I recently read Z for Zachariah for the first time. First published in the UK in 1975 this book is written from the perspective of a 16 year old girl surviving in an isolated valley post a global nuclear war.
The title relates to a chlidren's book mention in the story that lists Christian terms from A to Z, with Zachariah being the last term in the book. Zachariah is an old testament profit who is attributed to having written the book of Zachariah, the second last book of the old testament. Zachariah means “God remembered”. The book of Zachariah's main theme is despite it being really bad now, God will triumph.
The novel Z for Zachariah explores a range of issues associated with survivalism including maintaining animals, crops and seed stocks, limitations of stock piles, obtaining fuel, radiation sickness, bug-out plans, alternative refuges, security, and people issues. The main theme of the book is the interaction between the young girl and a fellow survivor who makes his way into her valley.
I would would recommend the book for a read for any prepper but particularly for exposing young teens to survival and prepping issues. What annoyed me about the book, and I should say here: SPOILER ALERT so please SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH NOW, was the archetypal representation of the young girl as the fount of Christian virtue in the form of a pacifist, specifically her refusal to do physical harm to her antagonist in the face of extreme violence. Personally I am not a pacifist so find the theme that pacifism in the face of violence and threat is some how a “good” thing quite irritating.
The book has also been made into a movie of the same title released in 2015. The movie includes the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is one of my favourite actors after his portrayal of “the operative” in Serenity, and Australian actress Margot Robbie, and Chris Pine (the new Kirk) each of whom put in good performances.
The movie has no internal monologue and thus moves immediately to the meeting between the young girl, who's now in her early 20's rather than teens, and the arriving stranger. This allows the plot to to be driven by dialogue and character interactions and requires the watcher to deduce the characters motives. The movie focuses on different themes (SPOILER ALERT – SKIP PARAGRAPH) for example de-emphasising a pre-emptive approach to “stranger danger” but instead spends more time on issues of relationship conflicts and desire as well as a bigger focus on religion. This is largely by splitting the original character of the stranger into two separate characters. At this point the book and the movie completely depart plots and many of the more interesting elements of the book are lost including a significant focus on radiation sickness and the plucky self reliance of the young girl in the face of severe adversity.
The book and the movie are different enough to warrant exploring both, though I would say the book would be better for people looking for a general overview of survival issues, while the movie explores (SPOILER) potential conflict over limited partners if people hold onto a need for monogamous relationships. I would probably watch the movie first as I think the book is the stronger of the two and you might find you enjoy the movie more without looking for the detail and plot that is left out.
Take look at these sites to find about more acute radiation syndrome. Both sites approach the issues differently and are worth looking at:
http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/arsphysicianfactsheet.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_radiation_syndrome
The type of scenario depicted in Z for Zachariah implies the wide spread detonation of nuclear weapons at ground level which creates significant levels of radio active fall out creating hot spots that can remain deadly for years.
If you want to watch a classic movie which explores the situation in the lead up to and after a nuclear attack consider “Threads” the 1984 award winning movie made in Britain – possibly the best movie ever on nuclear war.
https://vimeo.com/18781528
Have a look at how Australians were used as guinea pigs for British Nuclear tests. http://www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/issues/oz/britbombs/marston
If your are interested in exploring the issues of monogamy vs polygamy etc. a place you might like to start is with this humorous ABC Radio National - Science Show titled “Is monogamy unnatural?” This lecture may not have all the answers but will help you understand why humans may not naturally be monogamous and get you thinking about issues you and your group might face in a post collapse world.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/is-monogamy-unnatural3f/5516302
The title relates to a chlidren's book mention in the story that lists Christian terms from A to Z, with Zachariah being the last term in the book. Zachariah is an old testament profit who is attributed to having written the book of Zachariah, the second last book of the old testament. Zachariah means “God remembered”. The book of Zachariah's main theme is despite it being really bad now, God will triumph.
The novel Z for Zachariah explores a range of issues associated with survivalism including maintaining animals, crops and seed stocks, limitations of stock piles, obtaining fuel, radiation sickness, bug-out plans, alternative refuges, security, and people issues. The main theme of the book is the interaction between the young girl and a fellow survivor who makes his way into her valley.
I would would recommend the book for a read for any prepper but particularly for exposing young teens to survival and prepping issues. What annoyed me about the book, and I should say here: SPOILER ALERT so please SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH NOW, was the archetypal representation of the young girl as the fount of Christian virtue in the form of a pacifist, specifically her refusal to do physical harm to her antagonist in the face of extreme violence. Personally I am not a pacifist so find the theme that pacifism in the face of violence and threat is some how a “good” thing quite irritating.
The book has also been made into a movie of the same title released in 2015. The movie includes the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is one of my favourite actors after his portrayal of “the operative” in Serenity, and Australian actress Margot Robbie, and Chris Pine (the new Kirk) each of whom put in good performances.
The movie has no internal monologue and thus moves immediately to the meeting between the young girl, who's now in her early 20's rather than teens, and the arriving stranger. This allows the plot to to be driven by dialogue and character interactions and requires the watcher to deduce the characters motives. The movie focuses on different themes (SPOILER ALERT – SKIP PARAGRAPH) for example de-emphasising a pre-emptive approach to “stranger danger” but instead spends more time on issues of relationship conflicts and desire as well as a bigger focus on religion. This is largely by splitting the original character of the stranger into two separate characters. At this point the book and the movie completely depart plots and many of the more interesting elements of the book are lost including a significant focus on radiation sickness and the plucky self reliance of the young girl in the face of severe adversity.
The book and the movie are different enough to warrant exploring both, though I would say the book would be better for people looking for a general overview of survival issues, while the movie explores (SPOILER) potential conflict over limited partners if people hold onto a need for monogamous relationships. I would probably watch the movie first as I think the book is the stronger of the two and you might find you enjoy the movie more without looking for the detail and plot that is left out.
Take look at these sites to find about more acute radiation syndrome. Both sites approach the issues differently and are worth looking at:
http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/arsphysicianfactsheet.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_radiation_syndrome
The type of scenario depicted in Z for Zachariah implies the wide spread detonation of nuclear weapons at ground level which creates significant levels of radio active fall out creating hot spots that can remain deadly for years.
If you want to watch a classic movie which explores the situation in the lead up to and after a nuclear attack consider “Threads” the 1984 award winning movie made in Britain – possibly the best movie ever on nuclear war.
https://vimeo.com/18781528
Have a look at how Australians were used as guinea pigs for British Nuclear tests. http://www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/issues/oz/britbombs/marston
If your are interested in exploring the issues of monogamy vs polygamy etc. a place you might like to start is with this humorous ABC Radio National - Science Show titled “Is monogamy unnatural?” This lecture may not have all the answers but will help you understand why humans may not naturally be monogamous and get you thinking about issues you and your group might face in a post collapse world.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/is-monogamy-unnatural3f/5516302
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