jonmhansen's review against another edition
4.0
Depressing AF. I did like it, but it's a challenging read, if for no other reason than there are a ton of characters and it's a bit hard to keep them straight. And then they die.
trevorjameszaple's review
5.0
When I finished this book I went outside and took a deep breath of clean air. I then went inside, walked upstairs, and poured myself a glass of water from the tap. I drank it without compunction. It was tasty.
Don't get me wrong; Brunner isn't wrong. It might be the 2080s he's describing instead of the 1980s, but this is a path we could be on. Granted, we've cleaned up our act a lot since 1972; despite environmental disasters (oil spills, nuclear meltdowns) the oceans still live, the Mediterranean isn't a stinking cesspool, and you can still trust the water that comes out of the tap in the Western world. You can breathe the air without a filter in L.A., and you can walk outside in the rain in New York. Of course, thanks to Deng Xao Ping and the greed-is-good mantra of multinational corporations, the manufacturing base has moved to the Far East, where they are now facing air quality the approaches Brunner's depictions of California. Consequently, China may face Brunner's future much sooner than the rest of us, although green technology is likely to be a growth industry throughout the rest of the 21st Century.
Brunner's book has some definitely dated moments (the hippie vibe of the resistance movement, the strength of black militancy which abated sharply following the introduction of crack cocaine to urban ghettos) but overall it is a frightening prediction of an all-too-plausible future, where one environmental mistake snowballs into the collapse of the United States. A popular and prescient read at the time, it's still required reading for anyone who feels the need to worry at the future and our own existence in it.
Don't get me wrong; Brunner isn't wrong. It might be the 2080s he's describing instead of the 1980s, but this is a path we could be on. Granted, we've cleaned up our act a lot since 1972; despite environmental disasters (oil spills, nuclear meltdowns) the oceans still live, the Mediterranean isn't a stinking cesspool, and you can still trust the water that comes out of the tap in the Western world. You can breathe the air without a filter in L.A., and you can walk outside in the rain in New York. Of course, thanks to Deng Xao Ping and the greed-is-good mantra of multinational corporations, the manufacturing base has moved to the Far East, where they are now facing air quality the approaches Brunner's depictions of California. Consequently, China may face Brunner's future much sooner than the rest of us, although green technology is likely to be a growth industry throughout the rest of the 21st Century.
Brunner's book has some definitely dated moments (the hippie vibe of the resistance movement, the strength of black militancy which abated sharply following the introduction of crack cocaine to urban ghettos) but overall it is a frightening prediction of an all-too-plausible future, where one environmental mistake snowballs into the collapse of the United States. A popular and prescient read at the time, it's still required reading for anyone who feels the need to worry at the future and our own existence in it.
richardrbecker's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Don't drink the water is one of many warnings you'll repeatedly read in The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner. It's also a suitable warning for the book. The Sheep Look Up is one of those books you probably should read, but not one with a clearly stated or enjoyable plot. It's complicated.
The novel takes place over the course of a year, with one chapter for each month. Each chapter is driven by different characters whose paths cross as the world's ecology collapses. And this structure makes the reading less easy and enjoyable than it could have been, possibly why Asimov's The Gods Themselves beat Brunner out of a Nebula in 1972.
Despite this, the brilliance of the book is twofold. As an eco-dystopian, presumed to be set ten years after its publishing, Brunner delivers impeccably convincing world-building and characters. So much so that you almost feel like he ripped his pages from the future — hopefully, an alternative future. But one never knows with Brunner, who's well-known for his powers of prediction (having coined the term worm for computer viruses before they existed).
Nothing in The Sheep Look Up is what we want for the world (but we're getting some of them these things anyway). The failing environment leads to famine, wars, fake news, enteritis epidemics, failing antibiotics, radiation-leaking microwaves, forest fires, government bailouts, populist Presidents, and increased contaminated foods. Brunner makes it all feel too real, including the heavy push for vaccines and treatments with side effects.
Through it all, the characters are sometimes hard to track, with the exception of Austin Train, an influential ecologist who warns the world that the end is near. Train and his followers are always present in the background except when Brunner brings them into the spotlight. But the novel is not about Train as much as a collapse as seen through the eyes of a haphazard collection of people surviving their new and increasingly horrible normal. So, don't drink the water unless you know going in what's in it.
The novel takes place over the course of a year, with one chapter for each month. Each chapter is driven by different characters whose paths cross as the world's ecology collapses. And this structure makes the reading less easy and enjoyable than it could have been, possibly why Asimov's The Gods Themselves beat Brunner out of a Nebula in 1972.
Despite this, the brilliance of the book is twofold. As an eco-dystopian, presumed to be set ten years after its publishing, Brunner delivers impeccably convincing world-building and characters. So much so that you almost feel like he ripped his pages from the future — hopefully, an alternative future. But one never knows with Brunner, who's well-known for his powers of prediction (having coined the term worm for computer viruses before they existed).
Nothing in The Sheep Look Up is what we want for the world (but we're getting some of them these things anyway). The failing environment leads to famine, wars, fake news, enteritis epidemics, failing antibiotics, radiation-leaking microwaves, forest fires, government bailouts, populist Presidents, and increased contaminated foods. Brunner makes it all feel too real, including the heavy push for vaccines and treatments with side effects.
Through it all, the characters are sometimes hard to track, with the exception of Austin Train, an influential ecologist who warns the world that the end is near. Train and his followers are always present in the background except when Brunner brings them into the spotlight. But the novel is not about Train as much as a collapse as seen through the eyes of a haphazard collection of people surviving their new and increasingly horrible normal. So, don't drink the water unless you know going in what's in it.
gggggggg_g's review against another edition
1.0
I haven't hated a book more nor have I had to experience choking a novel down since I read 1Q84. An impressive feat.
bigenk's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Somewhere between a 1.5 and a 2.
I strongly feel that this book is just not for me.
It's totally understandable that this is one of the works of fiction that spurred the environmental moment back in the 1960's and 1970's. I can imagine that hearing about the real effects of pollution on humans and nature for the first time would shocking. Brunner doesn't pull any punches when it comes to intimately describing some very gruesome things. I think he makes some excellent points about how far people will go in order to remain in their own safe version of reality.
But the year is now 2023. In my mind, a lot of these ideas about the preservation of the environment, and distrust of the government/police/military are now a part of the shared consciousnesses of society. As such, I wanted more than just an exposé. This is where the book was headache to read.
There is a fundamental lack of narrative arc. Instead, a slow and painful downward slide into total misery for all of our characters, which I'll admit may well have been the point, but it doesn't make for a very engaging reading experience. I found the changes between perspectives to be jarring and painful. While I though that the inclusion of news monologues and advertisements was a great idea in terms of world building, I though that most of them were rather unnecessary/didn't add all that much. In particular, there was one chapter that was about 20 pages long, which jumped perspectives between maybe 50+ random characters, who are all experiencing some brand of misery. Why??
I'll also say that I found the book to ramble on way too long. I think if it were half as long, it would have been much more bearable to read, and it still would've been able to get its messages across.
I really wish that I could have enjoyed it more. I appreciate what Brunner did for the movement, but I seriously can't ever imagine putting myself through reading this book again.
Maybe that's the point.
I strongly feel that this book is just not for me.
It's totally understandable that this is one of the works of fiction that spurred the environmental moment back in the 1960's and 1970's. I can imagine that hearing about the real effects of pollution on humans and nature for the first time would shocking. Brunner doesn't pull any punches when it comes to intimately describing some very gruesome things. I think he makes some excellent points about how far people will go in order to remain in their own safe version of reality.
But the year is now 2023. In my mind, a lot of these ideas about the preservation of the environment, and distrust of the government/police/military are now a part of the shared consciousnesses of society. As such, I wanted more than just an exposé. This is where the book was headache to read.
There is a fundamental lack of narrative arc. Instead, a slow and painful downward slide into total misery for all of our characters, which I'll admit may well have been the point, but it doesn't make for a very engaging reading experience. I found the changes between perspectives to be jarring and painful. While I though that the inclusion of news monologues and advertisements was a great idea in terms of world building, I though that most of them were rather unnecessary/didn't add all that much. In particular, there was one chapter that was about 20 pages long, which jumped perspectives between maybe 50+ random characters, who are all experiencing some brand of misery. Why??
I'll also say that I found the book to ramble on way too long. I think if it were half as long, it would have been much more bearable to read, and it still would've been able to get its messages across.
I really wish that I could have enjoyed it more. I appreciate what Brunner did for the movement, but I seriously can't ever imagine putting myself through reading this book again.
Maybe that's the point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Murder, Chronic illness, and Death
jsan_ford's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
drewcox's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
anscha3000's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shirezu's review against another edition
4.0
This book was very hard to get in to at first. It's written in a very disjointed style that takes some working to get through. But it is worth it. The things in this book never occurred but the scary thing is it can still happen. All the chemicals in this book are real. Their effects on humans are real. They way that governments and corporations look after their own to the expense of others is real. Hopefully this world doesn't go the same way but it's up to us to make sure it doesn't.