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Childhood's End is written by the same gentleman who brought us all 2001: A Space Odyssey, and has the same persisting effect on thought. It is everything a science fiction book should be: mature, straightforward, easy to digest yet profound, abstract, and in some ways metaphysical. It has left a bittersweet taste in my mouth, which is a good thing, and though it was written long ago, it is still relavent today.
Childhood's End is about a mysterious alien race, The Overlords, that places it's starships above every major city in the world. Unlike ID4, it has no action, only logic. In fact, that could describe every move The Overlords make. They work to serve the best interests of humanity; providing them with working government and gifts: solving world hunger and war. How do they do this? They have the human race down to a T. They have read all books (except for the metaphysical). They know all human history as they have been silent observers. When an ambassador is speaking to one of the Overlords, he asks how they are able to solve the world's problems; end all wars. He simply replies "correct use of force". Not fear or violence, but the superlative suggestion, or perfectly motivating action. One example, an aggressive nation fires a nuke into one of their ships. It doesn't hit it. Instead, it goes straight through the ship, into space. Nothing is damaged. The Overlords never make note of it, pacifying opposition in the purest parental form.
The book spans three generations. Within this time, we are able to find the true purpose of the Overlord's mission. It is something you will never expect. It is impossible to express the metaphysical side of the book without revealing anything, but I do have to say it makes me consider the idea of autism in children; a parallel to some events that occur near the end of the book. It takes you on a magnificent journey, one you will not forget for a long time.
Jonathan Safron Foer creates characters that win your compassion. From the moment we meet Oskar, he is precocious but obnoxious. We are annoyed and intrigued by him as he is never as simple as he seems while playing the tambourines he carries everywhere with him. The story blooms in a fashion that is rarely experienced in modern novels; each character allows you to interpret how they feel through their actions. There are clues that can be picked up on as they interact with one another in subtle ways that do not become explicit until the end. They wind and tangle with one another, which provides a dramatic effect on your empathy level.
The book is about a boy whose father dies in the twin towers. He finds a key in his father's prized vase, and makes it his quest to find which door this key opens in New York City. Doorways are a significant constant in this book. We find that each character: the stoic mute; Oskar's grandmother; mother, and each person Oskar touches in his search for the missing doorway, have a beautiful secret that they hide from one another. It takes completing the book to find out that these secrets all form the same conclusion.
The conclusion, and the purpose of this book in my opinion, is to express the how incredibly close each person is to one another. From the homeless to the ostentatious, we all have the same commonality in that we are all human, and we all have the capacity to love one another. This is the only way to express the emotional grasp I felt as I had to put this book, a book that had become such a close friend, down for the final time. Enjoy this. So far, it is the best book I have ever read.
