domingo, 29 de enero de 2012

I am Legend




Nowadays the Zombie genre has revived because some quality products have succeeded about this topic. But it was necessary that years ago somebody put the first stone for the success of these stories. It was in the 50’s when one of the first Zombie tales was published. It’s called “I am Legend” and it was written by Richard Matherson. This novel tells about one man named Robert Neville who is the last man alive on Earth. It describes his daily routine in L.A. after an apocalyptic plague. This happens because there is an illness which makes humans become a kind of Zombie - Vampire after death. All of that can sound like Serial B stories, but the main feature of the story is how Robert fights against the loneliness, the very hard truth of being the last man on Earth, or even having to burn his child’s corpse or re-killing his dead wife relived after her burial. It´s shocking how the book goes deep into the main character’s skin and his different phases to face the dreadful circumstances: first alcoholism and defeat feelings, until the moment he fights against the living dead -among them, his own neighbour, who calls him “Neville, come on” night after night- or when he begins to investigate the illness and its cure. This is the first part of the story. The second one tells how he finds another person alive and how they begin to trust each other and tell their different stories. About the end, everything turns awful and unpleasant things happen. The last chapter explains the title of the book “I’m Legend” (which is different from the last film adaptation, it has -in my opinion- a better and bitter end). So if somebody wants to read this novel, he will need to know it is mostly about loneliness and desperation, and not about bloodsuckers or living dead.

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