tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post3559451463827969855..comments2024-03-26T01:52:45.563-07:00Comments on Fred's Place: John Brunner: Stand on ZanzibarFredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-14364068725092222332009-12-04T08:23:22.814-07:002009-12-04T08:23:22.814-07:00Overpopulation is still a problem, but the media d...Overpopulation is still a problem, but the media doesn't focus on it anymore. Several factors, I think anyway, have slowed the population growth to some extent so that the timetable proposed back in the 60s needs to be revisited.<br /><br />I think those factors are genecidal wars, new methods of producing food crops, HIV/AIDS, and emigration. These have slowed the pop growth, but haven't come close to solving it.<br /><br />The solution is reducing the birth rate--a touchy subject in any culture.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-8822609018409596692009-12-03T14:00:01.308-07:002009-12-03T14:00:01.308-07:00When I looked this novel up on Wikipedia, it menti...When I looked this novel up on Wikipedia, it mentioned that overpopulation and it's impact was a main focus of the plot. I was just wondering about how overpopulation was talked about alot in the sixties and early Seventies, but it's rarely talked about now. ( Maybe I'm just not aware of it, though.) Why do you think that is? Isn't it the threat they thought it would be?Cherylnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-75039014950844846252009-12-03T12:18:55.588-07:002009-12-03T12:18:55.588-07:00Cheryl,
I would say it's certainly influenced...Cheryl,<br /><br />I would say it's certainly influenced by the 60s, which would be natural since it was written during the 60s. The sexual mores in the novel are definitely 60s and clearly pre-HIV/AIDS.<br /><br />As for the political issues, I would say it is more a commentary on the Cold War in general and an extrapolation from the 60s into the future, rather than being a specific commment on Viet Nam. <br /><br />There's also a nod in the direction of Orwell's _1984_ with various blocs being more or less permanently at war with each other. The hostilities are not of a global extent but more of "hot spots" that flare up where the blocs rub up against each other.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-66704238850346543522009-12-03T06:37:23.088-07:002009-12-03T06:37:23.088-07:00Fred,
I, too, have never read this book bu...Fred,<br /><br /> I, too, have never read this book but have heard about it. Do you think it was a product of the sixties? Maybe the ending, too? I'm interested in your opinion, not having read it myself. From your description, do you think it was written as a commentary on the war in Vietnam and American political policies? ( I could be totally misinterpreting this.)Cherylnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-51413789589236188792009-12-02T16:49:33.255-07:002009-12-02T16:49:33.255-07:00R. T.,
My answer would be yes in this case. Ther...R. T.,<br /><br />My answer would be yes in this case. There is so much else that is in the novel that I would still recommend it highly. This was a reread actually, and I intend to read it again. <br /><br />Ironically, one of the significant characters rails against the solution. He says: "But it's not right." <br /><br />I've wondered whether that's Brunner complaining about his ending. <br /><br />I recommend reading it for it's worth the time spent. Besides, you may disagree with me about the ending.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-38237294644976480612009-12-02T16:22:57.641-07:002009-12-02T16:22:57.641-07:00Your comment on the disappointing ending raises an...Your comment on the disappointing ending raises an interesting question: Can a novel still be worthwhile if the ending is an aesthetic and compositional failure? I know my initial answer to that question, but perhaps this is a complex question that I need to think about and pursue later. In the meantime, I appreciate your generous, well-written critique, but I'm afraid your concern about the ending convinces me that my reading time ought to be spent elsewhere. Yes, I've heard about the novel, but never read it; perhaps I have not missed out on anything, especially since I tend to believe my answer to my previously proffered question is generally in the negative.R/Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07791522136032565027noreply@blogger.com