More nuclear war reading. I picked this one up because a friend said it was foundational, and I can see why. Published in 1959, Alas, Babylon was one of the first nuclear apocalypse novels, and surprisingly, it was an engaging read. I felt that I cared about the characters, and the novel did a better job investing me in the story than other novels which just focus on the grittiness of survival.

Things I Liked

1. Balance of Survival and Character Motivations: A big complaint I have with a lot of other books that focus on survival is that authors tend to zero in on survival too much and neglect character development. While I wouldn’t say Frank’s characters developed dramatically, I still felt satisfied in the way the novel presented readers with different characters with different personalities and backgrounds. There weren’t really any stock characters - everyone seemed to be different and have their own reactions to the apocalypse.

2. Tone: Rather than being all bleak all the time, there was some cause for hope as a bunch of people came together to help each other. The main character also has a positive, survivalist spirit that never seems to be broken, so I found myself rooting for him and his community.

3. Inclusion of People of Color/Women: You know, for a 1959 sci fi novel, I was pleasantly surprised that Frank included black characters and female characters that weren’t all housewives. Moreover, I was surprised that there were black characters that were treated with (relative) respect and women who weren’t all made out to be hysterical burdens on the main character. Maybe I haven’t read a lot of fiction from this era, and true, the novel isn’t completely without racism and sexism. But I’m all about reading books with their historical context in mind, and for its time, this novel is a fascinating read.

4. Ending: I love that this book shows us that nationalism and patriotism are basically worthless by the end of the novel. The thing that matters, really, is the sense of community.

Things I Didn’t Like

1. Gender/Race Roles: As surprised as I was by the inclusion of black characters and women, this book was still overwhelmingly white and masculine. Women had traditional gender roles, men did all the exciting things. Black characters were referred to using racist labels. Ew.

2. Plot: For the life of me, I can’t tell you what this book was actually about except “survival.” As a result, it’s not a particularly memorable book, despite the general narrative being well-written.

3. Martial Law: I was superbly annoyed by Randy assuming authority, even though the novel makes clear that he 100% is allowed to do so legally. Still, I couldn't help thinking "why you? Why not someone else?"

Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in nuclear war, post-apocalypse survivalism, and 1950s history and culture.