#70. MOCKINGBIRD By Walter Tevis

Published : 1980
Pages : 278
Overall Mark : 7/10

In a dying world where humans are drugged and lulled by electronic bliss, where there is no art, no literature, and there are no children, where some would rather burn themselves alive than endure, Spofforth is the most perfect machine ever created. But his only desire is the impossible - to cease to be. Yet there is hope in this bleak, depressing time, hope in the passion and joy that a man and a woman discover in love and in books, hope for the future, hope even for Spofforth.

WALTER TEVIS (1928-1984)
Born in San Francisco, Tevis's family moved to Kentucky when he was ten. He served as a carpenter's mate in the Second World War and then went to the University of Kentucky where he read English. He became a teacher in various Kentucky high schools and then a professor at Ohio University. He is perhaps best known as the author of The Hustler and The Man Who Fell To Earth.

VERDICT
A scary book for everyone who loves to read - a future where we as a species have lost the ability or even the longing to read. Tevis does a reasonable job with the lead characters, making them believable and likeable, and the idea itself is a simple yet effective one - though it does become a bit preachy when religion comes into the fold.