I am read I Am Legend

Minor spoilers follow.

Huh. I am now basking in the glow of I Am Legend (careful as here there be spoilers at the very top!), the story which recently was remade into a movie for the third time. I spent much of yesterday enjoying the story and today I am digesting it, the beauty that I was only vaguely aware of as I hurriedly read one suspenseful sentence after another. I even went so far as to use two sheets of paper to cover up parts of the page that I hadn't read yet as my eyes have a nasty habit of skipping ahead, seeking out the juiciest plot points. I related a lot with the main character, Robert Neville, who spends his time alone, constantly questioning why he goes on, his mind stuck in the past, nagging and admonishing himself for giving into vice and laziness, his soul eroding away with the grind of his daily, joyless routine.

I love reading books that are as influential as I Am Legend (written in 1954), to recognize and admire its long fingers at the center of so many books and films, a deep node in the post-apocalyptic zombie family tree. It lays down a lot of lore as Neville methodically examines the creatures, attempting to glean a larger solution to the problem they pose. The ending, when it finally comes (and I say finally because it seemed that every page could lead to the end), gave me goosebumps, catching my heart in my throat.

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