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[el dogo]

This is the famous Hugo winning science-fiction novel, written by a guy who never wrote another novel, and almost never wrote anything else of note. It follows, over the course of several centuries, the life of a Catholic monestary after civilization is destroyed in a nuclear war. The monks have vowed to preserve various books and papers of pre-war knowledge, without really understanding what they are, and while weathering any number of political and social forces raging on during a new dark age and renaissance.

I finished this book a while ago, but I put off doing a review of it because I wasn't sure how to handle the religious element of it. Given the opinions of most people I know, the decision to read or not to read this book will be based on one factor only: just how religious is it anyway? For the record, I do not consider myself to be a Christian or adherent of any other organized religion. I don't believe there are any supernatural forces influencing our lives or anything like that. However, I also think most religious practices are relatively benign. And if I read a novel with elements of organized religion as a central aspect of the plot, I tend to treat it more like magic in a fantasy novel. "Oh, okay. These are the rules of this particular universe. Fine. Let's hope it doesn't sermonize too much."

So, just how religious is it anyway? I'd say not as much as you might think. The plot deals much more with the political situations within the Catholic church, and how the church deals with the chaotic, ignorant, violent outer world that has come into being. There's absolutely no debate about the existence or non-existence of God, or anything like that. However, near the end, there's a very passionate anti-euthanasia theme that is pretty much pure Catholicism. And there are a couple of very mysterious characters who show up, who seem to be pretty clearly supernatural. How they fit into a Catholic view of the world, I couldn't tell you. I've never been a Catholic and I don't plan on ever being one.

I think the story is ultimately more about the importance of knowledge in a world filled with ignorance. Even if you and almost everyone else don't understand what that knowledge is, or why it's important. I guess that could be interpreted as a metaphor for religious faith, but I personally took it much more at face value.

Also, this is a much lighter novel than I'm making it sound, at least in the first half to two-thirds. It's actually pretty comic in places, albeit in a very gentle, grandfatherly, yet dark sort of way. Miller doesn't really judge what's going on in the world he created here. He just sort of smiles and shakes his head.

This is a unique novel, and I think it deserves to be read. Still, I didn't get quite as into it as I thought I would. I guess the plot structure is to blame. Because the novel covers such a huge stretch of time, there are no central characters in which I could become invested. That's just a personal taste thing. Ultimately, your reaction will depend on how readily you can accept a bunch of monks and their world, even if that world is miles away from your own. And, well, isn't that kind of the point of life?