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Z for Zachariah
This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN 0435122118
Is anyone out there?
Ann Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world as she once knew it is gone, ravaged by a nuclear war that has taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a remote valley with no evidence of any other survivors.
But the smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann's solitude. Someone else is still alive and making his way toward the valley. Who is this man? What does he want? Can he be trusted? Both excited and terrified, Ann soon realizes there may be worse things than being the last person on Earth.
Is anyone out there?
Ann Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world as she once knew it is gone, ravaged by a nuclear war that has taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a remote valley with no evidence of any other survivors.
But the smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann's solitude. Someone else is still alive and making his way toward the valley. Who is this man? What does he want? Can he be trusted? Both excited and terrified, Ann soon realizes there may be worse things than being the last person on Earth.
249 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Robert C. O'Brien
12 books259 followersRobert Leslie Conly (better known by his pen name, Robert C. O'Brien) was an American author and journalist for National Geographic Magazine. His daughter is author Jane Leslie Conly.
For more complete information on this author, please see:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...
For more complete information on this author, please see:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,922 reviews
November 13, 2010
Z for Zachariah was a very suspenseful book. From the moment I started it, I had a knot in my stomach. For most of my life, I lived with my fear of nuclear war and its aftermath. As a child of the 80s, I remember that Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. Were the Soviets going to push the button, or the Americans? Either way, we'd both lose. I remember everyone in school was watching "The Day After Tomorrow," and I was afraid to watch it, but I heard all the ugly details. I inadvertently watched the other nuclear war movie, "Testament," and I still remember how utterly hopeless and depressing it was. I didn't want to die slowly and painfully from radiation poison, nor did I want to be instantly incinerated in the first blast, or have to survive a nuclear winter. It was a very ugly thought that I've tried to push way to the back of my mind. Well, this book brought it all back for me. So, I could deeply sympathize with Ann, the protagonist of this story.
And it turns out that her worst threat is not the aftermath of the nuclear war. It's the fact that the only other apparent survivor of the holocaust is dangerously insane. Ann showed a lot of fortitude and intelligence, in my opinion. I didn't really consider her overly naive, considering she grew up in a sheltered world. I think she did an admirable job of keeping herself alive. How on earth could she be prepared to do deal with a crazy man who decided that everything left in the world belonged to him, and was not hesitant about using violence or ugly methods to make sure it remained in his possession? It was a tough road to travel for this young woman. She had a choice to let this man succumb to radiation poisoning, or to nurse him through it, even knowing he was possibly a murderer. She did what she thought was right, although that action contributed to the destruction of her small, safe world. I appreciate the ethical dilemma that the author presents in this story. Do we abandon all the qualities that make humanity worthwhile, because the civilized world as we know it has gone away? Should we embrace violence as the best solution, because it's the most expedient one? These are all very pertinent issues to Ann in this book, and I had to work through them as I read.
I was literally on the edge of my seat, as I saw how things were unfolding. I felt a rage at Mr. Loomis, who came to Ann's valley, availed himself of her generosity and good heart, and decided that he was entitled to all of it, and he could take control of everything. Oh, I definitely understand that battle that Ann faced. People controlling others is a real problem for me. I felt her pain as she decided that she would have to leave everything was familiar and she'd worked hard for, because she refused to be enslaved to another person, not for any reason.
I found Z for Zachariah to be a powerful read. It did resonate with me, and that wasn't always a comfortable feeling. The issues of isolation, fear for the future, defining who one is when the world is no longer the same, and having control of one's life and destiny were very well-handled here. I think Ann could be a metaphor for any young woman who is facing choices in her life that will define her present and future. I would recommend this book to young adults and to adults, because it has a very timely message, and it was good, albeit nerve-racking at times, entertainment. Also, readers who enjoy stories in which the characters have to use their wits and energies (physical and mental) to survive on the land, and in a hostile environment, will enjoy this story. I'm very glad I got the opportunity to read Z for Zachariah.
And it turns out that her worst threat is not the aftermath of the nuclear war. It's the fact that the only other apparent survivor of the holocaust is dangerously insane. Ann showed a lot of fortitude and intelligence, in my opinion. I didn't really consider her overly naive, considering she grew up in a sheltered world. I think she did an admirable job of keeping herself alive. How on earth could she be prepared to do deal with a crazy man who decided that everything left in the world belonged to him, and was not hesitant about using violence or ugly methods to make sure it remained in his possession? It was a tough road to travel for this young woman. She had a choice to let this man succumb to radiation poisoning, or to nurse him through it, even knowing he was possibly a murderer. She did what she thought was right, although that action contributed to the destruction of her small, safe world. I appreciate the ethical dilemma that the author presents in this story. Do we abandon all the qualities that make humanity worthwhile, because the civilized world as we know it has gone away? Should we embrace violence as the best solution, because it's the most expedient one? These are all very pertinent issues to Ann in this book, and I had to work through them as I read.
I was literally on the edge of my seat, as I saw how things were unfolding. I felt a rage at Mr. Loomis, who came to Ann's valley, availed himself of her generosity and good heart, and decided that he was entitled to all of it, and he could take control of everything. Oh, I definitely understand that battle that Ann faced. People controlling others is a real problem for me. I felt her pain as she decided that she would have to leave everything was familiar and she'd worked hard for, because she refused to be enslaved to another person, not for any reason.
I found Z for Zachariah to be a powerful read. It did resonate with me, and that wasn't always a comfortable feeling. The issues of isolation, fear for the future, defining who one is when the world is no longer the same, and having control of one's life and destiny were very well-handled here. I think Ann could be a metaphor for any young woman who is facing choices in her life that will define her present and future. I would recommend this book to young adults and to adults, because it has a very timely message, and it was good, albeit nerve-racking at times, entertainment. Also, readers who enjoy stories in which the characters have to use their wits and energies (physical and mental) to survive on the land, and in a hostile environment, will enjoy this story. I'm very glad I got the opportunity to read Z for Zachariah.
February 27, 2017
This was written in the early seventies for the dystopian youth market.
Wait... was there a dystopian SF youth market back then? Um... I guess so! I have this weird feeling like I just entered the twilight zone... but it must be true!
I'm used to 70's SF and Fantasy being very adult oriented and over the top. I think of Lucifer's Hammer or the other later classics of post-apocalyptic nightmares that came out later like The Stand and Swan Song and so many others, but here's the gorgeous bit:
This one scales down everything into a tight little pocket of a farm that escaped the devastation of the nukes leaving one teenage girl alone after the rest of the family goes off and succumbs to one of any number of perils. It's all about survival and she does a pretty capable job of it, but then someone arrives. A man.
The rest of the novel is all about them. The last letters in the alphabet. The last man and the last woman. It's scary when you see things for what they really are. The man takes, the woman either succumbs, herself, or she fights for her freedom.
Remember, this is a young kid, at one point just turning sixteen. There's plenty of thriller moments and plenty of getting along, too, but what it really boils down to is a microcosm of gender studies that's both magnified to extremes and extremely scary.
I felt it.
Sure, this is YA and it's rather mild by today's seedier YA standards, but what it doesn't have in glam it has in solid story and a depth of foundation that most can't even touch.
Wait... was there a dystopian SF youth market back then? Um... I guess so! I have this weird feeling like I just entered the twilight zone... but it must be true!
I'm used to 70's SF and Fantasy being very adult oriented and over the top. I think of Lucifer's Hammer or the other later classics of post-apocalyptic nightmares that came out later like The Stand and Swan Song and so many others, but here's the gorgeous bit:
This one scales down everything into a tight little pocket of a farm that escaped the devastation of the nukes leaving one teenage girl alone after the rest of the family goes off and succumbs to one of any number of perils. It's all about survival and she does a pretty capable job of it, but then someone arrives. A man.
The rest of the novel is all about them. The last letters in the alphabet. The last man and the last woman. It's scary when you see things for what they really are. The man takes, the woman either succumbs, herself, or she fights for her freedom.
Remember, this is a young kid, at one point just turning sixteen. There's plenty of thriller moments and plenty of getting along, too, but what it really boils down to is a microcosm of gender studies that's both magnified to extremes and extremely scary.
I felt it.
Sure, this is YA and it's rather mild by today's seedier YA standards, but what it doesn't have in glam it has in solid story and a depth of foundation that most can't even touch.
June 21, 2007
This is one of those books you read when you're in middle school, but you never forget about it. In fact, I've been ceaselessly frightened of radiation poisoning every since. Sort of like my plague fears, which developed immediately after I read the first chapter of Albert Camus's The Plague. If you didn't read this then, you ought to read it now; it's really fantastic.
April 28, 2015
This is the first time I've ever been tempted to utilize that "hide review because you're a big fat blabbermouth who can't talk about a book without ruining it for others" function. But the fact is, it's important for a reader of Z For Zachariah to be surprised by the nature of the stranger who shows up. And it's almost impossible to talk about the book in any detail without giving that away. And I want to talk in detail, because I like this book but I also find it rather baffling in certain respects, and enraging in others.
So, fair warning: Here There Be Spoilers. Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers. I can't block them out because otherwise this whole review won't make any sense.
I don't give away the ending, but I talk about a lot of important events leading up to it. If you haven't read this book but you've always meant to, don't read this review.
Still here? Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you.
One thing that ought to be better known about Z is that, although it's credited to Robert C. O'Brien, he died before completing it. His wife and daughter finished it, working from notes he left. I haven't been able to find out how much he'd written before he died and how much work they had to do, but I think it's pretty rude not to credit them on the cover rather than hiding their labors in the "about the author" note.
Okay, time for some spoilers.
This is a very strange book. Not because it's about a teenager who thinks she's the last person on earth, but because there's surprisingly little action. Which is fine, in and of itself. I love character-driven works, and as I mentioned in my review of I Am Legend, I have a soft spot for books about the everyday nuts and bolts of surviving in a strange world. I'd be happy to spend tens of pages on how Ann Burden, a sixteen-year-old farm girl, is keeping from starving and freezing to death.
Trouble is, I'm hearing plenty about the combating starving and freezing, and precious little about how she feels. Who she is. This book is the diary of a traumatized girl. Her entire family died, and their deaths led quite reasonably to her conclusion that she's all that's left when it comes to the global human population. She can't leave the valley she lives in -- the rest of the world has been poisoned by a hideous war.
And she doesn't seem to have much reaction to this. She refers occasionally to the family members she's lost, but we never get a sense of them. Was she fonder of one of her brothers than the other? Was she a little afraid of her parents, even as she loved them? Does she wake up from dreams of them that are so real, she feels convinced for a few minutes that this "real" world must be the dream?
We hear nothing about any of this. She had a father, a mother, and two brothers. Now they're gone. The end.
Ann is religious enough to keep the local church clean and visit it regularly. No one's left to preach, so she sits and reads the Bible. She's intelligent and devout enough to enjoy doing so (and her favorite book of the Bible is Ecclesiastes -- a nice touch). And that's all we hear.
There needs to be more than that. She needs to be wondering if this is all part of God's plan, and why it happened. She should even wonder if she was chosen to survive for some great purpose -- or if her survival means she's been singled out for punishment. (Great -- now I want to write this novel.)
People who are of a religious mindset and who suffer some great blow have one of two reactions: They become extremely devout (sometimes this means converting to a religion not previously their own), or they lose their faith entirely. Okay: or they think they've lost their faith, spend some time yelling at their deity, and then come back stronger than ever. At any rate, they have some kind of spiritual response.
This would seem to be doubly important when it comes to a girl who has survived a disaster that is quite literally of Biblical proportions. The end of the world as we know it is mentioned in that Bible she reads so often. You can't create a Christian character, put her in this kind of situation, and then just not have her thinking about the Apocalypse.
But her religious beliefs seem to have been given to her to establish her "good girl" creds. And these are important when a stranger comes to the valley.
Spoiler alert: He turns out to be a jerk.
And guess what? Other than defending herself as much as necessary from him, Ann doesn't have much of a reaction to this, either.
Big-time spoiler alert, and also trigger alert: He tries to rape her (he comes nowhere near succeeding). She is able to flee. Because this valley is the only place that hasn't been poisoned by radioactivity and nerve gas, she can't just leave; so she tries to figure out some way of living in proximity with him while not getting any closer to him than she has to.
Which is fine. But all we hear about this is the practical side of it. She'd thought this man might become her husband and father of her children. She nursed him through life-threatening illness and injury, and continues to take care of him even after he attacked her. (He'd die if she weren't willing to fetch water and food for him -- he's strong enough to be an attempted rapist, but not yet in good enough shape to haul buckets of water.) And this attack is how he thanks her.
And her only recorded response is the practical side of things. No tears of rage or betrayal. She continues to bring him needed food and water without a single thought along the lines of "I should just let him die of thirst. That's a long, painful death. Okay, I can't do that, even to him, but I couldn't help thinking it." Nope. Nothing.
Later, he tries to track her down with the help of her family dog. She has a gun and is watching from a distance.
More spoilers: he deliberately shoots her with his gun, not to kill her but in order to injure her enough to force her to return to him. And what does she think, as she realizes she won't be able to hide from him any longer? She decides she has to shoot THE DOG.
I realize there's a philosophy thought-experiment about morality, a sort of what-would-you-do problem: Let's say you saw a stranger and your pet dog drowning. You only have time and strength to save one of them. Which one do you save?
Unless he's Hitler back from the dead, you're supposed to save the human. I assume. But in this case: seriously? The animal is innocent. The guy shot you after he tried to rape you. And you're aiming at which one of them?
If that's the case, I need to hear why. Is it because of religious belief -- shooting him would violate a Commandment? Is it because, after so many people have died, you can't bear to kill one? Is it pure queasiness?
It's never explained. Ann never even thinks about shooting this guy. When she considers using her weapon at all, she aims at the dog.
In one way, it was a relief that Mr. Loomis turned out to be a total waste of space. He was incredibly paternalistic and condescending from day one, and I was worried that this was just because the novel was written in the early '70s and he's a grown man and she's just a teenaged girl and isn't it kind of cute the way he knows more than she does about all kinds of things? (Gag.) But no -- he's a full-fledged bastard, and we've had hints of this from the start.
So: good plot, interesting twists, and a strong, surprising ending. But yeah, I'm pretty peeved that a first-person narrative would leave so little sense of the young woman who's supposedly telling her own story.
So, fair warning: Here There Be Spoilers. Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers. I can't block them out because otherwise this whole review won't make any sense.
I don't give away the ending, but I talk about a lot of important events leading up to it. If you haven't read this book but you've always meant to, don't read this review.
Still here? Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you.
One thing that ought to be better known about Z is that, although it's credited to Robert C. O'Brien, he died before completing it. His wife and daughter finished it, working from notes he left. I haven't been able to find out how much he'd written before he died and how much work they had to do, but I think it's pretty rude not to credit them on the cover rather than hiding their labors in the "about the author" note.
Okay, time for some spoilers.
This is a very strange book. Not because it's about a teenager who thinks she's the last person on earth, but because there's surprisingly little action. Which is fine, in and of itself. I love character-driven works, and as I mentioned in my review of I Am Legend, I have a soft spot for books about the everyday nuts and bolts of surviving in a strange world. I'd be happy to spend tens of pages on how Ann Burden, a sixteen-year-old farm girl, is keeping from starving and freezing to death.
Trouble is, I'm hearing plenty about the combating starving and freezing, and precious little about how she feels. Who she is. This book is the diary of a traumatized girl. Her entire family died, and their deaths led quite reasonably to her conclusion that she's all that's left when it comes to the global human population. She can't leave the valley she lives in -- the rest of the world has been poisoned by a hideous war.
And she doesn't seem to have much reaction to this. She refers occasionally to the family members she's lost, but we never get a sense of them. Was she fonder of one of her brothers than the other? Was she a little afraid of her parents, even as she loved them? Does she wake up from dreams of them that are so real, she feels convinced for a few minutes that this "real" world must be the dream?
We hear nothing about any of this. She had a father, a mother, and two brothers. Now they're gone. The end.
Ann is religious enough to keep the local church clean and visit it regularly. No one's left to preach, so she sits and reads the Bible. She's intelligent and devout enough to enjoy doing so (and her favorite book of the Bible is Ecclesiastes -- a nice touch). And that's all we hear.
There needs to be more than that. She needs to be wondering if this is all part of God's plan, and why it happened. She should even wonder if she was chosen to survive for some great purpose -- or if her survival means she's been singled out for punishment. (Great -- now I want to write this novel.)
People who are of a religious mindset and who suffer some great blow have one of two reactions: They become extremely devout (sometimes this means converting to a religion not previously their own), or they lose their faith entirely. Okay: or they think they've lost their faith, spend some time yelling at their deity, and then come back stronger than ever. At any rate, they have some kind of spiritual response.
This would seem to be doubly important when it comes to a girl who has survived a disaster that is quite literally of Biblical proportions. The end of the world as we know it is mentioned in that Bible she reads so often. You can't create a Christian character, put her in this kind of situation, and then just not have her thinking about the Apocalypse.
But her religious beliefs seem to have been given to her to establish her "good girl" creds. And these are important when a stranger comes to the valley.
Spoiler alert: He turns out to be a jerk.
And guess what? Other than defending herself as much as necessary from him, Ann doesn't have much of a reaction to this, either.
Big-time spoiler alert, and also trigger alert: He tries to rape her (he comes nowhere near succeeding). She is able to flee. Because this valley is the only place that hasn't been poisoned by radioactivity and nerve gas, she can't just leave; so she tries to figure out some way of living in proximity with him while not getting any closer to him than she has to.
Which is fine. But all we hear about this is the practical side of it. She'd thought this man might become her husband and father of her children. She nursed him through life-threatening illness and injury, and continues to take care of him even after he attacked her. (He'd die if she weren't willing to fetch water and food for him -- he's strong enough to be an attempted rapist, but not yet in good enough shape to haul buckets of water.) And this attack is how he thanks her.
And her only recorded response is the practical side of things. No tears of rage or betrayal. She continues to bring him needed food and water without a single thought along the lines of "I should just let him die of thirst. That's a long, painful death. Okay, I can't do that, even to him, but I couldn't help thinking it." Nope. Nothing.
Later, he tries to track her down with the help of her family dog. She has a gun and is watching from a distance.
More spoilers: he deliberately shoots her with his gun, not to kill her but in order to injure her enough to force her to return to him. And what does she think, as she realizes she won't be able to hide from him any longer? She decides she has to shoot THE DOG.
I realize there's a philosophy thought-experiment about morality, a sort of what-would-you-do problem: Let's say you saw a stranger and your pet dog drowning. You only have time and strength to save one of them. Which one do you save?
Unless he's Hitler back from the dead, you're supposed to save the human. I assume. But in this case: seriously? The animal is innocent. The guy shot you after he tried to rape you. And you're aiming at which one of them?
If that's the case, I need to hear why. Is it because of religious belief -- shooting him would violate a Commandment? Is it because, after so many people have died, you can't bear to kill one? Is it pure queasiness?
It's never explained. Ann never even thinks about shooting this guy. When she considers using her weapon at all, she aims at the dog.
In one way, it was a relief that Mr. Loomis turned out to be a total waste of space. He was incredibly paternalistic and condescending from day one, and I was worried that this was just because the novel was written in the early '70s and he's a grown man and she's just a teenaged girl and isn't it kind of cute the way he knows more than she does about all kinds of things? (Gag.) But no -- he's a full-fledged bastard, and we've had hints of this from the start.
So: good plot, interesting twists, and a strong, surprising ending. But yeah, I'm pretty peeved that a first-person narrative would leave so little sense of the young woman who's supposedly telling her own story.
March 24, 2022
Adão ou Lobo Mau?
Ann, uma jovem de 16 anos que sobreviveu num vale-mini-éden a um holocausto nuclear é uma Eva sem Adão.
Um belo dia avista ao longe uma corrente de fumo, que parece caminhar na sua direcção.
Virá aí o seu Adão?
Infelizmente, Não!...
Ao contrário de Ann, que se manteve mentalmente sã, o seu recente companheiro está psiquicamente afectado e em vez dum potencial Adão, parece mais próximo do Lobo Mau.
À sobrevivência física segue-se a psicológica!
Qual delas a mais árdua?!...
Nota: Na capa, estão retratadas 3 pessoas. É a capa do filme que o livro inspirou e cuja história se encontra bastante distante desta. Não obstante, “Os Último na Terra” não deixa por isso de ser um bom livro, e ao que parece, bem melhor que o filme! 👍
Ann, uma jovem de 16 anos que sobreviveu num vale-mini-éden a um holocausto nuclear é uma Eva sem Adão.
Um belo dia avista ao longe uma corrente de fumo, que parece caminhar na sua direcção.
Virá aí o seu Adão?
Infelizmente, Não!...
Ao contrário de Ann, que se manteve mentalmente sã, o seu recente companheiro está psiquicamente afectado e em vez dum potencial Adão, parece mais próximo do Lobo Mau.
À sobrevivência física segue-se a psicológica!
Qual delas a mais árdua?!...
Nota: Na capa, estão retratadas 3 pessoas. É a capa do filme que o livro inspirou e cuja história se encontra bastante distante desta. Não obstante, “Os Último na Terra” não deixa por isso de ser um bom livro, e ao que parece, bem melhor que o filme! 👍
November 18, 2011
I thought the book was pretty bad. I did not like how the story was told. I thought that Ann was really really really weird. I think she should have killed Mr. Loomis and then killed herself because there was nobody left on earth besides them two. My Loomis should have been dead right away when Ann saved him, I wanted Ann to shoot him, and so the book could have at least been good. I do not recommend this book to other readers, unless you want to read a very very very boring book that made no sense, and that Ann should have killed Mr. Loomis right away, would have made the story a lot better, but instead they author had to continue the story with Ann taking care of Mr. Loomis. If the author would have at least had a shooting scene the book would have been 100 times better than it was. I personally feel that reading books in class, is a waste of time. It takes away from other things we can be learning. Everybody in our class knows how to read. So I think we should be getting taught something we don’t know. Like doing grammar. Even though we do it every day, for only about 10 minutes, that is not enough for this students who don’t know the difference between verbs nouns pronouns conjunctions and all of that other stuff. I am also pretty sure that most of the students would rather do that then read very very very very boring books. That is my opinion, I did exactly what Ms. Peil said, so don’t be yelling at me for not doing it right. Because I stated my opinion very clearly. If you do not understand why I wrote that, then we might have a problem.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2015
Yeah. That’s how this one is going to go. The expectations were high with this one. I first discovered this book when I found out it was being made into a movie so of course I was all about getting the book read first. Especially when I realized this author also wrote one of my favorites of all time: The Secret of Nimh . Naturally I couldn’t find a copy anywhere but FINALLY! Some luck blew my way and my library came through. I started it immediately. I finished it within 24 hours. And now I’m sad.
First off, a few things you need to know. 1. This is a post-apocalyptic novel with not a whole lot of post-apocalyptic action going on. 2. If you picked this up based on the movie trailer, you’re going to be disappointed and/or confused because they have practically nothing in common. 3. There’s some animal cruelty that for once didn’t actually make me cry. Nah. I was enraged instead. And 4? There will be spoilers, but I’ll put them in tags.
We’re introduced to Anne who is sixteen years old and has been living on her childhood farm alone for the past year now. She resides within a valley that because of an inversion has escaped the havoc that the rest of the world has suffered. Her parents and two brothers went out searching for survivors after the nuclear war that happened that we never get any other details of besides the fact that it happened. They never returned. She’s cultivated a garden, has cows and chickens to keep from starving, and fortunately there is also a country store nearby that was pretty well stocked. Anne has done a pretty amazing job surviving all on her own but is understandably curious when she sees smoke in the sky indicative of a campfire. She watches it day after day as it gets closer and closer to her farm; closer and closer to whoever is lighting the fire to discovering her home. She retreats to a nearby cave with her dog Faro to monitor the individual and determine whether or not to let him know there’s one other survivor besides him.
John Loomis is a scientist from New York. His team was researching/developing radiation proof suits but there was only a single prototype in existence which is the only way he was able to survive the fallout from the bomb. Trudging through the remains of the Earth, he comes upon a strange sight: a green valley. After a year of walking, seeing nothing but Earth, the valley is a spectacular sight. He takes his helmet off and realizes he can breathe the air there as well. Unable to help himself, he dives into a small lake to bathe. Unfortunately, the stream that flows into that lake was still affected by radiation and he falls deathly ill.
Spoilers, ahoy!
Z for Zachariah is actually an epistolary and is told via Anne’s journal entries. This style helped build Anne’s characterization and her day to day life before her peaceful valley was encroached upon, however, this style lacked in getting a proper feel on her emotions. She talks about her family that drove away, never to be seen from again, in a very disconnected almost robotic way. Even with passages she’s written immediately after shocking things happen, I still felt a disconnect from how it seemed like someone in her position would feel. It’s a post-apocalyptic book (much like recently read Blindness ) which is more a study of human behavior rather than a focus on the reasoning behind the war that caused the devastation. This is all well and good but I felt the characters were very black/white with Anne being the good, wholesome girl and Loomis being the mysterious stranger that we never learn enough about to make his actions comprehensible. One could argue that his last year of surviving alone was enough to change him, however, Anne had to work just as hard to survive. The character study could have gone a bit deeper to better understand the inner-workings of these two characters since they were the only two characters in the book.
I wanted to love this one so much but unfortunately it didn’t happen. I kept thinking that there would be some final twist but I reached the final page without it happening. The ending left me feeling very indifferent and just as emotionally disconnected as Anne. All in all, it’s not the worst post-apocalyptic book I’ve read but it’s certainly not the best.
May 31, 2007
I really enjoy post-apocalyptic stories. I really liked the narrator and her ability to survive alone. But when I finished reading all I could think was I am so tired of bullying men. Tired of them in my movies, tired of them in my books, tired of them in the news and tired of them in my government.
July 12, 2023
In the Old Testament, three tales of human frailty follow the creation of the world: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the ark. In Z for Zachariah, Robert O'Brien novelizes the end of the world with a similar set of stories; in place of Noah's ark we have an anti-radiation suit designed just in time for the nuclear holocaust. The inventor of the suit murders his companion and wanders the blighted wilderness for many years, haunted by his crime as the post-apocalyptic answer to Cain.
But the story opens in a valley the fallout has passed over; saved by its unique weather-pattern. It may be the last place on Earth where life flourishes; The Garden of Eden as a bastion rather than a beginning. The lone human inhabitant of the valley is Ann Burden, a resourceful farm girl who has her hands full tending her animals and crops but still finds time to pray, though she's not always sure why. Her responsibility matches her surname.
Ann is shocked when she spies a stranger approaching her valley. John Loomis, the aforementioned scientist who's already assumed the roles of Noah and Cain has come to finish the biblical trifecta by playing Adam to Ann's Eve. What plays out between Ann and John turns into a maelstrom of themes; science vs. religion, man vs. woman, control vs. cooperation and ends in a hunting-duel similar to The Most Dangerous Game where victory for either party could mean the end of humanity.
But much like that classic Richard Connell short-story, the ending here proves rushed and frustrating. So while the action and allegory engage throughout, I found myself struck most by how opaque and desolate the lessons were. Perhaps that's fitting for a tale of the apocalypse presented as Genesis inverted. Let there be darkness.
Edited 4/8/17
But the story opens in a valley the fallout has passed over; saved by its unique weather-pattern. It may be the last place on Earth where life flourishes; The Garden of Eden as a bastion rather than a beginning. The lone human inhabitant of the valley is Ann Burden, a resourceful farm girl who has her hands full tending her animals and crops but still finds time to pray, though she's not always sure why. Her responsibility matches her surname.
Ann is shocked when she spies a stranger approaching her valley. John Loomis, the aforementioned scientist who's already assumed the roles of Noah and Cain has come to finish the biblical trifecta by playing Adam to Ann's Eve. What plays out between Ann and John turns into a maelstrom of themes; science vs. religion, man vs. woman, control vs. cooperation and ends in a hunting-duel similar to The Most Dangerous Game where victory for either party could mean the end of humanity.
But much like that classic Richard Connell short-story, the ending here proves rushed and frustrating. So while the action and allegory engage throughout, I found myself struck most by how opaque and desolate the lessons were. Perhaps that's fitting for a tale of the apocalypse presented as Genesis inverted. Let there be darkness.
Edited 4/8/17
July 13, 2018
This is my first ever reread of a book, and I think I made a good choice. I originally read this book back in school when I was around 13, but since then had forgotten what it was mostly about. What I mainly remembered was that it was quite dark and there was one particular scene that was definitly a shock for me as a young teenager. With all this combined, I thought this book would be the perfect reread. It was only when I looked it up on Goodreads before going on holiday that I realised it was a YA novel, however, and this is a big deal!!!, that definitely didn’t make me enjoy this book any less.
Due to the fact I had a vague recollection of what happened in this story, as I progressed through the novel, certain things that were happening rang a bell with me and I knew where they were leading. I think, much like with Rosemary’s Baby, this actually made the book a little more enjoyable for me. Being able to see where things were going made the actions of Mr Loomis all the more sinister and nerve-wracking. I had forgotten just how intense and uncomfortable this novel becomes towards the end. I was actually doing the cliche of holding my breath without realising.
The writing in this book is simple, due to the YA label I suppose, but it’s still brilliant at building tension and I never felt it was childish. Characterisation was also superb. Just like Ann, you never really get to know Mr Loomis very well and that invisible wall between him and us leaves us feeling uneasy about his presence. Ann, on the otherhand, is a wonderful character, both adult and childlike at the same time, she’s incredibly endearing. She’s strong, determined, and kind hearted all the way through the novel, there’s never any doubt who is in the right and who is in the wrong.
I also love the progression the characters take throughout this novel. From meeting Mr Loomis right at the start and seeing his speedy progression into what he becomes. And then with Ann, seeing her quick mind working and being able to learn from her mistakes in order to outwit and outsmart Mr Loomis when necessary.
I absolutely loved this book. It’s about survival, the good and bad of human kind, and making hard decisions. At the end of the day, I think this is a bit of a feminist novel… I don’t want to say much more incase you haven’t read it and want to, but let’s just say it’s about a young teenage girl overcoming more than just the aftermath of nuclear war. I think it’s a must read even for adults, sure it’s YA, but it’s dark and doesn’t come across as juvenile. Highly recommended for any dystopian lovers.
Due to the fact I had a vague recollection of what happened in this story, as I progressed through the novel, certain things that were happening rang a bell with me and I knew where they were leading. I think, much like with Rosemary’s Baby, this actually made the book a little more enjoyable for me. Being able to see where things were going made the actions of Mr Loomis all the more sinister and nerve-wracking. I had forgotten just how intense and uncomfortable this novel becomes towards the end. I was actually doing the cliche of holding my breath without realising.
The writing in this book is simple, due to the YA label I suppose, but it’s still brilliant at building tension and I never felt it was childish. Characterisation was also superb. Just like Ann, you never really get to know Mr Loomis very well and that invisible wall between him and us leaves us feeling uneasy about his presence. Ann, on the otherhand, is a wonderful character, both adult and childlike at the same time, she’s incredibly endearing. She’s strong, determined, and kind hearted all the way through the novel, there’s never any doubt who is in the right and who is in the wrong.
I also love the progression the characters take throughout this novel. From meeting Mr Loomis right at the start and seeing his speedy progression into what he becomes. And then with Ann, seeing her quick mind working and being able to learn from her mistakes in order to outwit and outsmart Mr Loomis when necessary.
I absolutely loved this book. It’s about survival, the good and bad of human kind, and making hard decisions. At the end of the day, I think this is a bit of a feminist novel… I don’t want to say much more incase you haven’t read it and want to, but let’s just say it’s about a young teenage girl overcoming more than just the aftermath of nuclear war. I think it’s a must read even for adults, sure it’s YA, but it’s dark and doesn’t come across as juvenile. Highly recommended for any dystopian lovers.
August 23, 2017
This is a tension-filled and well-written story about a young girl surviving in a remote valley after apocalypse. I was engrossed enough to read it in a single sitting, but it is also deeply, deeply irritating. You see, a man comes to the valley - another survivor, perhaps the only other one. And for about half the book I was thrilled, because I'd feared this was going to go the sexual assault and control route so beloved of post-apocalyptic narratives, and initially Z for Zachariah looked as if it were going to be original enough to avoid that.
Of course it wasn't. Of course it wasn't! What was I thinking...
It turned, abruptly, into every "edgy" unsavoury narrative of its type, but it doesn't even have the saving grace of a successful heroine. Ann, competent in every area but common sense, apparently, lets herself be chased out of the valley and into wasteland. Oh, it's presented with a veneer of agency, but she leaves her home, her animals, everything left she has to love because she doesn't have the gumption to shoot the person who tries to rape and cripple her, despite many opportunities to do so. He uses her dog to track her, and all she decides to do is try and shoot the dog! I don't know why teen girls are meant to be so soppy and self-sacrificing, always worried about the monsters who hunt them, but I for one am sick to death of reading about it. She even says if she finds others she'll try and send help - what the hell for? So that this person can be inflicted on the rest of the surviving world? Forgiveness of this level is not a virtue, and nor should it be presented as one. I'm damn sure if Ann were Andrew, he wouldn't be expected by the author to keep excusing his attempted rapist.
Promising beginning, interesting premise, but falls very quickly into cliche and ends as ultimately enraging. There is nothing empowering about this. Nothing.
Of course it wasn't. Of course it wasn't! What was I thinking...
It turned, abruptly, into every "edgy" unsavoury narrative of its type, but it doesn't even have the saving grace of a successful heroine. Ann, competent in every area but common sense, apparently, lets herself be chased out of the valley and into wasteland. Oh, it's presented with a veneer of agency, but she leaves her home, her animals, everything left she has to love because she doesn't have the gumption to shoot the person who tries to rape and cripple her, despite many opportunities to do so. He uses her dog to track her, and all she decides to do is try and shoot the dog! I don't know why teen girls are meant to be so soppy and self-sacrificing, always worried about the monsters who hunt them, but I for one am sick to death of reading about it. She even says if she finds others she'll try and send help - what the hell for? So that this person can be inflicted on the rest of the surviving world? Forgiveness of this level is not a virtue, and nor should it be presented as one. I'm damn sure if Ann were Andrew, he wouldn't be expected by the author to keep excusing his attempted rapist.
Promising beginning, interesting premise, but falls very quickly into cliche and ends as ultimately enraging. There is nothing empowering about this. Nothing.
December 10, 2014
Z for Zachariah was a very good post-apocalyptic, dystopian novel. It's important to note that the novel was first written and released in 1975. Keeping that time frame in mind, the way that sixteen year old Ann deals with the loss of her family and the events that follow are nothing short of amazing.
Ann, having lost her mother, father and two brothers, finds a way to not only go on, but build a life for herself at her family home in a valley that was remarkably saved from some of the fallout. Her life, such as it is, progresses with the routines she's formed until the day a man in a radiation-safe suit wanders onto her property. What happens when she gathers up the nerve to approach him is both touching and terrifying.
This is an amazing young adult novel that shows the strengths and weaknesses, the humanity and the horrors of what life could be like following such a devastating event.
Although I only borrowed this book to fill several challenge slots, I am glad that I read it. It was a story that will stay with you long after you finish it and make you wonder .... what would you do if you found yourself in Ann's situation? Hopefully we will never have to find out.
September 21, 2016
At our local train station there is a small bookcase where those travelling through can leave a book they've finished or simply don't want anymore, and then another commuter can pick it up and read it on their journey. It's a simple and lovely idea. After perusing the shelves in January my wife became very animated. For on those shelves was one of a book from her childhood which both terrified her and fascinated her, a book she read and read, but which she hadn't seen a copy of since she was at school. She snatched it up and began re-reading it immediately.
That book was, of course, 'Z for Zachariah', a work I had never encountered before.
Having now raced through it myself, I can see why and how it clung on so vividly in her memory – particularly at the age she read it. The plot sees a young girl – sixteen years old – who is left in an isolated valley after a nuclear holocaust. (In a brilliant, picturesque detail: the valley has remained green and fertile, whilst everything beyond is visually dead and barren). Her family have gone, her friends have gone and quite possibly she’s the only person left in the world. But then a man comes over the horizon in a radiation suit. Initially when she meets him he’s ill and so he’s really just an object to care for, rather than someone to get to know and talk to. Nevertheless her mind runs in a romantic schoolgirl manner to a marriage in the local church (with no one to officiate or witness it, but at least it would be in God’s house), but then the man gets better and their relationship gradually becomes much tenser.
What we have here is a really intimate horror. That old line/joke/insult saying: “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on Earth.” Well, what happens when there are only two of you on Earth and what exists between you is nervous mistrust and outright hostility. The radiation stops being merely the device that wiped out everyone else, and instead becomes a barrier that keeps these two characters locked in together and unable to escape. What follows is a supreme battle of wills – a young girl against a strange man for possession of what is essentially the whole world
It’s a wonderfully powerful piece of work – frightening and disturbing, with only the faintest glimmer of hope. Once again it’s another apocalypse story where the apocalypse brings out the worst of mankind rather than the best. Yet no matter how bad the situation gets, or how alone our heroine is, she never actually gives up. Terrible things happen, but hope and strength of the human spirit somehow, incredibly remains.
That book was, of course, 'Z for Zachariah', a work I had never encountered before.
Having now raced through it myself, I can see why and how it clung on so vividly in her memory – particularly at the age she read it. The plot sees a young girl – sixteen years old – who is left in an isolated valley after a nuclear holocaust. (In a brilliant, picturesque detail: the valley has remained green and fertile, whilst everything beyond is visually dead and barren). Her family have gone, her friends have gone and quite possibly she’s the only person left in the world. But then a man comes over the horizon in a radiation suit. Initially when she meets him he’s ill and so he’s really just an object to care for, rather than someone to get to know and talk to. Nevertheless her mind runs in a romantic schoolgirl manner to a marriage in the local church (with no one to officiate or witness it, but at least it would be in God’s house), but then the man gets better and their relationship gradually becomes much tenser.
What we have here is a really intimate horror. That old line/joke/insult saying: “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on Earth.” Well, what happens when there are only two of you on Earth and what exists between you is nervous mistrust and outright hostility. The radiation stops being merely the device that wiped out everyone else, and instead becomes a barrier that keeps these two characters locked in together and unable to escape. What follows is a supreme battle of wills – a young girl against a strange man for possession of what is essentially the whole world
It’s a wonderfully powerful piece of work – frightening and disturbing, with only the faintest glimmer of hope. Once again it’s another apocalypse story where the apocalypse brings out the worst of mankind rather than the best. Yet no matter how bad the situation gets, or how alone our heroine is, she never actually gives up. Terrible things happen, but hope and strength of the human spirit somehow, incredibly remains.
September 24, 2023
I have been very lucky lately and picked a number of 5* reads. This one is no exception.
I was pleasantly surprised just how much suspence is within this story!
This was another book that i wanted to race through but savour at the same time.
This really had me thinking what would i do if it were me. The strength in this young character is something special.
The short chapter diary style really adds to the feel of loneliness and day to day survival. The twists in this story have us on edge to see what the overall decision may be.
I was pleasantly surprised just how much suspence is within this story!
This was another book that i wanted to race through but savour at the same time.
This really had me thinking what would i do if it were me. The strength in this young character is something special.
The short chapter diary style really adds to the feel of loneliness and day to day survival. The twists in this story have us on edge to see what the overall decision may be.
November 1, 2007
I just re-read this amazing book that I've had for a long time. The first time I read it was when I was in 4th grade because my sister had read it. I found it boring. I read it again in 7th and understood it better than I had in 4th grade. And now, for 12th grade, it's just plain awesome. It's about a girl who survives the dropping of a nuclear bomb. She thinks she's the only one left alive, but soon discovers she is not alone at all. Not only is she alone, she's in great danger. I can't say anymore, cause it will ruin the terrifying suspense of this book. I recommend it to anyone who likes suspenseful books. Basically, the book exemplifies the meaning of being truly alone, isolated and preyed upon. Awesome book.
September 25, 2018
** Mild spoilers **
I'm surprised, I actually really liked this book! It's a reasonably old book and I didn't have great expectations, but this book hooked me in and made sure that I concentrated on finishing it.
Z For Zachariah is the story of a girl who's alone in a world that's been destroyed by nuclear bombs and radiation. As long as she stays in her valley, she is undisturbed and safe enough. And then one day a man in a plastic suit pulling a wagon covered in more plastic arrives. Ann is suspicious, in the few weeks before the last radio station died, there was much reporting about people going insane in their desperation for survival. About people no longer being human. So Ann hides for a few days until the man makes a mistake and swims in a poisonous river, and then gets extremely sick. Ann then reveals herself and tends to him, trying her best to make him better. ** Mild Spoiler **
However, the man is not all that he seems...
(Have I said too much? Sorry).
This is a book about survival, fear and hope and how these three things can change people. Read it. It's good.
I'm surprised, I actually really liked this book! It's a reasonably old book and I didn't have great expectations, but this book hooked me in and made sure that I concentrated on finishing it.
Z For Zachariah is the story of a girl who's alone in a world that's been destroyed by nuclear bombs and radiation. As long as she stays in her valley, she is undisturbed and safe enough. And then one day a man in a plastic suit pulling a wagon covered in more plastic arrives. Ann is suspicious, in the few weeks before the last radio station died, there was much reporting about people going insane in their desperation for survival. About people no longer being human. So Ann hides for a few days until the man makes a mistake and swims in a poisonous river, and then gets extremely sick. Ann then reveals herself and tends to him, trying her best to make him better. ** Mild Spoiler **
However, the man is not all that he seems...
(Have I said too much? Sorry).
This is a book about survival, fear and hope and how these three things can change people. Read it. It's good.
September 9, 2015
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Attempted rape; dog death.
Z for Zachariah was first published in 1974, and has stayed in print ever since. Robert C. O'Brien died in 1973, but his wife and one of his children completed the novel based on his notes.
It's simply brilliant. The science in regards to the "meteorological enclave" may be iffy at best, but the characterisation is wonderfully executed. Ann Burden is the strong, resourceful teenage heroine who's been completely alone for a year but has survived just fine. Growing up on a farm was ideal to teach her the skills to live off the land - and the location has kept her alive in good stead. Because all communication with the rest of the world has been cut off, for all she knows she could be the last person on Earth.
But Ann is not the only one, though she's better off alone.
Mr. Loomis was a plastics scientist in an underground bunker when the nuclear bombs dropped. His back-story is revealed when he talks in fevers brought on by radiation poisoning.
Ann's wary of Loomis from the start for good reason. It's an abusive relationship: She's a teenage girl, he's a fully-grown man. She nurses him as best he can, and he repays her by getting on her case for all the things he thinks she should've done. And even when Ann does what Loomis requests, he always finds something else to complain about. The abuse is psychological, manipulative, but when it turns physical Ann has to count on all her knowledge and skills to keep alive and safe. But time does not heal all wounds, and Loomis has yet another horrible plan in mind.
The tension builds as the novel turns from suspense to thriller. It's a genuinely scary read, and easy to understand why it's such a classic tale to be shared with the next generations.
And now, a word about the film:
So yeah, the film sounds very much unfaithful to the novel.
Z for Zachariah was first published in 1974, and has stayed in print ever since. Robert C. O'Brien died in 1973, but his wife and one of his children completed the novel based on his notes.
It's simply brilliant. The science in regards to the "meteorological enclave" may be iffy at best, but the characterisation is wonderfully executed. Ann Burden is the strong, resourceful teenage heroine who's been completely alone for a year but has survived just fine. Growing up on a farm was ideal to teach her the skills to live off the land - and the location has kept her alive in good stead. Because all communication with the rest of the world has been cut off, for all she knows she could be the last person on Earth.
But Ann is not the only one, though she's better off alone.
Mr. Loomis was a plastics scientist in an underground bunker when the nuclear bombs dropped. His back-story is revealed when he talks in fevers brought on by radiation poisoning.
Ann's wary of Loomis from the start for good reason. It's an abusive relationship: She's a teenage girl, he's a fully-grown man. She nurses him as best he can, and he repays her by getting on her case for all the things he thinks she should've done. And even when Ann does what Loomis requests, he always finds something else to complain about. The abuse is psychological, manipulative, but when it turns physical Ann has to count on all her knowledge and skills to keep alive and safe. But time does not heal all wounds, and Loomis has yet another horrible plan in mind.
The tension builds as the novel turns from suspense to thriller. It's a genuinely scary read, and easy to understand why it's such a classic tale to be shared with the next generations.
And now, a word about the film:
So yeah, the film sounds very much unfaithful to the novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2015
The first time I read this book I was in sixth grade, I read it again in 2007.
Disappointed to learn Hollywood got its hands on this book and made it into a shitty movie. If you're going to read this book keep in mind there isn't a love triangle in it nor is it a love story. For the love of all that is holy, do not pick up this book thinking you're going to be reading a modern YA post-apocalyptic novel and then be all disappointed about the fact that it isn't all about sex. I swear to Iesha I'm going to bitchslap the first moron who writes a bad review of this book simply because it's nothing like the movie.
Otherwise I highly recommend this book. Check it out. Read it before you see the dumbed down version that Hollywood made.
Disappointed to learn Hollywood got its hands on this book and made it into a shitty movie. If you're going to read this book keep in mind there isn't a love triangle in it nor is it a love story. For the love of all that is holy, do not pick up this book thinking you're going to be reading a modern YA post-apocalyptic novel and then be all disappointed about the fact that it isn't all about sex. I swear to Iesha I'm going to bitchslap the first moron who writes a bad review of this book simply because it's nothing like the movie.
Otherwise I highly recommend this book. Check it out. Read it before you see the dumbed down version that Hollywood made.
March 24, 2024
First read this back in year7, probably the first postapocalypse novel I ever read and it stayed in my memory. Really enjoyed the re-read!
November 6, 2022
MUCH RANTING AHEAD.
Classic YA post-apocalyptic fiction! I've read this so, so, so many times when I was younger, but it's been probably a decade or so since I last picked it up. And it was, dare I say, even better than I remembered? And still SO very relevant even though it was published 45 years ago.
The gist, if you somehow have never read this, is that a fifteen-year-old farmgirl named Ann is alone in a sheltered valley after some kind of nuclear warfare that wiped out all of civilization (as far as she knows). Her family left the valley to go seek others, and never returned. By some freak of weather, her valley has remained untouched by the drifts of radiation that have killed off all other life. She's surviving on her family farm, when suddenly a stranger walks into her valley wearing a radiation-proof suit. She initially hides from him, but after he swims in a radioactive stream (mistaking it for safe water), she nurses him (Mr. Loomis) back to health and it looks like they're possibly the only two people left alive.
One thing that struck me on this go around is that I'm now older than Mr. Loomis in this story. I was probably about ten when this book was first read to me, so when he was described as aged 30-32, this was unimaginably ancient to me. I visualized him as a middle-aged, heavy-set man (the heavy set part is probably from the illustration of the radiation suit on the cover). This impression has somehow never changed for me, no matter how many times I've read this in later years. When I thought about reading this book now, I imagined Mr. Loomis as probably in his 50s....as if he's aged along with me. So, this time around when I actually read the book, and I got to the age description, I was flabbergasted. Wait, he's only in his early 30s? I'M in my early 30s! And he's probably not chubby at all, since he's been walking for an entire year, hauling a cart, and eating rations. He's a fit young dude my own age! Whhhhaaattttt???
That mind blowing revelation was soon replaced by even fiercer emotions toward the end of the book. Even though this was written in the 1970s, during a time when presumably sexism was even more prevalent than today, Robert C. O'Brien just GETS IT. I realized that all of his books feature female protagonists, and his most famous ones (this book and "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH") both feature female protagonists that are particularly strong, resourceful, and brave....and they don't even lose their heads over some silly love triangle. Imagine! I think Mr. O'Brien needs to be brought back from the dead to write some more teen fiction. Did I mention yet that he GETS IT??
What brought this all home, of course, is the climax of this novel and how much more intense it felt to me now, reading it as an adult. I, of course, remember the scene that spurred the drastic change in tone from the beginning of the book to the later part, but somehow it just HIT me so much harder this time around.
Prepare for rant....
It was this part in particular that triggered me:
And can we talk about Ann's simple response to the aforementioned schoolgirl comment from Mr. Loomis? "I will not change my mind." Simple. Clear. Firm. Badass.
Did I mention that Robert C. O'Brien GETS IT??
End rant.
This book comes as highly recommended as ever, but now with a fun feminist twist!
Classic YA post-apocalyptic fiction! I've read this so, so, so many times when I was younger, but it's been probably a decade or so since I last picked it up. And it was, dare I say, even better than I remembered? And still SO very relevant even though it was published 45 years ago.
The gist, if you somehow have never read this, is that a fifteen-year-old farmgirl named Ann is alone in a sheltered valley after some kind of nuclear warfare that wiped out all of civilization (as far as she knows). Her family left the valley to go seek others, and never returned. By some freak of weather, her valley has remained untouched by the drifts of radiation that have killed off all other life. She's surviving on her family farm, when suddenly a stranger walks into her valley wearing a radiation-proof suit. She initially hides from him, but after he swims in a radioactive stream (mistaking it for safe water), she nurses him (Mr. Loomis) back to health and it looks like they're possibly the only two people left alive.
One thing that struck me on this go around is that I'm now older than Mr. Loomis in this story. I was probably about ten when this book was first read to me, so when he was described as aged 30-32, this was unimaginably ancient to me. I visualized him as a middle-aged, heavy-set man (the heavy set part is probably from the illustration of the radiation suit on the cover). This impression has somehow never changed for me, no matter how many times I've read this in later years. When I thought about reading this book now, I imagined Mr. Loomis as probably in his 50s....as if he's aged along with me. So, this time around when I actually read the book, and I got to the age description, I was flabbergasted. Wait, he's only in his early 30s? I'M in my early 30s! And he's probably not chubby at all, since he's been walking for an entire year, hauling a cart, and eating rations. He's a fit young dude my own age! Whhhhaaattttt???
That mind blowing revelation was soon replaced by even fiercer emotions toward the end of the book. Even though this was written in the 1970s, during a time when presumably sexism was even more prevalent than today, Robert C. O'Brien just GETS IT. I realized that all of his books feature female protagonists, and his most famous ones (this book and "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH") both feature female protagonists that are particularly strong, resourceful, and brave....and they don't even lose their heads over some silly love triangle. Imagine! I think Mr. O'Brien needs to be brought back from the dead to write some more teen fiction. Did I mention yet that he GETS IT??
What brought this all home, of course, is the climax of this novel and how much more intense it felt to me now, reading it as an adult. I, of course, remember the scene that spurred the drastic change in tone from the beginning of the book to the later part, but somehow it just HIT me so much harder this time around.
Prepare for rant....
It was this part in particular that triggered me:
And can we talk about Ann's simple response to the aforementioned schoolgirl comment from Mr. Loomis? "I will not change my mind." Simple. Clear. Firm. Badass.
Did I mention that Robert C. O'Brien GETS IT??
End rant.
This book comes as highly recommended as ever, but now with a fun feminist twist!
May 29, 2009
I read this right after I read Apocalypse Nerd, which fueled my disappointment with the book. The sentiments of the main character often had me holding my arms to the sky thinking how the heck could anyone be so naive! She also made me laugh a little because she reminded me so much of my grandmother. Especially in the way she would seem to hold any man to be smarter and more deserving than herself. He shot someone? Well, I'm sure he had his reasons, I don't need to hide his guns or even think that he could possibly threaten me, why I'm just a girl! How could I even have higher thoughts such as that!? So he tried to rape me, he still needs me to do all the work and provide him with food...which I won't poison even though he's obviously a city boy and wouldn't know a poisonous mushroom or green from a piece of lettuce...so I won't even try. I think I'll shoot my dog that I've known and loved my entire life instead of even trying to take a shot at him...because that would just be dumb. Every aspect of this novel has some subtle note of sexism in it. Even the dog prefers to obey men than women, and the girl accepts that. Of course the dog would gravitate towards the man...it is "man's best friend" after all. Only men learn how to hunt or go hunting with dogs...The book seems to state that only concerns of women are romance, appearance and taking care of children in some form or another (whether they be rapists/husbands/fathers, their own offspring or non-existent school children). That dude is lucky he didn't come to my Apocalyptic oasis, he'd have been castrated and turned into my eunuch servant in no time. Needless to say I didn't much enjoy the book since it kinda riled me up with thoughts of slapping some sense into that dumb girl (even at 16 I had more sense than that) and slapping some handcuffs on that psycho. Oh and the ending...well the dude definitely got the right side of the stick on that one, the stupid girl and her moronic idealized dreams...well she probably lost her sense of romance after entering the dead world of corpses and cannibals.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2010
How can somebody be so smart and resourceful be some dumb and naive?
That's the underlying thought that stayed with me all throughout this novel.
Sixteen year old Ann Burden thought she was the last remaining human after an atomic war. She had been surviving in a secluded valley until another stranger showed up in her peaceful domain, one that she helped restore to health and offered the hospitality of her home. This man, in turn, tried to attack her, took over her house, and even shot her.
I seesawed between admiration and disgust at Ann's actions. I found her ability to survive, to plan, to take care of things very responsible for her age. On the other hand, I thought her idea of continuing to work the farm and and offering to split the food with the stranger even after he attacked her as totally foolish. Even her hesitation to kill the dog, though understandable, was a little misguided. Hey, if its a choice between my life and a dog, I'll pick mine any day, but then that is me. : )
Still despite the few irritations, I did enjoy this book.
That's the underlying thought that stayed with me all throughout this novel.
Sixteen year old Ann Burden thought she was the last remaining human after an atomic war. She had been surviving in a secluded valley until another stranger showed up in her peaceful domain, one that she helped restore to health and offered the hospitality of her home. This man, in turn, tried to attack her, took over her house, and even shot her.
I seesawed between admiration and disgust at Ann's actions. I found her ability to survive, to plan, to take care of things very responsible for her age. On the other hand, I thought her idea of continuing to work the farm and and offering to split the food with the stranger even after he attacked her as totally foolish. Even her hesitation to kill the dog, though understandable, was a little misguided. Hey, if its a choice between my life and a dog, I'll pick mine any day, but then that is me. : )
Still despite the few irritations, I did enjoy this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
November 24, 2012Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com
Sixteen-year-old Ann Burden has been living on her own for a year, since the nuclear bombs turned everything surrounding her little valley into a wasteland, and her parents drove out to find other survivors... and never came back. Knowing she may be the only person left, Ann struggles with her loneliness and tends to the farm as best she can. But then a man comes over the hills in a protective suit and arrives in the valley. At first he provides Ann with welcome companionship, but as he recovers from a bout of radiation sickness, his actions become more sinister.
Z FOR ZACHARIAH is an intense, heart-pounding read. From the moment Ann first sees smoke rising from beyond the valley, each development wrenches her further and further from the life she's adjusted to--seemingly for good, and then with terrible consequences. The pacing is perfect, and with the story being told through Ann's journal entries, every event feels immediate. The personal details and unflinching descriptions of life after a nuclear war make the story even more gripping. As the tension escalates, readers will find it incredibly hard to put the book down before they discover Ann's ultimate fate. While the story leaves this somewhat open-ended, Ann's ultimate victory will make them cheer.
Ann is a likable narrator, with a natural voice and a well-developed personality. It's easy to sympathize with her based on her situation alone, but she is all the more admirable for refusing to give up even in the most desperate circumstances. She deals with her problems with intelligence and courage, but still has those moments of carelessness and fear that make her human. Readers will be on her side from the beginning, even as they struggle to imagine how they would feel in her place. Though her final triumph involves some loss, it's clear Ann will persevere and find a way to survive and be happy, which makes the ending satisfying.
Z FOR ZACHARIAH is a story that will haunt readers long after they've put down the book. It shows both the good and the bad that can emerge from human nature in the face of catastrophe, and gives hope that even in the worst situations, there are those who will remain strong.
Sixteen-year-old Ann Burden has been living on her own for a year, since the nuclear bombs turned everything surrounding her little valley into a wasteland, and her parents drove out to find other survivors... and never came back. Knowing she may be the only person left, Ann struggles with her loneliness and tends to the farm as best she can. But then a man comes over the hills in a protective suit and arrives in the valley. At first he provides Ann with welcome companionship, but as he recovers from a bout of radiation sickness, his actions become more sinister.
Z FOR ZACHARIAH is an intense, heart-pounding read. From the moment Ann first sees smoke rising from beyond the valley, each development wrenches her further and further from the life she's adjusted to--seemingly for good, and then with terrible consequences. The pacing is perfect, and with the story being told through Ann's journal entries, every event feels immediate. The personal details and unflinching descriptions of life after a nuclear war make the story even more gripping. As the tension escalates, readers will find it incredibly hard to put the book down before they discover Ann's ultimate fate. While the story leaves this somewhat open-ended, Ann's ultimate victory will make them cheer.
Ann is a likable narrator, with a natural voice and a well-developed personality. It's easy to sympathize with her based on her situation alone, but she is all the more admirable for refusing to give up even in the most desperate circumstances. She deals with her problems with intelligence and courage, but still has those moments of carelessness and fear that make her human. Readers will be on her side from the beginning, even as they struggle to imagine how they would feel in her place. Though her final triumph involves some loss, it's clear Ann will persevere and find a way to survive and be happy, which makes the ending satisfying.
Z FOR ZACHARIAH is a story that will haunt readers long after they've put down the book. It shows both the good and the bad that can emerge from human nature in the face of catastrophe, and gives hope that even in the worst situations, there are those who will remain strong.
June 22, 2019
What if Adam and Eve don't get along? (And what if you read a book with absolutely no clue that it's aimed at an audience way younger than you thought it was?)
Every now and then I'll feel like indulging in a hypothetical apocalypse, which is what drove me to pick up Z for Zachariah as I was roaming the digital bookshelves for zombie attacks and radioactive catastrophes I hadn't faced on pages yet.
Z for Zachariah is intriguing at its core: after a nuclear war the only person left alive seems to be our narrator, Ann. Told from the point of view of her diary, we witness her suspense and her excitement when she discovers a second person - but what if Mr. Loomis isn't a very good person?
It's an interesting account of how the YA genre has changed over last few decades. With this having first been published in the mid-70s, it shows how we're used to more from that genre these days: more action, more drama, more... I can't even quite put my finger on it. I just felt like that's what this story would have needed: more.
This didn't really feel like it was set in a post-apocalyptic world. Maybe that's what it would actually be like, but Ann didn't really think a lot about the trauma that she must have experienced and wasn't that concerned with the horrible things around her. Maybe it's because Mr. Loomis was enough to deal with, maybe because she's mere 16-years old. Maybe because even a horrible life becomes a routine at some point. It just wasn't enough to cause any kind of emotional reaction in me, personally.
Other people got a lot more out of this than I did and I am partly blaming my own expectations. I didn't know this was a Young Adult novel, which was reflected in the general tone and depiction of things. Somehow I wasn't looking for the mildness that I was presented with here.
Every now and then I'll feel like indulging in a hypothetical apocalypse, which is what drove me to pick up Z for Zachariah as I was roaming the digital bookshelves for zombie attacks and radioactive catastrophes I hadn't faced on pages yet.
Z for Zachariah is intriguing at its core: after a nuclear war the only person left alive seems to be our narrator, Ann. Told from the point of view of her diary, we witness her suspense and her excitement when she discovers a second person - but what if Mr. Loomis isn't a very good person?
It's an interesting account of how the YA genre has changed over last few decades. With this having first been published in the mid-70s, it shows how we're used to more from that genre these days: more action, more drama, more... I can't even quite put my finger on it. I just felt like that's what this story would have needed: more.
This didn't really feel like it was set in a post-apocalyptic world. Maybe that's what it would actually be like, but Ann didn't really think a lot about the trauma that she must have experienced and wasn't that concerned with the horrible things around her. Maybe it's because Mr. Loomis was enough to deal with, maybe because she's mere 16-years old. Maybe because even a horrible life becomes a routine at some point. It just wasn't enough to cause any kind of emotional reaction in me, personally.
Other people got a lot more out of this than I did and I am partly blaming my own expectations. I didn't know this was a Young Adult novel, which was reflected in the general tone and depiction of things. Somehow I wasn't looking for the mildness that I was presented with here.
November 19, 2019
What a gem of a book! I chose this because I needed a book that begins with Z for a challenge and I’m so glad I chose this one. This is written like a diary and I’m such a fan of that. It makes the pages fly by. The diary is that of a sixteen year old girl that has survived a nuclear war and thinks she is the only one left alive. When suddenly someone arrives to her oasis. So good!! I could not stop reading. This was written in the seventies but really felt ageless.
FYI..... This is nothing like the movie they made!!!
FYI..... This is nothing like the movie they made!!!
August 31, 2007
I read this in my 6th or 7th grade english class. It is a wonderful story about one girls struggle to survive after a tragic event. I learned that you can not count on everyone to be there for you all of the time, that you have to be independant or else you will most likely will not it if you were to lose everyone.
March 20, 2016
คลาสสิค เลอค่า เล่าเรื่องเรียบง่ายแต่มากมาย ไม่จำเป็นต้องมีรายละเอียดเยอะแยะแบบงานสมัยใหม่
แม้เรื่องนี้จะถูกเขียนขึ้นมากว่า 40 ปี แต่ก็ไม่ได้ล้าสมัยแต่อย่างใด ยอดเยี่ยมกว่างานดีสโทเปียยุคใหม่ที่ล้นตลาดอยู่เป็นกอง
แม้เรื่องนี้จะถูกเขียนขึ้นมากว่า 40 ปี แต่ก็ไม่ได้ล้าสมัยแต่อย่างใด ยอดเยี่ยมกว่างานดีสโทเปียยุคใหม่ที่ล้นตลาดอยู่เป็นกอง
April 5, 2024
In the wake of a nuclear war, 16-year-old Ann Burden has resigned herself to being the last living person on this postapocalyptic earth — until she sees a fire. Not a forest fire, like the year before, but a campfire, evidence of at least one other person. Ann is equal parts excited and afraid. Which feeling is the one that’s justified? Readers can decide after they meet the titular Zachariah.
Robert C. O’Brien, who won the Newbery Award for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, crafts a fabulous tale here, too. No wonder this Edgar Award-winning book is a staple on middle- and high-school reading lists! Narrator Christina Moore provides the perfect voice for young Ann.
Robert C. O’Brien, who won the Newbery Award for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, crafts a fabulous tale here, too. No wonder this Edgar Award-winning book is a staple on middle- and high-school reading lists! Narrator Christina Moore provides the perfect voice for young Ann.
June 4, 2020
Gostei da garra da protagonista, o enredo empolgou-me o suficiente para que a leitura fluísse... Mas não gostei do final...
September 12, 2014
Studied this during my GCSE years when most other students read books others have heard of. I’ve yet to meet anyone who has read this, other than the pupils in my class at the time.
Managed to get a copy of this online in recent years, so I know that a Victoria Stoner of Gillbrook School in Cleveland read it too, lol.
I really want to re-read this again, especially as the film comes out next year!
I found this novel rather frightening at the time, & I remember it inducing frantic dreams/nightmares.
Managed to get a copy of this online in recent years, so I know that a Victoria Stoner of Gillbrook School in Cleveland read it too, lol.
I really want to re-read this again, especially as the film comes out next year!
I found this novel rather frightening at the time, & I remember it inducing frantic dreams/nightmares.
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