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God's Grace
God's Grace (1982), Bernard Malamud's last novel, is a modern-day dystopian fantasy, set in a time after a thermonuclear war prompts a second flood -- a radical departure from Malamud's previous fiction.
The novel's protagonist is paleolosist Calvin Cohn, who had been attending to his work at the bottom of the ocean when the Devastation struck, and who alone survived. This rabbi's son -- a "marginal error" -- finds himself shipwrecked with an experimental chimpanzee capable of speech, to whom he gives the name Buz. Soon other creatures appear on their island-baboons, chimps, five apes, and a lone gorilla. Cohn works hard to make it possible for God to love His creation again, and his hopes increase as he encounters the unknown and the unforeseen in this strange new world.
With God's Grace , Malamud took a great risk, and it paid off. The novel's fresh and pervasive humor, narrative ingenuity, and tragic sense of the human condition make it one of Malamud's most extraordinary books.
"Is he an American Master? Of course. He not only wrote in the American language, he augmented it with fresh plasticity, he shaped our English into startling new configurations." --Cynthia Ozick
The novel's protagonist is paleolosist Calvin Cohn, who had been attending to his work at the bottom of the ocean when the Devastation struck, and who alone survived. This rabbi's son -- a "marginal error" -- finds himself shipwrecked with an experimental chimpanzee capable of speech, to whom he gives the name Buz. Soon other creatures appear on their island-baboons, chimps, five apes, and a lone gorilla. Cohn works hard to make it possible for God to love His creation again, and his hopes increase as he encounters the unknown and the unforeseen in this strange new world.
With God's Grace , Malamud took a great risk, and it paid off. The novel's fresh and pervasive humor, narrative ingenuity, and tragic sense of the human condition make it one of Malamud's most extraordinary books.
"Is he an American Master? Of course. He not only wrote in the American language, he augmented it with fresh plasticity, he shaped our English into startling new configurations." --Cynthia Ozick
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
12 people are currently reading
566 people want to read
About the author
Bernard Malamud
158 books486 followersBernard Malamud was an American novelist and short story writer. Along with Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, Norman Mailer and Philip Roth, he was one of the best known American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball novel, The Natural, was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford. His 1966 novel The Fixer (also filmed), about antisemitism in the Russian Empire, won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
April 18, 2017
Starting From Scratch(ing)
“There is no Man without his Other.” This aphorism of the American philosopher Edgar A. Singer could be the theme (or running joke) of Bernard Malamud’s last novel. Malamud’s technique involves setting up a series of problematic situations in what is essentially a new Genesis as, effectively, a test of Singer’s maxim.
Adonai, HaShem, the Lord, the Creator allows mankind to annihilate itself in a brief but comprehensively decisive nuclear war. The divine intention was the entire eradication of mankind and all other animal life. But divine attention to detail was not all it should have been. Because he is in a deep submersible somewhere under the Pacific Ocean, the interestingly named Calvin Cohn, former rabbinical student turned scientist, son and grandson of a rabbi, accidentally survives.
This unauthorised Noah pleads for life with HaShem who is unsympathetic but fails to take further immediate action except to allow Calvin to drift to a tropical island. This divine indecisiveness produces yet another worry: “On good days Cohn told himself stories, saying the Lord would let him live if he spoke the right words. Or lived the right life. But how was that possible without another human life around?” Thus endeth the first day with the first question.
Turns out there is Another. But it’s a chimpanzee, a rather talented chimpanzee to be sure, but still and all an ape. Can a human-chimp duo constitute a life for either? Particularly if the chimp has been brought up Christian and the man a pious Jew. Can such a mixed family survive the strain of such cultural diversity? There are of course limits to inter-species communication, certainly physical, probably emotional and possibly mental. Nonetheless communication does take place. Is it enough for either party? Thus endeth the second day.
But just as the reader expects a linguistic breakthrough twixt man and beast, his mind is boggled by HaShem’s sense of humour in his operation of the devastated world. The Creator/Destroyer (blessed be his name) has also ‘forgotten’ to destroy a 500 lb. gorilla (the only authentic cliché, I think, in the book). The gorilla has an ear for devotional Yiddish music and so is attracted to the cosy island cave of chimp and man. Three is an awkward problem of course: the perpetual threat of jealousy, or two against one for starters. Does this new social melange inhibit meaningful bonding? Thus endeth day three.
So Buz the chimp, and George the gorilla, and Calvin the human settle down and try to find a social equilibrium. But, another surprise: before the nuclear oven, Buz’s scientist-keeper had fit him up with an artificial larynx. He can talk, with a heavy German accent and a limited vocabulary and no capacity for metaphor, but certainly sufficient to disturb the silence over the breakfast table. Trouble is, the table-talk is, if not intentionally anti-Semitic, then certainly biased toward the New Testament. And yet another, more fundamental problem pops up: if the chimp can use language so facilely, just what distinguishes homo sapiens in the order of creation? Thus endeth the fourth day.
Having suffered trauma as a youngster at the hands of a research scientist, George the gorilla is shy of intimacy. In any case Buz the chimp doesn’t like the “fot, smelly onimal”. George becomes even more skittish with the discovery of a troupe of five more chimps, with no human language ability of course, but Buz takes the role of translator. The situation is now highly complicated indeed. Economics quickly becomes the most pressing issue: How can the food resources of the island be shared and preserved with the growing population? Thus endeth the fifth day.
As the social organisation of the island becomes more stable, Calvin proceeds first with a Passover Seder and then a school(tree) to instruct the other primates, primarily in biblical lore but not neglecting science, particularly Darwinian and Freudian theory. This is where things get….well, weird in the extreme. Calvin decides that it’s his duty to mate with one of the newly mature chimps, Mary Madelyn, in order to speed up the evolutionary re-development of the world. The resulting offspring, a female, is of course chimp not human according to halachic law. But would the chimps see things the same way, particularly since they had in the meantime learned the joy of inter-species homicide with a group of newly arrived baboons? Thus endeth the sixth day.
On the seventh day Calvin rested. And who could blame him? It does not end well for Calvin of course. How could it? He must be sacrificed like Isaac. Or is it like Christ? The new creation goes on without him. Only George the gorilla is there to recite Kadesh, the prayer for the dead.
I cannot do more in understanding, much less interpreting, this novel. Is it a complex allegory of Jewish-Christian relations? Or a gnostic parable of inherent evil in creation? A post-modernist commentary on language or animal rights? Or merely an old man’s parting Jewish joke? Certainly it has similarities with fiction created decades in the future. One thinks particularly of James Morrow and his Blameless in Abaddon and Towing Jehovah. There are even possible echoes in China Mieville’s Embassytown. But ultimately God’s Grace is…well God’s Grace, whatever that may be.
------------------------
Postscript: A kind GR reader has pointed toward the solution, as far as I'm concerned definitive, here:
http://politicsandculture.org/2010/04...
“There is no Man without his Other.” This aphorism of the American philosopher Edgar A. Singer could be the theme (or running joke) of Bernard Malamud’s last novel. Malamud’s technique involves setting up a series of problematic situations in what is essentially a new Genesis as, effectively, a test of Singer’s maxim.
Adonai, HaShem, the Lord, the Creator allows mankind to annihilate itself in a brief but comprehensively decisive nuclear war. The divine intention was the entire eradication of mankind and all other animal life. But divine attention to detail was not all it should have been. Because he is in a deep submersible somewhere under the Pacific Ocean, the interestingly named Calvin Cohn, former rabbinical student turned scientist, son and grandson of a rabbi, accidentally survives.
This unauthorised Noah pleads for life with HaShem who is unsympathetic but fails to take further immediate action except to allow Calvin to drift to a tropical island. This divine indecisiveness produces yet another worry: “On good days Cohn told himself stories, saying the Lord would let him live if he spoke the right words. Or lived the right life. But how was that possible without another human life around?” Thus endeth the first day with the first question.
Turns out there is Another. But it’s a chimpanzee, a rather talented chimpanzee to be sure, but still and all an ape. Can a human-chimp duo constitute a life for either? Particularly if the chimp has been brought up Christian and the man a pious Jew. Can such a mixed family survive the strain of such cultural diversity? There are of course limits to inter-species communication, certainly physical, probably emotional and possibly mental. Nonetheless communication does take place. Is it enough for either party? Thus endeth the second day.
But just as the reader expects a linguistic breakthrough twixt man and beast, his mind is boggled by HaShem’s sense of humour in his operation of the devastated world. The Creator/Destroyer (blessed be his name) has also ‘forgotten’ to destroy a 500 lb. gorilla (the only authentic cliché, I think, in the book). The gorilla has an ear for devotional Yiddish music and so is attracted to the cosy island cave of chimp and man. Three is an awkward problem of course: the perpetual threat of jealousy, or two against one for starters. Does this new social melange inhibit meaningful bonding? Thus endeth day three.
So Buz the chimp, and George the gorilla, and Calvin the human settle down and try to find a social equilibrium. But, another surprise: before the nuclear oven, Buz’s scientist-keeper had fit him up with an artificial larynx. He can talk, with a heavy German accent and a limited vocabulary and no capacity for metaphor, but certainly sufficient to disturb the silence over the breakfast table. Trouble is, the table-talk is, if not intentionally anti-Semitic, then certainly biased toward the New Testament. And yet another, more fundamental problem pops up: if the chimp can use language so facilely, just what distinguishes homo sapiens in the order of creation? Thus endeth the fourth day.
Having suffered trauma as a youngster at the hands of a research scientist, George the gorilla is shy of intimacy. In any case Buz the chimp doesn’t like the “fot, smelly onimal”. George becomes even more skittish with the discovery of a troupe of five more chimps, with no human language ability of course, but Buz takes the role of translator. The situation is now highly complicated indeed. Economics quickly becomes the most pressing issue: How can the food resources of the island be shared and preserved with the growing population? Thus endeth the fifth day.
As the social organisation of the island becomes more stable, Calvin proceeds first with a Passover Seder and then a school(tree) to instruct the other primates, primarily in biblical lore but not neglecting science, particularly Darwinian and Freudian theory. This is where things get….well, weird in the extreme. Calvin decides that it’s his duty to mate with one of the newly mature chimps, Mary Madelyn, in order to speed up the evolutionary re-development of the world. The resulting offspring, a female, is of course chimp not human according to halachic law. But would the chimps see things the same way, particularly since they had in the meantime learned the joy of inter-species homicide with a group of newly arrived baboons? Thus endeth the sixth day.
On the seventh day Calvin rested. And who could blame him? It does not end well for Calvin of course. How could it? He must be sacrificed like Isaac. Or is it like Christ? The new creation goes on without him. Only George the gorilla is there to recite Kadesh, the prayer for the dead.
I cannot do more in understanding, much less interpreting, this novel. Is it a complex allegory of Jewish-Christian relations? Or a gnostic parable of inherent evil in creation? A post-modernist commentary on language or animal rights? Or merely an old man’s parting Jewish joke? Certainly it has similarities with fiction created decades in the future. One thinks particularly of James Morrow and his Blameless in Abaddon and Towing Jehovah. There are even possible echoes in China Mieville’s Embassytown. But ultimately God’s Grace is…well God’s Grace, whatever that may be.
------------------------
Postscript: A kind GR reader has pointed toward the solution, as far as I'm concerned definitive, here:
http://politicsandculture.org/2010/04...
March 20, 2022
מאז שהתוודעתי להרצאות שמעלה פרופ' הנרי אונגר ליוטיוב מתוך הקורס שהוא מעביר (כבר יותר מעשרים וחמש שנים) על יצירות בתרבות המערב (וגם על קולנוע, ציור, פילוסופיה ועוד...) החלטתי לדגום מידי פעם ספרים שהוא מרצה עליהם. הרווח הוא כפול. אני גם קורא יצירה קלאסית וגם שומע לאחר מכן הרצאות אודותיה, שמאירות לי דברים שאולי לא שמתי לב אליהם תוך כדי קריאה.
את הספר הנ"ל (מ- 1982), האחרון שפרסם ברנרד מלמוד, אונגר מכנה: "הספר הכי חכם שלא קראתם מעולם". סופרלטיבים בצד, זה בהחלט ספר חכם ואני לפחות לא שמעתי אודותיו עד עכשיו. אז מובן שהסתקרנתי. הספר הוא צנום וכל סצנה ודיאלוג כתובים בחסכנות מחושבת עתירת משמעות ורפרנסים, כך שההרצאות של אונגר (לא פחות מחמש!), להן הקשבתי בתום הקריאה, בהחלט סייעו לפענח עוד נדבכים בכתוב.
מדובר ברומאן אפוקליפטי, ריאליסטי-פנטסטי, חוליה בשרשרת ארוכה של סיפורים העוסקים בקורותיה של חברה מדגמית הנקלעת לאי בודד: רובינזון קרוזו, מסעי גוליבר, בעל זבוב (וגם חוות החיות), על החוף ועוד... בעוד שרובינזון מדגיש אופטימיות מטריאליסטית ובעל זבוב וחוות החיות מתארים הידרדרות פסיכולוגית סוציאלית, הרי שבספר הזה ישנו גם נדבך פילוסופי ודתי משמעותי, המתווסף על הדינאמיקה החברתית פסיכולוגית, והוא העיקר.
הספר פותח בקטסטרופה עולמית – המין האנושי השמיד את עצמו במלחמה תרמו-גרעינית ומה שלא השמידו הטילים והפצצות השמיד אלוהים על-ידי מבול נוסף. אך מתברר שחלה טעות זניחה, חסרת חשיבות לכאורה: אדם אחד – קלווין כהן שמו, פלאונתולוג ששהה בזמן ההשמדה עסוק במחקרו בצוללת זעירה על קרקעית האוקיאנוס, שרד הן את גלי ההדף והן את המבול. כאשר הוא עולה מן המצולות מבשר לו האל שלא יתלה תקוות בהצלתו. אלוהים התייאש מן המין האנושי ואין לו כוונה לקיים אף את קלווין, הוא נותן לו עוד שהות לא מוגדרת להשלים עם המצב בטרם ימות גם הוא.
איזו משמעות יכול אדם למצוא במצב כזה, כאשר כל מכריו ובני מינו הושמדו, אלוהים נטש אותו ותקווה אין לו? וכיצד יתבטא אותו "חסד אלוהי" שמבשר שם הספר? אלה השאלות הפילוסופיות שהספר מנסה לענות עליהן במבנה הפיקטיבי שמלמוד הולך ובונה עם התקדמות העלילה ורבבות האלוזיות עתירות המשמעות שהוא ממלא אותו בהן. בנוסף יש כאן גם סיפור נוגע ללב, רווי הומור דק אך גם עשיר ברגעי אימה וזוועה. סך הכל משתקף כאן מצבו של האדם (ובפרט היהודי) בדור שלאחר השואה.
קלווין כהן, הוא אדם משכיל יותר מן הממוצע. בן לשושלת רבנים (שגם למד בישיבה) שנטש את המסורת והפך למדען החוקר את העבר והאבולוציה. הוא איש של ניגודים כפי שמעיד גם שמו – מצד אחד שם יהודי מסורתי ואפילו כהן (העוסק בעבודת האל) ומצד שני שם נוצרי קלוויניסטי המרמז על פרדסטינציה ואמונה בחסד קבוע מראש של האל. הוא אדם נדיב וטוב לב אך גם אנושי מאוד ולוקה בכל החולשות האנושיות: עיוורון עצמי, תשוקות בלתי ניתנות לכיבוש ורצון לשלוט באחר. חולשות שיביאו עליו גם את סופו המר. במיוחד שמור כאן מקום נכבד לסיפור העקדה המקראי, הנרמז ללא הרף לאורך הסיפור ושב ומתהווה בסופו של דבר.
זהו סיפור מר ויפה שכל משפט בו אוצר משמעויות רבות. נהניתי לקרוא ולהגות בו וגם להאזין לפרשנות שאונגר מספק לו בהרצאותיו.
והנה גם קישורים לחמש הרצאותיו של אונגר:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-KXv...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IQWR...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RYee...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy9RD...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1hrL...
את הספר הנ"ל (מ- 1982), האחרון שפרסם ברנרד מלמוד, אונגר מכנה: "הספר הכי חכם שלא קראתם מעולם". סופרלטיבים בצד, זה בהחלט ספר חכם ואני לפחות לא שמעתי אודותיו עד עכשיו. אז מובן שהסתקרנתי. הספר הוא צנום וכל סצנה ודיאלוג כתובים בחסכנות מחושבת עתירת משמעות ורפרנסים, כך שההרצאות של אונגר (לא פחות מחמש!), להן הקשבתי בתום הקריאה, בהחלט סייעו לפענח עוד נדבכים בכתוב.
מדובר ברומאן אפוקליפטי, ריאליסטי-פנטסטי, חוליה בשרשרת ארוכה של סיפורים העוסקים בקורותיה של חברה מדגמית הנקלעת לאי בודד: רובינזון קרוזו, מסעי גוליבר, בעל זבוב (וגם חוות החיות), על החוף ועוד... בעוד שרובינזון מדגיש אופטימיות מטריאליסטית ובעל זבוב וחוות החיות מתארים הידרדרות פסיכולוגית סוציאלית, הרי שבספר הזה ישנו גם נדבך פילוסופי ודתי משמעותי, המתווסף על הדינאמיקה החברתית פסיכולוגית, והוא העיקר.
הספר פותח בקטסטרופה עולמית – המין האנושי השמיד את עצמו במלחמה תרמו-גרעינית ומה שלא השמידו הטילים והפצצות השמיד אלוהים על-ידי מבול נוסף. אך מתברר שחלה טעות זניחה, חסרת חשיבות לכאורה: אדם אחד – קלווין כהן שמו, פלאונתולוג ששהה בזמן ההשמדה עסוק במחקרו בצוללת זעירה על קרקעית האוקיאנוס, שרד הן את גלי ההדף והן את המבול. כאשר הוא עולה מן המצולות מבשר לו האל שלא יתלה תקוות בהצלתו. אלוהים התייאש מן המין האנושי ואין לו כוונה לקיים אף את קלווין, הוא נותן לו עוד שהות לא מוגדרת להשלים עם המצב בטרם ימות גם הוא.
איזו משמעות יכול אדם למצוא במצב כזה, כאשר כל מכריו ובני מינו הושמדו, אלוהים נטש אותו ותקווה אין לו? וכיצד יתבטא אותו "חסד אלוהי" שמבשר שם הספר? אלה השאלות הפילוסופיות שהספר מנסה לענות עליהן במבנה הפיקטיבי שמלמוד הולך ובונה עם התקדמות העלילה ורבבות האלוזיות עתירות המשמעות שהוא ממלא אותו בהן. בנוסף יש כאן גם סיפור נוגע ללב, רווי הומור דק אך גם עשיר ברגעי אימה וזוועה. סך הכל משתקף כאן מצבו של האדם (ובפרט היהודי) בדור שלאחר השואה.
קלווין כהן, הוא אדם משכיל יותר מן הממוצע. בן לשושלת רבנים (שגם למד בישיבה) שנטש את המסורת והפך למדען החוקר את העבר והאבולוציה. הוא איש של ניגודים כפי שמעיד גם שמו – מצד אחד שם יהודי מסורתי ואפילו כהן (העוסק בעבודת האל) ומצד שני שם נוצרי קלוויניסטי המרמז על פרדסטינציה ואמונה בחסד קבוע מראש של האל. הוא אדם נדיב וטוב לב אך גם אנושי מאוד ולוקה בכל החולשות האנושיות: עיוורון עצמי, תשוקות בלתי ניתנות לכיבוש ורצון לשלוט באחר. חולשות שיביאו עליו גם את סופו המר. במיוחד שמור כאן מקום נכבד לסיפור העקדה המקראי, הנרמז ללא הרף לאורך הסיפור ושב ומתהווה בסופו של דבר.
זהו סיפור מר ויפה שכל משפט בו אוצר משמעויות רבות. נהניתי לקרוא ולהגות בו וגם להאזין לפרשנות שאונגר מספק לו בהרצאותיו.
והנה גם קישורים לחמש הרצאותיו של אונגר:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-KXv...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IQWR...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RYee...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy9RD...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1hrL...
January 25, 2011
Paleologist Calvin Cohn, this novel's protagonist was studying the bottom of the ocean when the Second Flood struck. The flood is due to the thermonuclear war brought about by the Cold War (this novel was first published in 1982) and God willed the total anihilation of men on earth. However, God made a "marginal error" by not seeing Calvin in the bottom of the ocean and also some apes who also survived the catastrophe. The first of these apes to surface out is a chimp called Buz, a subject of a scientist who has been teaching him to speak like a human being. Soon other creatures appear - baboons, other chimps, five apes and a lone gorilla, George. This are all the characters in Malamud's modern-day dystopian fantasy: a man and a bunch of apes.
Aside from being a scientist, Calvin is a Jew. Since Buz can speak, he teaches the other apes on how to speak like him. Then Calvin tries to teach them like human beings in the "schooltree." Calvin believes that he and his bunch of apes can start another generation of "people" that will populate the earth. I will not tell you the ending because someone might call my attention and require me to put a spoiler in my review ha ha.
Bernard Malamud (1914-1986) is, along with Saul Bellow and Philip Roth, one of the greatest American Jewish authors. He is more known for his movies that have been turned into movies like The Natural and The Fixer. God's Grace is his last novel and it is, being a dystopian fantasy, a total departure from those two mainstream novels. In God's Grace, however, Malamud still incorporates his strong belief in God as he gave Calvin the ability to talk to God (mostly in dreams) and that God can take his life anytime as a correction to the "marginal error." That belief pervades the mood of the story as one can feel the danger that is lurking and that death is imminent. It's like watching James Cameron's Titanic because you know even at the start of the movie, that ship will capsize and most of them will die. That did not dampen your interest on the movie though because the movie is well-made. Just like God's Grace. It is well-written.
Aside from being a scientist, Calvin is a Jew. Since Buz can speak, he teaches the other apes on how to speak like him. Then Calvin tries to teach them like human beings in the "schooltree." Calvin believes that he and his bunch of apes can start another generation of "people" that will populate the earth. I will not tell you the ending because someone might call my attention and require me to put a spoiler in my review ha ha.
Bernard Malamud (1914-1986) is, along with Saul Bellow and Philip Roth, one of the greatest American Jewish authors. He is more known for his movies that have been turned into movies like The Natural and The Fixer. God's Grace is his last novel and it is, being a dystopian fantasy, a total departure from those two mainstream novels. In God's Grace, however, Malamud still incorporates his strong belief in God as he gave Calvin the ability to talk to God (mostly in dreams) and that God can take his life anytime as a correction to the "marginal error." That belief pervades the mood of the story as one can feel the danger that is lurking and that death is imminent. It's like watching James Cameron's Titanic because you know even at the start of the movie, that ship will capsize and most of them will die. That did not dampen your interest on the movie though because the movie is well-made. Just like God's Grace. It is well-written.
February 13, 2011
Never read a Malamud novel before (not sure why, but then again, there's a shamefully long list of authors I have yet to read). Picked this up on advice from a guy named Moffett, whose taste tends to run congruently with my own and who described this book as "crazy" and "insane." Which it was. A sort of Robinson Crusoe meets Lord of the Rings meets Planet of the Apes. Cohn, a scientist at the bottom of the ocean during a nuclear catastrophe, emerges to find the world flooded and desolate--he, apparently, is the sole survivor; that is, he and a chimp who'd been locked in a room on a boat. Eventually Cohn and Buz--he names the monkey "Buz"--discover an island, where they eventually meet other survivors and the story, which begins with a sort of carefree Gilligan's Island vibe, eventually swerves into Cormac McCarthy territory. I can't say any more about the plot without spoiling it, so I won't. Cohn himself is--from my perspective anyway--one of those characters you end up really liking and caring and worrying about, in part because he attempts to stay rational and kind no matter how absurd or threatening the situations get. A good book to escape into, especially if you enjoy compelling portrayals of apocalyptic stuff peopled by characters who question the nature of existence in a world where God's mysteries remain maddeningly unsolvable.
June 4, 2012
What the hell was that? Awful on almost every level. Unless post apocalyptic dystopian tales of bestiality float your boat. I'm guessing there was an allegorical message in there somewhere. Not for me.
May 6, 2015
An allegory, a fairy story, another end of the world drama where the only question is does the human screw up paradise yet again?
Malamud's writing is so excellent, his characterisation so real, that whether or not the plot is quite 'all there', the book is thoroughly enjoyable to read.
Malamud's writing is so excellent, his characterisation so real, that whether or not the plot is quite 'all there', the book is thoroughly enjoyable to read.
March 1, 2010
Made bestiality bearable.
HAH, a pun.
HAH, a pun.
February 3, 2015
I surprisingly liked this fable about Cohn being the last man standing trying to keep civilization alive through apes. Although I like the general story line of the book, I thought the ending that seemed to have no meaning was depressing to contemplate for this I give this book 3 stars.
After man destroyed each other through nuclear war, God decided to destroy the rest of man via a second flood except for Mr. Cohn who was stuck under the ocean during the second flood. Cohn was mad at God for destroying his dream. The old Testament God never showed His face so when He said in Genesis that man was created in God's image, he must have meant his essence was created in God's image. Only a chimp survived God's wrath with Cohn and they landed on an island. He questions why bother living and answers b/c he breathes he has to live.
On the island, Cohn succumbed to radiation sickness though he realized that someone was keeping him alive by giving him food to eat. He muses that man may have been perfectly conceived by the Creators mind but purely executed b/c of the granting of free will. Time was purely a man made construct, so Cohn did not attempt to tell time. Apparently, God spared the island to create a space for the reinvention of life. But despite the chimp, Cohn was lonely and yearned for companionship someone to talk to. The chimp had a Christian upbring thus crossed himself when Cohn read from Genesis. Cohn describe himself as a fallen rabbi who fell from religion yet was obsessed with God himself.
Miraculously, the chimp gained the ability to speak. Buz had the ability to communicate with Cohn through speech. The Christian chimp, Buz, wanted Cohn to tell Buz the story of Jesus of Nazareth who he claimed preached to the apes. Cohn conjectures that God made man imperfect in order for him to strive to forever be better. George, the gorilla, also stayed close to the Cohn when he told a story to Buz out of the bible. Cohn loneliness led him to anthropomorphized talking chimps into thinking that they are suitable human companions.
Cohn saw the coming of the 5 chimps to his island and decided to accommodate them. B/c he has no one to talk to he basically asks the meaning of things that "God" wants. Like why did God send the 5 chimps to his island? Buz gave the 5 chimps names and he also gave them faith to understand the English language much to Cohn's delight b/c so he can set up civilization and rules for the apes to live by. Buz has a crush on Mary Magdelene the female chimp. The alpha male, Eseau, and Buz were competing for Mary Magdelene's affection though Buz liked Mary Magdelene better than Eseau. Eseau told everyone that his purpose in life was to sleep with Mary since he did not fear anyone and disliked everyone. Although Buz likes Mary, he is jealous on the quick way that she has acquired language and the fact that Cohn praises her but not him. For Buz, Cohn was his white chimpanzee father. Cohn strove to be inclusive to all the apes even the gorilla as he believes any outsiders would be dangerous to the apes ecosystem. He celebrates passover with the apes as a way to celebrate the fact that they survived the flood and strove to teach the apes about civilization and the destruction of men as a way to force them to realize that men failed b/c they did not cooperate to preserve civilization. To this end, Cohn established a school tree for them. Cohn was the only man left who teaches the apes of man's failures due to hubris. He questions God in making men imperfect thus indirectly contributing to his own downfall.
Cohn's little chimp village was a successful civilization with all the chimps except Eseau contributing to its success until Mary Magdelene reached estrus and disturbed the peace. In his cave, she told Cohn that ever since she learned knowledge from Cohn she no longer presents herself to male chimps even if she is in heat. The next day Eseau smelling Mary prepared to bash Cohn but he successfully scared him off. While Cohn has growing affection toward Mary,
she is in love with him b/c she was a romantic. Cohn realized that the reason why Mary did not present herself to a male was due to the fact she was saving her virginity for him. Cohn decided to mate with Mary in order to fast forward the evolutionary natural selection process with their chimp/man child. Before they slept with each other, Cohn decided to give Mary a wedding dress.
So, Cohn and Mary had a baby girl named Rebekah. Concerns about bestiality gave way to Cohn sense of responsibility of re-populating the earth with smart responsible beings starting with his hybrid child. Cohn tells his chimps that the baboons were strangers welcomed in their land, no matter what the chimps think of them. Ever since Cohn cured Eseau from his rotten teeth, he has been Cohn's best worker. Eseau promised to be more tolerant around the baboons. But Eseau led the chimps to hunting the baboon child Sara and ate her much to Cohn's chagrin and anger. Cohn lectured the chimps on the sacredness of all life while Eseau argued he was executing what was in his nature to chase and eat the meat that he was presented with. He enjoyed the process of the hunt and the taste of meat that comes with it. When the chimps disobeyed Cohn's rules by hunting baboons, he tried to banish them. But then, Eseau was angered by Cohn's banishment and almost killed him only to be saved by Mary by hitting Eseau on the head by a hammer.
Meanwhile, Buz wanted to supplant Cohn as the educated moral leader of the chimps. His Christian faith made him preach the God is love. Rebeka was growing into a sharp baby girl. But unfortunately, the apes conspired against Cohn in undermining his civilization. Cohn retaliated by cutting Buz's voice box to which the chimps responded by reverting back to savagery away from Cohn's civilization. Although Cohn was led to be slaughter, God did allow him to live a long life; though his version of civilization was not successful as he hoped.
After man destroyed each other through nuclear war, God decided to destroy the rest of man via a second flood except for Mr. Cohn who was stuck under the ocean during the second flood. Cohn was mad at God for destroying his dream. The old Testament God never showed His face so when He said in Genesis that man was created in God's image, he must have meant his essence was created in God's image. Only a chimp survived God's wrath with Cohn and they landed on an island. He questions why bother living and answers b/c he breathes he has to live.
On the island, Cohn succumbed to radiation sickness though he realized that someone was keeping him alive by giving him food to eat. He muses that man may have been perfectly conceived by the Creators mind but purely executed b/c of the granting of free will. Time was purely a man made construct, so Cohn did not attempt to tell time. Apparently, God spared the island to create a space for the reinvention of life. But despite the chimp, Cohn was lonely and yearned for companionship someone to talk to. The chimp had a Christian upbring thus crossed himself when Cohn read from Genesis. Cohn describe himself as a fallen rabbi who fell from religion yet was obsessed with God himself.
Miraculously, the chimp gained the ability to speak. Buz had the ability to communicate with Cohn through speech. The Christian chimp, Buz, wanted Cohn to tell Buz the story of Jesus of Nazareth who he claimed preached to the apes. Cohn conjectures that God made man imperfect in order for him to strive to forever be better. George, the gorilla, also stayed close to the Cohn when he told a story to Buz out of the bible. Cohn loneliness led him to anthropomorphized talking chimps into thinking that they are suitable human companions.
Cohn saw the coming of the 5 chimps to his island and decided to accommodate them. B/c he has no one to talk to he basically asks the meaning of things that "God" wants. Like why did God send the 5 chimps to his island? Buz gave the 5 chimps names and he also gave them faith to understand the English language much to Cohn's delight b/c so he can set up civilization and rules for the apes to live by. Buz has a crush on Mary Magdelene the female chimp. The alpha male, Eseau, and Buz were competing for Mary Magdelene's affection though Buz liked Mary Magdelene better than Eseau. Eseau told everyone that his purpose in life was to sleep with Mary since he did not fear anyone and disliked everyone. Although Buz likes Mary, he is jealous on the quick way that she has acquired language and the fact that Cohn praises her but not him. For Buz, Cohn was his white chimpanzee father. Cohn strove to be inclusive to all the apes even the gorilla as he believes any outsiders would be dangerous to the apes ecosystem. He celebrates passover with the apes as a way to celebrate the fact that they survived the flood and strove to teach the apes about civilization and the destruction of men as a way to force them to realize that men failed b/c they did not cooperate to preserve civilization. To this end, Cohn established a school tree for them. Cohn was the only man left who teaches the apes of man's failures due to hubris. He questions God in making men imperfect thus indirectly contributing to his own downfall.
Cohn's little chimp village was a successful civilization with all the chimps except Eseau contributing to its success until Mary Magdelene reached estrus and disturbed the peace. In his cave, she told Cohn that ever since she learned knowledge from Cohn she no longer presents herself to male chimps even if she is in heat. The next day Eseau smelling Mary prepared to bash Cohn but he successfully scared him off. While Cohn has growing affection toward Mary,
she is in love with him b/c she was a romantic. Cohn realized that the reason why Mary did not present herself to a male was due to the fact she was saving her virginity for him. Cohn decided to mate with Mary in order to fast forward the evolutionary natural selection process with their chimp/man child. Before they slept with each other, Cohn decided to give Mary a wedding dress.
So, Cohn and Mary had a baby girl named Rebekah. Concerns about bestiality gave way to Cohn sense of responsibility of re-populating the earth with smart responsible beings starting with his hybrid child. Cohn tells his chimps that the baboons were strangers welcomed in their land, no matter what the chimps think of them. Ever since Cohn cured Eseau from his rotten teeth, he has been Cohn's best worker. Eseau promised to be more tolerant around the baboons. But Eseau led the chimps to hunting the baboon child Sara and ate her much to Cohn's chagrin and anger. Cohn lectured the chimps on the sacredness of all life while Eseau argued he was executing what was in his nature to chase and eat the meat that he was presented with. He enjoyed the process of the hunt and the taste of meat that comes with it. When the chimps disobeyed Cohn's rules by hunting baboons, he tried to banish them. But then, Eseau was angered by Cohn's banishment and almost killed him only to be saved by Mary by hitting Eseau on the head by a hammer.
Meanwhile, Buz wanted to supplant Cohn as the educated moral leader of the chimps. His Christian faith made him preach the God is love. Rebeka was growing into a sharp baby girl. But unfortunately, the apes conspired against Cohn in undermining his civilization. Cohn retaliated by cutting Buz's voice box to which the chimps responded by reverting back to savagery away from Cohn's civilization. Although Cohn was led to be slaughter, God did allow him to live a long life; though his version of civilization was not successful as he hoped.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2015
In the end, Cohn is subsequently taken to be sacrificed by BUZ. Now my question is this: Did Malamud try to recreate the scenes of Christ's sacrifice or was he referring to Abraham's ascend to Moriah to sacrifice Isaac (or Ishmael) only in this case, it was the son preparing the Father for sacrifice?
Now of course the first assumption makes it clear that Cohn act was voluntary (which is suggested when he asks Buz to untie his hand assuring him he won’t protest or run away) knowing well that his submission to God's will will bring salvation to his soul and the inhabitants in the end since he became unwanted (Mary abandons Cohn for Esau and his thugs) . However if we consider the latter case bringing in the Abrahamic example, we tend to get a totally different explanation which is far darker and cynical. In the Abrahamic tale, Abraham (the Father) carries Isaac (the son) for the sacrifice to be slaughtered and then offered as a burnt sacrifice to God. However, in the case of Cohn, it is Cohn (the father) being carried for the sacrifice by Buz (the son) recreating the exact same detail of the burnt offering with pretty much the same ambience. Since in Biblical theme, "Father" is usually synonymous with God himself, can we make the following deduction which is as follow? :
"Humanity (represented by Buz) killed God (represented by Cohn) after being enlightened (through the gift of language and knowledge)? Was this a sharp critique of the "Civilized" world?"
This book is like an abstract piece of art that invites several interpretations.
Now of course the first assumption makes it clear that Cohn act was voluntary (which is suggested when he asks Buz to untie his hand assuring him he won’t protest or run away) knowing well that his submission to God's will will bring salvation to his soul and the inhabitants in the end since he became unwanted (Mary abandons Cohn for Esau and his thugs) . However if we consider the latter case bringing in the Abrahamic example, we tend to get a totally different explanation which is far darker and cynical. In the Abrahamic tale, Abraham (the Father) carries Isaac (the son) for the sacrifice to be slaughtered and then offered as a burnt sacrifice to God. However, in the case of Cohn, it is Cohn (the father) being carried for the sacrifice by Buz (the son) recreating the exact same detail of the burnt offering with pretty much the same ambience. Since in Biblical theme, "Father" is usually synonymous with God himself, can we make the following deduction which is as follow? :
"Humanity (represented by Buz) killed God (represented by Cohn) after being enlightened (through the gift of language and knowledge)? Was this a sharp critique of the "Civilized" world?"
This book is like an abstract piece of art that invites several interpretations.
December 29, 2015
Η μαεστρία έγκειται στο ότι παρά την όλη παραδοξότητα ο συγγραφέας επιτυγχάνει να σε κρατήσει εντελώς συντονισμένο με την ιστορία του, σε βαθμό που βρίσκεις τον εαυτό σου να μοιράζεται τους προβληματισμους του Κον, αλλά και των χιμπατζήδων- ενίοτε. Τουλάχιστον εγώ αυτό ένιωσα.
Κατά τα άλλα ΟΚ, μου άρεσε το βιβλίο, δεν με κατατροπώσε κιόλας αλλά το απελαυσα. Αν έτσι θα είναι η οργή του Θεού από την σάπια συμπεριφορά του ανθρώπου, ίσως και να αξίζει στους χιμπατζήδες να πάρουν την σκυτάλη.
Κατά τα άλλα ΟΚ, μου άρεσε το βιβλίο, δεν με κατατροπώσε κιόλας αλλά το απελαυσα. Αν έτσι θα είναι η οργή του Θεού από την σάπια συμπεριφορά του ανθρώπου, ίσως και να αξίζει στους χιμπατζήδες να πάρουν την σκυτάλη.
October 26, 2023
puff k cojones
November 7, 2023
-Ένας πίθηκος που μιλάει μπορεί να είναι ισάξιος με έναν άνθρωπο;
-Αρκεί η απόλυτη καταστροφή του πλανήτη για να ξεριζωθούν αντιλήψεις αιώνων;
-Τι συμβολίζει ο Τζωρτζ ο γορίλας;
-Σε ένα ενδεχομενο reset με πολύ λίγους επιζήσαντες, είναι άραγε πιο πιθανό να γίνουν προσπάθειες προς τη δημιουργία μιας κοινωνίας της οποίας τα μέλη θα έχουν ίση μεταχείριση ή θα επικρατήσει ο πιο δυνατός ;
Ένα αριστούργημα και όχι δε θα μπω στη διαδικασία να το συγκρίνω με τον άρχοντα των μυγών γιατί ούτως ή άλλως ο Malamud έχει τη δική του υπόσταση
-Αρκεί η απόλυτη καταστροφή του πλανήτη για να ξεριζωθούν αντιλήψεις αιώνων;
-Τι συμβολίζει ο Τζωρτζ ο γορίλας;
-Σε ένα ενδεχομενο reset με πολύ λίγους επιζήσαντες, είναι άραγε πιο πιθανό να γίνουν προσπάθειες προς τη δημιουργία μιας κοινωνίας της οποίας τα μέλη θα έχουν ίση μεταχείριση ή θα επικρατήσει ο πιο δυνατός ;
Ένα αριστούργημα και όχι δε θα μπω στη διαδικασία να το συγκρίνω με τον άρχοντα των μυγών γιατί ούτως ή άλλως ο Malamud έχει τη δική του υπόσταση
June 26, 2010
A good read overall, from both religious and evolutionary standpoints - Malamud interestingly reconciles the two while questioning God's will. His style is very minimalistic, which in the first chapter of the Day of Devestation (or so Cohn, the protagonist, refers to the Flood with which man destroys himself) is engaging. The contrast of such a simple style with the havoc around Cohn allows the imagination to expand and fill in the gaps, the loneliness and isolation, more than any words ever could. However, the minimalist style soon becomes weary and it's hard to get through some parts of the story because of it - the reader really needs to rely on himself.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but I can't say I would recommend it to most people unless they were unusually interested in the God vs evolution question or Judaism in literature.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but I can't say I would recommend it to most people unless they were unusually interested in the God vs evolution question or Judaism in literature.
February 29, 2012
Calvin Cohn, a Rabbi’s son, is the last man left alive after God wipes out mankind with a second Flood. There are other simians on the planet however, and Cohn starts a new civilization with some chimps (who soon learn to talk), a quiet gorilla and feral baboons on an island. His attempts to play God with the apes, however, go awry after he fathers a hybrid baby with the female chimp.
I first read this in high school; I’m not entirely sure I understand it any more than I did 17 years ago. I believe that Cohn represents the Jewish tradition, and the original chimp he adopts, Boz, represents Christianity. In the end, Boz turns on Cohn, and the human and baby are killed; what might that mean? I must admit I’m not entirely sure what Malamud is implying with this entertaining but rather oblique allegory.
[Read twice]
I first read this in high school; I’m not entirely sure I understand it any more than I did 17 years ago. I believe that Cohn represents the Jewish tradition, and the original chimp he adopts, Boz, represents Christianity. In the end, Boz turns on Cohn, and the human and baby are killed; what might that mean? I must admit I’m not entirely sure what Malamud is implying with this entertaining but rather oblique allegory.
[Read twice]
June 14, 2012
I have read Mr. Malamud's The Natural, and The Assistant, so I was attracted to this book right off the bat. It is a very different construct then the other books. In this book, Malamud writes about a dystopian future, where a Second Flood has occurred after a nuclear war. Not what I was expecting. Unlike the other books I have read by Malamud, there is a heavy presence of God and Judaism here as well. Overall, it is a great book.
The story is well told, the pace is quick and the writing is excellent. I like the main character - the only human who survives the Flood, Cohen, and while you question some of his actions and ideas, you can relate to why he chooses the paths he does. The interactions with animals and the Planet of the Apes allegories are well thought out and executed.
The story is well told, the pace is quick and the writing is excellent. I like the main character - the only human who survives the Flood, Cohen, and while you question some of his actions and ideas, you can relate to why he chooses the paths he does. The interactions with animals and the Planet of the Apes allegories are well thought out and executed.
December 20, 2014
This is a really fantastic novel. One man stuck on a desert island - the sole survivor of God's wrath. He tries to bring some sort of order to his new habitat, and forgiveness from his maker. It's witty and deep.I always wondered if Yann Martel read it before he wrote Life of Pi.
This novel had a profound influence on me when I was writing a religious-themed novel that included a gorilla, which I will rewrite and publish at some point.
This novel had a profound influence on me when I was writing a religious-themed novel that included a gorilla, which I will rewrite and publish at some point.
August 15, 2009
A strange book about a scientist who survives a Second Flood. Although he hears God threaten to destroy him, too, he finds an island and eventually discovers a group of chimps that he (and his companion, a chimp named Buz) teach to speak and try to orgnize into a civilization. Eventually, much as in Lord of the Flies, it all falls apart. I'm sure I missed many of the subtelties. I did have the feeling, though, that the main character, Colin, was somehow in the wrong in his civilizing efforts, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2015
Lord of the Flies with chimpanzees and one human. I understand what Malamud tried to do here, it was ok but could have been more. It was pretty cliche and feels like been there, done that.
August 9, 2016
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13885598
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13885598
August 24, 2023
Dopo aver letto quasi tutti romanzi di Malamud, “Il migliore”, “Il commesso”, “Una nuova vita”, “L’uomo di Kiev”, “Le vite di Dubin” e perfino il postumo “Il popolo” non potevo esimermi dal terminare il ciclo con questo “Dio mio, grazie” ( 1982), l’ultimo pubblicato in vita, anche se ancora mi manca “Gli inquilini”, mentre la produzione breve è quasi interamente da esplorare.
Avevo messo in pausa Malamud, ma ritrovarlo è stato, come sempre, piacevole anche se questo romanzo è davvero spiazzante.
Esso si regge infatti su quelli che sembrerebbero essere i pilastri della storia dell’essere umano e della sua capacità di raccontarsi in storie più o meno veritiere: un uomo, un diluvio post apocalittico, una sopravvivenza oltre ogni possibilità, alcuni primati, la riscrittura del paleolitico e del neolitico con annesse le sue scoperte fondamentali, il logos generosamente possibile anche nella specie animale, la riproduzione e gli istinti sessuali, le gelosie, la convivenza, la necessità di un’etica fondante un mondo nuovo.
A prima vista sembra un romanzo distopico, ma non lo è .
Cohn è un paleontologo che per puro caso sopravvive perché, mentre si scatena l’ennesima guerra termonucleare tra uomini che generano la distruzione totale e un conseguente diluvio universale, di matrice tutta divina, si trova in immersione dentro un sommergibile. A stento capisce cosa gli è successo ma Dio subito gli si palesa a spiegare che lui è vivo per mero errore di calcolo, sarà anche lui presto distrutto e invece, sopravvive diventando un novello Robinson Crusoe. Non bisogna però temere una riscrittura delle avventure del mitico naufrago perché Cohn è figlio di un rabbino, è un ebreo che ha preferito lo studio scientifico alla narrazione biblica fondante la storia del genere umano e ora oscilla tra il timore reverenziale di questo Dio che è sola luce e parola e obblighi e castigo e punizioni, e la sua presunzione tutta umana. Quello che inizia come una felice distopia si tramuta presto in romanzo di avventura per poi rivelare la sua vera natura apologica anche se a tratti blasfema: con arguzia e ironia vengono riecheggiati nomi ed episodi biblici affibbiati ai diversi personaggi che via via compaiono, altri sopravvissuti, nessun essere umano mentre Cohn recupera nel suo quotidiano sopravvivere tutti i rituali ebraici, per quanto possibile, e non ammette altra religione, tanto meno quella cristiana professata da Buz, lo scimpanzé ritrovato nell’imbarcazione che fungeva da supporto al sommergibile.
Cohn si nasconde da Dio, Cohn sfida Dio, Cohn si sostituisce a Dio, Cohn ha dimenticato che l’etica senza l’amore porterà il genere umano a morire definitivamente.
Sebbene a tratti disturbante quanto il migliore Saramago, ne consiglio vivamente la lettura.
Avevo messo in pausa Malamud, ma ritrovarlo è stato, come sempre, piacevole anche se questo romanzo è davvero spiazzante.
Esso si regge infatti su quelli che sembrerebbero essere i pilastri della storia dell’essere umano e della sua capacità di raccontarsi in storie più o meno veritiere: un uomo, un diluvio post apocalittico, una sopravvivenza oltre ogni possibilità, alcuni primati, la riscrittura del paleolitico e del neolitico con annesse le sue scoperte fondamentali, il logos generosamente possibile anche nella specie animale, la riproduzione e gli istinti sessuali, le gelosie, la convivenza, la necessità di un’etica fondante un mondo nuovo.
A prima vista sembra un romanzo distopico, ma non lo è .
Cohn è un paleontologo che per puro caso sopravvive perché, mentre si scatena l’ennesima guerra termonucleare tra uomini che generano la distruzione totale e un conseguente diluvio universale, di matrice tutta divina, si trova in immersione dentro un sommergibile. A stento capisce cosa gli è successo ma Dio subito gli si palesa a spiegare che lui è vivo per mero errore di calcolo, sarà anche lui presto distrutto e invece, sopravvive diventando un novello Robinson Crusoe. Non bisogna però temere una riscrittura delle avventure del mitico naufrago perché Cohn è figlio di un rabbino, è un ebreo che ha preferito lo studio scientifico alla narrazione biblica fondante la storia del genere umano e ora oscilla tra il timore reverenziale di questo Dio che è sola luce e parola e obblighi e castigo e punizioni, e la sua presunzione tutta umana. Quello che inizia come una felice distopia si tramuta presto in romanzo di avventura per poi rivelare la sua vera natura apologica anche se a tratti blasfema: con arguzia e ironia vengono riecheggiati nomi ed episodi biblici affibbiati ai diversi personaggi che via via compaiono, altri sopravvissuti, nessun essere umano mentre Cohn recupera nel suo quotidiano sopravvivere tutti i rituali ebraici, per quanto possibile, e non ammette altra religione, tanto meno quella cristiana professata da Buz, lo scimpanzé ritrovato nell’imbarcazione che fungeva da supporto al sommergibile.
Cohn si nasconde da Dio, Cohn sfida Dio, Cohn si sostituisce a Dio, Cohn ha dimenticato che l’etica senza l’amore porterà il genere umano a morire definitivamente.
Sebbene a tratti disturbante quanto il migliore Saramago, ne consiglio vivamente la lettura.
February 28, 2025
L’umanità si è distrutta con un’ultima devastante guerra nucleare, mentre il buon Dio ha scatenato subito dopo un nuovo diluvio universale per spazzare via ogni essere vivente… o quasi. L’ebreo Calvin su una goletta in mezzo al mare è forse l’unico uomo rimasto, e Dio per il momento lo lascia andare al suo destino. Bastano poche pagine per capire che siamo in una favola postatomica condita di humour ebraico, di quello amaro e nero, con tante citazioni bibliche che solo chi conosce bene le sacre scritture potrebbe cogliere appieno (io non sono certo tra quelli).Calvin sulla nave trova Buz, scimpanzè sapiente dotato della parola e sbarcati su un’isola sconosciuta, si imbattono in altre scimmie scampate al disastro. Nasce così una piccola comunità “governata” in qualche modo da Calvin, dove gli scimpanzè si umanizzano, imparano i rudimenti della conoscenza e si organizzano per la raccolta del cibo. Una speranza per il futuro dell’umanità, purtroppo in equilibrio precario, minato da rivalità – un maschio alfa ribelle, i giovani recalcitranti, una femmina contesa – destinato a rompersi con l’arrivo dei babbuini, tradizionali nemici. E la storia cambia registro, con un’esplosione di violenza inaspettata – un pugno nello stomaco del lettore che non se lo aspetta – che riporta le scimmie alla natura originaria, arricchita da un surplus di cattiveria e cinismo che possono aver imparato solo dall’uomo .Malamud scrive una parabola sul destino dell’uomo, impersonato da Calvin, novello Robinson con tanti Venerdì da cui guardarsi, in polemica con Dio salvo temerne i colpi, figlio di rabbino che a suo tempo scelse la scienza anziché la religione, che per la scienza accetta di procreare con una scimpanzè mentre per il suo figlioccio Buz, che porta al collo una croce cristiana sogna un Bar Mitzvah e gli racconta di Abramo e Isacco… Un romanzo diverso nella produzione dello scrittore, non all’altezza dei suoi più famosi (Il commesso, L’uomo di Kiev) ma che merita ugualmente, consigliato anche a chi non digerisce molto le distopie futuribili. Tre stelle e mezza.
July 6, 2025
Seriously messed up.
From the descriptions this sounded really interesting and had great reviews. Perhaps I'm just not smart enough to get it. In a post-apocalyptic world Calvin is questioning why he survived with no other humans and questioning his religion and why God would save him. He finds a baby chimpanzee (Buz) and together they end up shipwrecked on an island with some other chimpanzees, a gorilla and some baboons. No other animals or insects have survived but somehow all the trees, flowers and fruits seem to have survived and be able to pollinate without insects. Mangoes and bananas also seem to grow in winter. Buz has been implanted with a voice box and teaches the other chimpanzees to speak.
All very improbable but then it also gets creepy when Calvin falls for a female chimpanzee and they have a baby together. Then it gets violent when the male chimpanzees start killing and eating the baboon babies and then the half chimpanzee half human baby. It is overly descriptive of the sex and violence and attempts to justify it as something God would approve of. There is a lot of going on about Judaism vs Christianity and human superiority over all other animals. Calvin's behaviour is not very superior just entitled and narcissistic.
Not what I was expecting at all and way to creepy for my liking.
From the descriptions this sounded really interesting and had great reviews. Perhaps I'm just not smart enough to get it. In a post-apocalyptic world Calvin is questioning why he survived with no other humans and questioning his religion and why God would save him. He finds a baby chimpanzee (Buz) and together they end up shipwrecked on an island with some other chimpanzees, a gorilla and some baboons. No other animals or insects have survived but somehow all the trees, flowers and fruits seem to have survived and be able to pollinate without insects. Mangoes and bananas also seem to grow in winter. Buz has been implanted with a voice box and teaches the other chimpanzees to speak.
All very improbable but then it also gets creepy when Calvin falls for a female chimpanzee and they have a baby together. Then it gets violent when the male chimpanzees start killing and eating the baboon babies and then the half chimpanzee half human baby. It is overly descriptive of the sex and violence and attempts to justify it as something God would approve of. There is a lot of going on about Judaism vs Christianity and human superiority over all other animals. Calvin's behaviour is not very superior just entitled and narcissistic.
Not what I was expecting at all and way to creepy for my liking.
November 15, 2017
God breaks his promise to the human race and decides to flood the world and destroy everyone again due to us engaging in a nuclear war, but forget about Calvin Cohn, who is diving off a boat when it happens. Consequently, Cohn then has to deal with God, who makes further promises to him which turn out to be completely empty. There is a chimp called Buz on the boat who becomes capable of speech but turns out to be Christian, unlike Cohn who is Jewish. They later find an island with other chimps. In the end, Cohn destroys the voice box which gave Buz the power of speech and Buz kills him by cutting his throat. As he dies, Cohn becomes an old man in order that God's promise that he would die an old man be fulfilled.
God is not shown in a good light by this novel. It makes me think of the old saying, "If God lived on Earth, he would have all his windows broken".
God is not shown in a good light by this novel. It makes me think of the old saying, "If God lived on Earth, he would have all his windows broken".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2025
Listen, when I was in college long ago, I thought Malamud was a very important writer. I liked the presentation in his novels and his short stories, I read more than just "The Natural." Since then nothing. So casting about for something to read I came across this, his last book, and I thought I would give it a try.
This is quite different than I was expecting, not at all what I thought a Malamud book should be like. I kinda felt as if it was a last attempt by an old man to make a comment on life, but when I looked him up online it turns out he was in his mid 60s when he wrote this, not terribly elderly. I don't understand what he was trying to accomplish, but this was not much of anything to me.
I am still a Malamud fan, but I would pass on this. I borrowed it from the St Louis County Library.
This is quite different than I was expecting, not at all what I thought a Malamud book should be like. I kinda felt as if it was a last attempt by an old man to make a comment on life, but when I looked him up online it turns out he was in his mid 60s when he wrote this, not terribly elderly. I don't understand what he was trying to accomplish, but this was not much of anything to me.
I am still a Malamud fan, but I would pass on this. I borrowed it from the St Louis County Library.
January 3, 2018
Malamud really can't write badly, but this book is troubling and strange. I read this because someone said it was probaby an influence on the writing of The Life of Pi. That seems probably but not really of any importance to the appreciation of this book, since it was written in 1982. A spiritual journey that ends in a difficult space. Short and powerful.
November 11, 2025
Whatever I reply, would you in reality believe me?
'Not necessarily,' Cohn warily said.
So call it a dream.
'No more than that?' he cried.
But the angel had gone, though the haunting sound of his voice lingered.
Cohn woke holding his spear aloft in a dark-green forest.
He feared God more than he loved Him
'Not necessarily,' Cohn warily said.
So call it a dream.
'No more than that?' he cried.
But the angel had gone, though the haunting sound of his voice lingered.
Cohn woke holding his spear aloft in a dark-green forest.
He feared God more than he loved Him
March 3, 2022
Η Τελευταία Χάρη
Πολύ καλό. Θέλω να το ξαναδιαβάσω.
Πολύ καλό. Θέλω να το ξαναδιαβάσω.
April 11, 2019
Read back in 1985. Was interesting. Can"t remember all the details.
July 28, 2019
those monkeys. my mum and i both adored this book. so soul bending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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