memory and go along for the ride, and a wild one it was.

In the book, Theo is a 50 something history professor whose cousin is the leader of 2021 England. In the future, humans are barren, and no children have been born since 1995.Theo becomes involved with a small dissident group and the books ticks along as a thriller from there, but with the disquieting vision of a barren society, of what might happen if we stopped being able to choose whether to reproduce, and of what people freedoms people give up for comfort and pleasure.

Without the hope of posterity, for our race if not for ourselves, without the assurance that we being dead yet live, all pleasures of the mind and senses sometimes seem to me no more than pathetic and crumbling defences shored up against our ruin.

I decided not to watch the film again before the discussion of the book, as it’s so different. The movie was loud, violent, and post-apocalyptic. I’m fascinated that the film chose to diverge so wildly from the book, and look forward to discussing the book, then re-evaluating the film on its own merits.

The book stands on its own, quietly suggestive of a skewed future. It’s a coming of age tale but for a man of 50, who reminded me somewhat of the narrator of Julian Barnes’ A Sense of an Ending, and who has a relationship with a cousin that felt very similar to the brothers in Herman Koch’s The Dinner. The ending is an interesting one, very “Lady or the Tiger,” disquieting, and with much left up to the reader to decide how things will play out. I am still ruminating on the ideas and images of the book.

2 Responses to ““The Children of Men” by P.D. James”

  1. Sherry Says:

    I read the book several years ago, before the movie came out, and I found the same disconnect between book and movie. Although I liked both, the book has remained with me, the apocalyptic and sad vision of a world with no children and therefore no future. The wild and noisy adventure (movie) was entertaining, but if I were to choose to re-read or re-watch, I’d re-read.

  2. girldetective Says:

    Sherry, I do think you capture one of the disconnects, and it’s as simple as quiet/loud. I also think the book and movie differ because of the time and world situation they’re from. James’ book is very Thatcher’s-regime-is-bad, while the movie is very much a post 9/11 terrorist world. I think it may be a great film on its own merits, but not necessarily a great adaptation of this particular great book.