Published in 1990 this is a story heavily influenced by the time during which it was written. But I never found myself growing bored or indifferent to the fate of the main character - Mary Hope. When I finally got around to opening it up it took me probably four hours to get through it. All in all it's an easy read and a fast read. In the end there is a triumph (of sorts), but there are many questions and doubts about the future. It's a story heavy with melancholy and pessimism. Not a mutant or Russian soldier in sight in A Gift Upon The Shore. Their enemies are nature (as well as their ally) and ignorance. It's a simple story about two women who struggle to survive as well as try to preserve what little they can of civilization and the potential for Humanity's advancement. It doesn't even have all that much in common with the classic post-apocalyptic/nuclear war novel Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank which features brave, resolute, resourceful male protagonists and brave, resolute, resourceful female protagonists who take care of hearth and home while the men are off doing manly things. Nor does it feature (predominately) male heroes who are are brave, resolute, resourceful and armed to the teeth. This is not a tale of gun-battles, epic struggles, mutants or invading hordes. Stewart and A Canticle for Lebowitz by Walter M. A Gift Upon The Shore is a post-apocalyptic novel that owes much to Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Earth Abides by George R.
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