A Canticle for Leibowitz

This is an incredibly enjoyable novel, especially for anyone who has more than a passing knowledge of the history of Western Civilization from the fall of Rome to the modern day. The basic conceit is that this period of history will repeat itself in the future, after a nuclear war that leaves much of the world decimated. An order of monks, named the Order of Leibowitz after a nuclear scientist who became religious after the war, is the last group devoted to the preservation of learning. The great mass of surviving humanity burned all the books it could find, blaming the war on education and science.

As might be expected, the novel takes an unusual approach to the relationship between science and religion, making them interdependent. Much like the historical monks of the Dark Ages, the Leibowitzian monks find their purpose in preserving what is left of the wisdom of the ancients. The book is divided into three sections, which are recapitulations of the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, and the Modern (Nuclear) Age, each of which provide a commentary on the religion/science debate.

Much of the book will make more sense to Catholics than to other readers. Latin is spoken profusely, and some of the ideas towards the end require a basic knowledge of Catholic dogma to be properly understood. As mentioned earlier, some knowledge of Western history will also help. Miller was writing to an educated audience, and he expects the reader to do some work to appreciate the novel.