Welcome to another book review of Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam Blog.
Today I would like to talk briefly about a novel I read recently. The novel was Richard Matheson’s 1954 science fiction horror I am Legend. One famous novelist called this “the most clever and riveting vampire story since Dracula.” Of course, I watched the movie and thought it was terrific, intense, and added an entirely new dimension to this horror genre. What I also enjoyed about the movie was that it wasn’t merely interested in showing infected living-dead creatures eating other creatures, but it was deeply interested in revealing Will Smith’s character, Robert Neville and his love for his dog. I really enjoyed that dimension of the movie. I did not know what to expect from the book, but I was deeply impressed with it. The novel is about vampires, which is certainly different than the movie version. Some of these vampires cogent to point of calling Robert Neville’s name and others are animal-like. They wonder purposelessly. In the book, Robert Neville…the last living human being not infected. He establishes a routine, a life liturgy. He does things over and over again…but he gets tired of the sameness of his life and it is when he tries something different that his life engages all sorts of unique actions.
There are two unique elements of this story that are powerful illustrations of humanity:
The first is that loneliness is evil. Loneliness leads to all sorts of bizarre activities. It will drive you mad. The scenario in the novel is impossible, but it very much expresses the life of loneliness. It teaches that man is not made to be alone. This is why his quest for a friend, namely a dog in the novel is so significant. It is not just finding a pet to care for it is finding a replacement for another human being.
Secondly, it teaches that temptations are real. Robert Neville faced all sorts of temptations in the novel. Several of the temptations in the novel are not mentioned in the movie, and this is why I recommend reading the novel. Temptations are real, as Paul says in I Corinthians 10. In Neville’s case to fall into temptation would mean death. It is precisely the same way in the Christian life…there are sins leading to death.
One more quick thought and that is that sometimes we tend to be frustrated with liberties movies take with the novels. We really should not be frustrated. Movies are re-creations of the stories in the novel. Most times they succeed in carefully representing the book, but other times they do not. Movies need to be concise and squeeze sometimes a large novel into a 2 hour presentation. The novel was fantastic. As an added bonus there are several other short stories by Matheson worth your time too.
I was disappointed that the novel ended as it did, but I appreciated the idea that when the whole world goes crazy, it is the sane man who is called insane. When everyone’s a vampire, the monster is the man. It’s the same way for the church – a man wants to educate his child at home, and does not want a homosexual as a boy scout leader. He is then labelled crazy and hateful.
Good review.