Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Classics (1995), Edition: Fourth Printing, Paperback, 208 pages
Description
God's Grace is an apocalyptic tale set in an imaginary time and place. It is an audacious story and probably the author's most controversial work.
User reviews
LibraryThing member thorold
Not the sort of thing I usually enjoy, and I didn't. Calvin Cohn, scientist and ex-rabbinical student, is the only human survivor of a nuclear holocaust. Being the protagonist of a novel by a Jewish, male, American, he naturally blames God for wiping out the rest of the human race, and has a big
This satirical fable, Malamud's last completed novel, is very cleverly done, full of references to literature, philosophy, science, and - above all - the Old Testament. The bleak message seems to be that, however sophisticated and enlightened the civilization we build up for ourselves, selfishness and violence will smash it all up again. I'm not sure why he really needs a complicated structure of apocalypse, flood, and talking chimpanzees to demonstrate that, though.
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argument with Him about it. God finds a peculiarly apt and very nasty way to teach him a lesson. This satirical fable, Malamud's last completed novel, is very cleverly done, full of references to literature, philosophy, science, and - above all - the Old Testament. The bleak message seems to be that, however sophisticated and enlightened the civilization we build up for ourselves, selfishness and violence will smash it all up again. I'm not sure why he really needs a complicated structure of apocalypse, flood, and talking chimpanzees to demonstrate that, though.
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
I thought the premise sounded interesting - last man on the earth - talking chimpanzees - a new world. The book was interesting, though the religious elements were somewhat odd - a jewish man who believes and yet doesn't believe. A God who talks to Cohn (maybe - I was never quite sure). However, in
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the end, this seemed to be yet another book of the same - we hope for better but we are what we are. Cohn conceives a new, better world. But even the destruction of all but a handful of survivors doesn't change the essential nature. Events don't change nature. Maybe a second reading will illuminate more of what Mr. Malamud was saying in this short novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member kcshankd
This is an amazing book, it sticks with me years after reading. A post-apocalyptic tale of the last man standing, and chimps. Four stars b/c his male chimp competitors would have ripped... various parts off shortly after encountering him - but that would have made a much less interesting story.
Language
Original publication date
1982
Physical description
208 p.; 7.6 inches
ISBN
0140184910 / 9780140184914