World Made by Hand

Well Thought

Halfway through reading this, I found out that Kunstler's previous works consisted mostly of historical works. This came to no surprise to me, as he seems to have a strong grasp on the human experience through important parts of history. Though Kunstler had many opportunities throughout the novel to preach about what current parts of the modern lifestyle lead to the end of the information age, he instead restrains himself and creates a seemingly unbiased account of people living and adjusting to the new world they find themselves in.

His outlook is almost uplifting as the human spirit remains positive throughout the novel, and our narrator is typically optimistic in his reactions to whatever may come.

I found this to be an absorbing read with characters I could easily relate to and care about. I suggest this highly to just about anyone.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

De4We8

James, hope you 're writing Book 3! Have read both twice.

Easy read

Well written. I got really into the book and had a difficult time putting it down. My only complaint is that the end is a little out there.

Entertaining storyline that makes you think

This book follows people and groups in a small town in upstate New York after a future scenario surrounding the disintegration of government and most of commerce. The story is often suspenseful and hopeful, but occasionally depressing because of the setting. It was very interesting to think about how people would get by in this type of situation. Kunstler's descriptions and dialog are really excellent.

Interesting premise, but story disappoints

I read this novel being new to post-apocalyptic fiction, and I found it somewhat tedious to read. It had bad grammar, very flat character development, vapid dialogue and certain sections in the book stretched credibility. Its detour into the supernatural near the end was annoying and unnecessary. I found very little connection and had difficulty understanding the motivations of the characters in the novel, since they were so thinly drawn. For me this book raised interesting questions and gives a pretty good picture of what a world after oil would look like. But that is about the best it offered. I have no plans to read the sequel.

Felt very real to me

Living on the gulf coast here in Florida, we have had our fair share of disasters namely hurricanes. While reading this book, I could not help but think back to when our city was hit by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and the way life was for many of us in the month after. Kunstler paints a vivid picture of what may lay ahead for us in this country in the possibly not-to-distant future. The visual is clear and all too vivid. But I could not help getting that strange feeling of what life would be like alot less complicated by our over technical and saturated world. Without the benefit of television and electricity, families spent more time together, working together, and playing together. I am not saying that the world portrayed by Kunstler is better,indeed there are many elements that are much worse in his world, I am saying that it was much more simpler and it felt like a return to a century past when neighbors knew each others names, got together for activities, and family was basically everything to us. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was transported.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Simply Amazing

I have read many post disaster / alternative history novels and stories over the years and this is by far one of the best that I have ever read. As with most stories of this genre there is doom and gloom, but the author has a way a still providing a sense of humanity despite all that has transpired. From the first page the dialogue draws you in and you do not want to put the book down. If the author can maintain the same quality of writing, I would read 20+ novels in this series. I want to know more about these people and despite the slight oddity of Brother Jobe and his crew for the moment they work well with the story line.

good book

excellant look at how life maybe come simpler and hand made in the future.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Makes you think

We take so much for granted - indoor heating, electricity, plumbing, automation, assembly lines.....most of us today could not cope in a world that our ancestors lived in just 200 years ago.

A kinder, gentler post-apocalyptic novel

Not your run-of-the-mill post-apocalyptic gloom and doom novel, this approach is subtler and therefore it stands out among the genre. It's not high on drama, but it is thought-provoking. What IF we were cut off and had to live in smaller self-sustaining communities...? How would normal people react? Would there be calm after the chaos?

I loved this book!

Unlike most books set in post-apocalyptic times, this world is not a gray, hopeless, lifeless wasteland (as in The Road). Mr. Kunstler's book is easy to read, the characters are well-drawn, and though the world they inhabit is greatly changed from our world today, Union Grove is an appealing glimpse of what life might be like again someday.

What a great read!

Excellent book, one of the best I've ever read. Finished it in 2 days, something I haven't done in quite some time. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the next one in what I hope becomes a LONG series. Nice job Mr. Kunstler!

Apocalyptic fiction from the perspective of an ordinary man.

What will our lives be like in the future? This question gets a very human, very personal exploration in "World Made by Hand", a welcome example of end-of-the-world literature that deals less with the mechanism of the decline of civilization than with the resultant impacts on ordinary lives. This novel, set in a not-too-distant future, explores one possible outcome of events that are occuring today which we are all, to some extent, are willfully ingnoring. Since the scope of this story is limited to a small community of people who have outlasted the changed global condition which has affected the whole population, it is much more intimate and much more real than many other examples of this kind of book (asteroids, meteors, viruses, vampires, and the like). Unlike Cormac McCarthy's "The Road", this story gives a feeling of hope, even in the face of drastic changes to mankind's way of life. These characters are the survivors that we all HOPE we are.

A different Future

This book presents a unique view of how the future could be, should the government collapse and plague strike. It is pleasant to escape into a world were people are living by what they can do, and not how much money they make. It seems grim to think of losing our modern day creature comforts, but in this story, characters are doing it and surviving. Their lives, although much more labor intensive, seem richer in meaning. There is quite a bit of religious references, and one wonders if the author had any hidden agendas, or was just showing how some people turn ardently to religion in challenging circumstances. There are also lots of descriptions of food, eggs, butter, cornbread, etc. which made this reader hungry! Also gets one thinking about sustainable living issues. Overall, and interesting read and great for bus rides, rainy days, beaches, and bedtime reads.

Pretty good read

I liked it. It was slow in some parts, but real interesting. I hope to God that it never gets that bad in my lifetime, because I fear there will be alot of people (specifically the Electronic Gneration)that will take there own lives out of desperation and boredom. I cannot imagine the US Postal Service not being in existance or any kind of mail carrier. They at least had some sort of message system in the Middle Ages. To be without any kind of news for weeks or months at a time would mind blowing to me. So would not having electricity! To have all your appliances and electronics present, but unusable would be frustrating. Like I said I pray to God that it never comes to that and this book is nothing but an interesting "what if?".

frighteningly plausible backdrop, appealing characters, fast-paced

Kunstler's book about a post-oil future comes across as all-too-possible.

The writing is decent. Some of the characters are very compelling -- regular folks trying to make their way and retain a modicum of civilization during very difficult times.

The book is fairly fast-paced and was difficult to set aside, so I gobbled it up faster than I'd have liked. That's probably a good sign. Over-and-over during the read... and after I finished the book, I found myself wondering how I would behave in such a situation. Would I lose heart and become apathetic? Would I try to go it alone? Would I try to organize the local community so that we could leverage our skills and be more effective collectively? The book is very successful in that it provokes this sort of thinking.

I found the allusions to the supernatural sort of jarring and I wasn't sure why Kunstler included those. Where they just a device to wrap things up sooner? I don't have anything against fiction that includes supernatural aspects -- shucks, I enjoy it -- but in this case they didn't seem to fit. Maybe Kunstler is planning a second book in which this will be explained and/or elaborated within a larger story arc. Hard to say.

Also jarring, but in a different way, is the violence that the book describes. Sadly, here I am afraid that Kunstler's take is plausible. If civil society were to collapse, for whatever reason, I fear that some fraction of the population would revert to a gang/tribal-centric mode of survival and prey on those who are trying to carry on while behaving decently. And if police forces collapse (or, worse yet, join the gangs) it would not take very many sociopaths to make things very unpleasant for the rest of the population.

Again, Kunstler's premise is too plausible to ignore, so the book is worthwhile from the standpoint of its ability to provoke thinking. I sure do hope he's wrong, but he might be right.

thought provoking

I found this book to be very thought provoking as what it would be like to live in a world without modern day amenities. From the simpliest things that we take for granted, like electricity. The book had you engrossed about what it would be like to live in the era that they where living in and how you could contribute to there society. The characters came alive and were very funny too. Especially brother jobe. I would recommend this book to everyone.

Good book!!!

This book was a delight. They say it's a more emotional, less dreary 'The Road.' Which is true. This book makes you appreciate what we have, but more importantly, it makes you appreciate those in your life and the fragility of life.

Entertaining

I thought the book was very similar to "The Road" but less depressing. The story was enjoyable considering the circumstances and I felt the book flowed very well. I enjoyed reading the book and I would recommend it to anyone who needs something to read on a rainy day/vacation.

The aftermath of the Future

This story had an interesting plot that was founded in possibility (albiet, perhaps, far-fetched) of what it would be like to live in a world where war and environmental devestation essentially caused a throwback to the 'olden days'. People live without electricity, grow their own food, trade, travel on horseback, and make their own entertainment. I was less interested in some of the storylines and really enjoyed the narratives that described day-to-day life (how meals were made with limited ingredients, interaction of townspeople). A final gruesome scene in the end made my stomach churn, although that was the point, but left me feeling sick for a while. A pretty good read for anyone interested in political and environmental fiction.