Mockingbird (S.F.Masterworks S.)

This was a very different book but I enjoyed it. Different concept of a drugged population and no children along with a very lonely advanced robot. Amazing how two sane people could find each other and fall in love. I enjoyed all the different characters.

This really should be mandatory reading along with Fahrenheit 451 and 1984. It's a much more likely dystopian future, in my mind—the tyranny of convenience, entertainment, and leisure as taken to their extreme. Really fascinating. Really strange. I want to talk to everyone about it but no one else has read it!

I began using Mockingbird in my college classes when it first came out; and, even though it went out of print, I still used it, when I could find copies. Thank god it's available again! The exciting story of two people teaching themselves to read, then reading, thinking, writing, and regaining their humanity while falling in love is the strong medicine needed for education today. Also, Walter Tevis is one of the finest writers of any age--so reading Mockingbird is also a lesson in how to write clearly, concisely, and correctly. Would that every teacher and student read it--more than once!

I first read it in 1992 and loved it. Mockingbird is a powerful novel of a future world where humans are dying.Those that survive spend their days in a narcotic bliss or choose a quick suicide rather than slow extinction. Humanity's salvation rests with a "Make Nine" android named Bob Spofforth who has no desire to live yet he can't commit suicide do to his programming of self preservation. And a man named Paul and a woman named Mary Lou who on they journey of self-discovery learn about love, hope, and the true meaning of happiness.

The book opens with Bob Spofforth, a "Make Nine" android, enacting a private annual ritual: he tries to throw himself off of the top of the Empire State Building. But his programming prevents him from doing so. The narrative description in the the first chapter paints an utterly believable image of 25th century Manhattan: buildings still stand, buses still run (sort of). The city remains recognizably New York, but humanity has faded and turned inward. Skyscrapers line the streets like Mastodon bones bleached in the sun, and it is through the clinical, analytical description seen over the shoulder of Bob Spofforth that we get the sense of mankind receded, silent, and sad.

Excellent book! A look into the far distant future of a world controlled by robots, with graphic descriptions of what the United States and the world looks like after the decline of humans. Highly recommended !! A book you can read over and over again and enjoy it each time!

I snap up old used copies of "Mockingbird" whenever I find them so that I can loan it out with impunity. I have yet to find a person who has not liked or loved the book, including my science-fiction-hating mother and husband. This would be an outstanding book for a high school English course, or for a book discussion group.

I think the other reviews explain and commend this book pretty thoroughly, I just wanted to add one more 5 star review. If you're still sitting on the fence when you're reading this, get off! And buy this book! It was unavailable for many years, buy it while you still can!

Very good plot. The ending was a bit predictable. The formatting of the book was quite irritating. Scenes would change with no kind of indication like new chapter or spacing between changes. Sometimes I had to stop and think about the scene changes as to me they were not well handled from formatting of the text.

What a great story. Glimpses into the mind of an android, and his preoccupation with death, and the spirit of two humans who have to help him to be able to stop them. A book that makes you look deeply into the melding of human mind with machine. An incredible touching story. I've read this book 10 times and never get tired of it, it also travels around my circle of friends on a regular basis.

Upon the recommendation of one of my oldest friends, I borrowed "MB" from him and gave ti a whirl. I loved it; the diary-esque storytelling was an interesting change of pace, and mirrored some of my own attempts to write in journal narration. The characters were developed, they storyline twisted-- all in all a great book.

If you loved Niffenegger's debut, then this book is for you.

When you're lonely. Read it.

When it's Dark Outside. Read it.

When your soul mate is aloof. Or they've gone.

When your job makes no sense.

When the future is in doubt.

When you need Something.

Read it.

Again.

I read this book repeatedly when I was about 14. I'm 22 and I still haven't forgotten it. I'm going to make this book the topic of my Psychology term paper if I can find a copy of it. Mockingbird is marvelously interesting.

Tevis's novel, although originally published in 1980, has an innocent and naive tone reminiscent of SF from the 40s and early 50s. The prose style is simple and unpretentious, the events that befall the protagonists never particularly extreme. These factors are not criticisms but simple observations. But there are major problems with this novel. The story is underdeveloped and the characters tepid and uninspiring. I was never really convinced by the society Tevis posits: there are just too many incongruities and implausibilities for it to ring true. Without doubt MOCKINGBIRD contains the kernel of a fascinating examination of humanity, mortality, and the role technology should be allowed to play within our lives, but unfortunately Tevis fails to realise its promise.

I really enjoyed this concept. The story moved slowly and quietly in the beginning... But when you see what society has turned into, I think that was deliberate by the author. I loved the characters... I loved watching them grow, and learning their stories. The basic story idea isn't new... Technology running the world, things spiraling out of control... But the story itself is unique.

I will give you no spoilers, just let it unfold around you. If you want shoot-em-up-blood-and-guts-action, this story is not for you. But if you want a creative take on the apocalyptic scene, and some interesting characters (a few), give this a try.