Book Review: I am Legend by Richard Matheson

Let's look at two horror movies of great renown; The Exorcist and The Grudge. Aside from the countries of origin, (i.e. the former is western horror while the later is eastern), the biggest difference between these two movies is the horror theme - The Exorcist is about demonic possessions, while The Grudge is about the vengeful spirits of dead people.

Which of these two movies scares you more?

The ghosts from The Grudge terrified me to no end even though I do not believe in supernatural activities. It's almost as if my subconsciousness could not help but to fear it. Interestingly, in the past my Christian associates said they did not find The Grudge horrifying at all. 

When it came to The Exorcist, however, I did not find it terrifying whatsoever, but a number of Christians told me that they cannot bear to watch The Exorcist because the subject of demonic possession is too real to them and therefore too horrifying. 

Don't you think this a fascinating contrast?  

I have a hypothesis for why we reacted to these two horror movies differently. My upbringing is East Asian, where a belief in the vengeful ghost is more strongly held than a belief in demonic possessions. Meanwhile the Judeo-Christian culture has a strongly held belief about demonic possession but a lack of belief in vengeful ghosts.  

Fear and belief go hand in hand. It is almost as if our cultural upbringings ingrained these beliefs and fears into our minds when we are young, at the subconscious level, and they become almost instinctive. Furthermore, it is even more interesting to observe how different people, with different cultural upbringings, instinctively fear different things. This is why the horror genre fascinates me. 

Perhaps my friend read my mind, because she lent me a novella which explored the subject in depth. It is called, I am Legend, written by Richard Matheson. Initially I was not sure about this book because I did not like the Will Smith movie in 2008. However the book is only 150 pages so I gave it a try. I spent 3 hours reading this book and it was time well spent. If you have not read this book then you should get your hand on it as soon as possible. I am Legend is a dystopian masterpiece of science fiction and horror and you are in for a ride.

Synopsis:

Robert Neville is the omega, for he is the last living person on earth because everyone else has turned into a vampire. By day he treads streets of a ruinous city and hunt down the undead. At night he takes refugee in a barricaded house until the dawn. It is a lonely existence, and how long can he survive?

My thoughts on this book:

I am Legend was first published in 1954, and after I read the book I realized what a botched job Hollywood' did at adapting this novel. I was hooked upon reading the first page and I could not stop reading it until I reached the end. This book was unputdownable and I read it in one sitting. Robert's story is terribly bleak and tragic, and you don't have to be the last living person on earth to resonate with the book's theme about loneliness.

For the most of the book we follow a man called Robert Neville. He is the last living person on earth where everyone else has turned into a vampire. In some ways Robert reminds me of Robin Crusoe stranded on an island all by himself. But in this book the sense of loneliness and isolation runs much deeper due to the premise of a post-apocalyptic world. The book portrayed Robert's feelings and emotions vividly, and on many occasions the story was heart wrenching. One instance almost moved me to tears.

This book also explores how our cultures and our perceptions of normalcy can dictate what we fear and what we believe. This book offered an indepth exploration into the subject. In this book, the vampires showed weaknesses described in the common folklore; the vampires could be killed by a stake to the heart, furthermore they were afraid of the crucifix, garlic, and daylight. Robert tried to figure out the rational explanations for the vampire's weaknesses, and he discovered some weaknesses have scientific explanations while others are psychological. In one instance, Robert asked the thought provoking question if a vampire who was a Muslim, Hinduist, or atheist, would be afraid of the crucifix too. At the end of the book, which I will not spoil here, the story came to the full circle and the realization dawned on me why the book is called "I am Legend".

On the surface I am Legend is a story about vampires. However this is not just another vampire novel. This little book explores subjects such as loneliness, fear, and belief. It provides hours of entertainment and intrigues. I strongly recommend this book.