January 27, 2007
Critic At Large: Ender's Game
I read this book when I was in college and decided to see how I'd react to it some fifteen years later. Ender's Game follows Ender Wiggin, a child prodigy who is selected to undergo training at the Battle School, an elite academy created by a precariously united Earth to train soldiers to fight an alien race known as the buggers. We watch Ender undergo a grueling transformation from little boy to child soldier, a journey that is shaped by Ender's conflicting capacities for both empathy and brutal violence.
Whatever I think of Card's homophobic rantings, I can't deny his ability to write compelling characters. In college, I identified strongly with Ender because he reminded me of myself; a brainy kid who was something of a social outcast. But I now realize that Card was careful not to make Ender too sympathetic. He has some deep flaws that I found much more disquieting on this rereading.
The other aspects of the story still hold up well, although I'm surprised that my younger self didn't see the resolution coming from a mile away. You'll have to read it yourself to see what I mean.
Next up is Sam Harris' The End of Faith.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at January 27, 2007 08:23 PM
Comments
Check out booktalk.com for bulletin board discussions of both these books last fall.
Posted by: Blue at January 28, 2007 12:13 AM