Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Great life-affirming novels

I'm often asked which novels affirm human existence in the face of posthuman technology. I would only choose those that do so without being sentimental, and this is not an easy task. I cannot think of any right now that deal with posthuman technology as directly as the dystopias do. The novels below describe redemption as something that comes from embracing who we are--not from expecting to become someone else. Marilynne Robinson's book is Gilead. Nicole Mazzarella's book is This Heavy Silence.

1 comment:

Al Hsu said...

Welcome to the blogosphere, Christina! I've read both Mazzarella's and Robinson's novels, and I found them quite deep and rich. Are you familiar with Jon Hassler? He's probably my favorite novelist - he's a Minnesotan and a Catholic writer with some of the most astute portrayals of small-town Midwestern life. He's not grappling with issues of post-human technology, but his novels are profoundly life-affirming, especially as he grapples with issues of aging and disease (Hassler has Parkinson's). He's most known for his first novel, Staggerford, and his other books include Simon's Night, North of Hope and Rookery Blues.