A Canticle for Leibowitz

* Print
* Audio

Paperback

## POV Information

**Gender**
**Char Name**

Female
Male

 (Content Ratings Click on Explicit Ratings for details.)

## About the Book

* Awards: 1961 Hugo Winner
* Genres: Classic SF, Post Apocalypse
## Overview

***A Canticle for Leibowitz*** is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller Jr., first published in 1959. Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the southwestern United States after a devastating nuclear war, the book spans thousands of years as civilization rebuilds itself. The monks of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz preserve the surviving remnants of man's scientific knowledge until the world is again ready for it.

The novel is a fix-up of three short stories Miller published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction that were inspired by the author's participation in the bombing of the monastery at the Battle of Monte Cassino during World War II. The book is considered one of the classics of science fiction and has never been out of print. Appealing to mainstream and genre critics and readers alike, it won the 1961 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel, and its themes of religion, recurrence, and church versus state have generated a significant body of scholarly research. A sequel, *Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman*, was published posthumously in 1997.

## Description

The HUGO AWARD-winning novel of Earth after the apocalypse

In the depths of the Utah desert, long after the Flame Deluge has scoured the earth clean, the rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of knowledge.

By studying the Holy Relics of the past, the Order of St Leibowitz hopes to raise humanity from its fallen state to one of grace.

But is such knowledge the key to salvation? Or the certain sign that we are doomed to repeat our most grievous mistakes ... ?

After 20th-century civilization was destroyed by a global nuclear war, known as the "Flame Deluge", there was a violent backlash against the culture of advanced knowledge and technology that had led to the development of nuclear weapons. During this backlash, called the "Simplification", anyone of learning, and eventually anyone who could even read, was likely to be killed by rampaging mobs, who proudly took on the name of "Simpletons". Illiteracy became almost universal, and books were destroyed en masse.

The story is structured in three parts: "Fiat Homo", "Fiat Lux", and "Fiat Voluntas Tua". The parts are separated by periods of six centuries each.

## Additional Info

**Note:** Include any additional information that you want to, such as plot summary / Cliff Notes, list of characters, etc.

## A Canticle for Leibowitz

First edition dust jacket Illustration by George Sottung

*A Canticle for Leibowitz* was an early example of a genre story becoming a mainstream best-seller after large publishers entered the science-fiction market. In 1961 it was awarded the Hugo Award for Best Novel by The World Science Fiction Convention. In the years since, praise for the work has been consistently high. It is considered a "science-fiction classic ... [and] is arguably the best novel written about nuclear apocalypse, surpassing more popularly known books like On the Beach". The book has also generated a significant body of literary criticism, including numerous literature journal articles, books and college courses. Acknowledging its serialization roots, literary critic David N. Samuelson writes that the novel "may be the one universally acknowledged literary masterpiece to emerge from magazine SF". Fellow critic David Cowart places the novel in the realm of works by Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, and Percy, in 1975 stating it "stands for many readers as the best novel ever written in the genre". Percy, a National Book Award recipient, declared the book "a mystery: it's as if everything came together by some felicitous chance, then fell apart into normal negative entropy. I'm as mystified as ever and hold 'Canticle' in even higher esteem". Scholars and critics have explored the many themes encompassed in the novel, frequently focusing on its motifs of religion, recurrence, and church versus state.

### Publication History

*A Canticle for Leibowitz* was published by J. B. Lippincott & Co. as a hardcover in 1960 with a 1959 copyright, and two reprints appeared within the first year. More than 40 new editions and reprints have appeared for the book, which has never been out of print. It often appears on "best of" lists, and has been recognized three times with Locus Poll Awards for best all-time science fiction novel.

### Sequel

*Main article*: wikipedia:Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman

Toward the end of his life, Miller wrote another installment of the Abbey of Saint Leibowitz saga, Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman. A full-length novel (455 pages) significantly longer than its predecessor, it is set in AD 3254, eighty years after the events of "Fiat Lux" but several centuries before "Fiat Voluntas Tua". Suffering from writer's block and fearful the new work would go unfinished, Miller arranged with author Terry Bisson to complete it. Bisson said all he did was go in and tie up the loose ends Miller had left. The novel tells the story of Brother Blacktooth St. George of the Leibowitzian abbey who, unlike Brother Francis, wants to be released from his holy vows and leave the abbey. In addition to recounting his travels as Cardinal Brownpony's personal secretary, the book describes the political situation in the 33rd century as the Church and the Texark Empire vie for power. Miller died before the novel's publication.

*Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman* has been called "Walter Miller's other novel". Reviewer Steven H. Silver points out that this "is not to say that *Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman* does not deserve to be read. It is a fantastic novel, only suffering in comparison to Miller's earlier work".

## Archieves.org

A Canticle for Leibowitz

*A Canticle for Leibowitz*

* Publication date: 1997
* Topics: Cultural Literacy and Humanities, Reading Level-Grade 7, Reading Level-Grade 8, Reading Level-Grade 9, Reading Level-Grade 10, Reading Level-Grade 11, Reading Level-Grade 12
* Publisher: New York : Bantam Books
* Digitizing sponsor: Internet Archive
* Contributor: Internet Archive
* Language: English

## References:

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 wikipedia:A Canticle for Leibowitz
2. ↑ Amazon's description