My
honest opinion was asked for, and it shall be given. I Am Legend was lukewarm for me. I didn’t find it particularly
scary, or cerebral. It was an easy read, and not like pulling teeth, but it
still left something to be desired. After some long contemplation, I’ve finally
figured out why I Am Legend didn’t do
it for me.
It
lacked character interaction.
Going
into this book, I knew the vast majority was going to be about a solitary
character, pitted against forces beyond his control, and struggling for
survival. This actually excited me, because some of my favorite childhood
novels included Island of the Blue Dolphins,
Julie of the Wolves, and just about everything Gary Paulsen touched.
Solitary survival stories were my jam for a long time. So why was I Am Legend different? Why did the lack
of other characters leave me so cold?
Robert
Neville.
I will
be the first one to jump on a survival story with a solitary protagonist,
providing I like that protagonist, or at least find him compelling. I did not
like Robert Neville, nor did I find him compelling. For me, Robert was scene
after scene of excessive drinking and foolish mistakes. I like my characters
flawed, I do, but I also like them inventive, and resourceful, especially in a solitary
survival situation. In Island of the Blue
Dolphins Karana made a fence out of whale ribs and a lamp out of tiny fish.
I was totally underwhelmed by Robert Neville’s ability to plaster paper mosaics
on the wall, and then get drunk and destroy them.
The one thing Robert
did that did impress me, was teach himself relatively complex skills from reference
books. It was so impressive, that when we got to the part where he was using
the microscope to identify the bacteria that created vampires, I called bull.
Bull. Every surface of the world is covered in so many different microorganisms,
their numbers are uncountable. So when Robert Neville found the ONE bacteria
responsible for the vampire outbreak, I couldn’t believe it. It disillusioned
the fantasy. Why would he be so sure it was that ONE bacteria instead of the
hundreds of others he must have found crawling around on the slide or sample? Are
vampires entirely sterile microcosms? With their faulty lymph system and poor
waste processing abilities, I don’t think so.
Moving on. There was
another problem I had with Robert. I found him to be… incredibly Rape-y. There
is no better word to describe this. He was Rape-y, and the explanation I was
given for these very uncomfortable mental tangents, was basically, everyone was
dead so he wasn’t getting any nookie. I'm not a guy, so maybe I'm wrong, but I find
it a little hard to believe that when somewhat normal men go on a dry spell,
they become internally rape-y. This started off uncomfortable and remained
uncomfortable. There were several instances throughout the book, where I looked
away, said, “Oh my God, please don’t go there,” and then returned to reading. It
made me question Robert’s character, and it made me feel like I was trapped
alone in a dark room with a psycho. In horror, you’d think this would be a good
thing, but for me it wasn’t. He was not one of those compelling psychos you
love to hate. He was creepy, and sad.
However, so not to
leave the impression that the book was a total bust, the scene with the dog
punched like a twelve gauge, right in the chest. I was very impressed. It is
rare that the best scene in the film adaptation of a novel is the best scene in
the novel too. And they were so different, but both were outstanding.
