Earth Abides

Post-apocalypse science fiction is flourishing at the moment, but "Earth Abides" is the one that really established its modern form. I've read it many times, but in 2024 it had a different impact on me, and I think it has grown in stature over the years.

The plot takes a now familiar path: a plague wipes out most of humanity; the survivors must come together and work out how to repopulate the empty world, to overcome the psychological and physical impediments they now face. As the story unfolds, it reveals truths about all humanity: our morals and failings and strengths are exposed by the thought experiment of stripping the species back to its barest remnants.

There are no triffids here, no zombies, not even any crazed marauding gangs to provide conflict. Much of the plot tension comes through the protagonist, Isherwood Williams, a young intellectual who judges himself the only survivor capable of rekindling all the earth's knowledge, passing it on to future generations who will rebuild civilisation.

Ish is a solitary, geeky sort of man. He's a nature lover who survives the plague because he's on one of his frequent wilderness camping trips. He considers his solitary tendency a strength at first, judging that he can survive the shock, as so much human companionship vanishes from the face of the earth. It turns out to be a hindrance too, and he has to turn to his newly found companions, especially Em, a black woman whom he loves and comes to depend on for wisdom and courage even as he sees his education and intellectual acumen are a burden as well as a gift.

There's a kind of tragedy as Ish is forced to accept that his dream of reviving technology and rebuilding civilisation is an impossible one. He must also come to recognise the value of the community and the way it finds its strengths existing in harmony with the environment; humanity is no longer the technological master it was before the great disaster.

The hammer which is Ish's talisman is with him always, but the former symbol of industry turns into a religious icon, and Ish as its wielder is like the last of a race of Titans or demigods to his wild young descendants.

On previous readings, I remember feeling the loss, the failure, as Ish downgrades his expectations. Now, as we contemplate the impending impacts of climate change, my reaction is different. I can see from the very beginning that Stewart paints Ish as a flawed, almost a deluded character, whose belief in civilisation and quest to revive it are misguided from the start.

In our 21st century reality, our trust in technology and industry to provide solutions to the climate crisis seems just as flawed. To lose civilisation would be a tragedy, but we would also be losing a lot of the malign structures which destroyed so much of what is precious on our small planet.

"Earth Abides" is further elevated by its multiple themes: the role of the state, of religion, morality, gender, race and law. It is full of references to the cultural and scientific heritage to which Ish clings. It is generously spiced with powerful symbolism and biblical references... at times it reads like an old testament book in itself.