The book was written in 1958 and it shows in fun little ways like the neighbors knowing all of each others business whether they want to or not, and other little social norms like the husband going to the grocery store for his wife, and all the meals are home cooked. His life is very interwoven with his neighbors and he has a sweet little family. Tom is a regular guy with an active social life. Die-hard fans may enjoy this, for me it was more of an interesting period piece rather than gripping and engaging. If this was the only Matheson book I had encountered, I wouldn't have bothered with any others. Speeding up the delivery to 1.10 helped a bit. The narrator was OK, but I found his voice irritating. I found the story dragged somewhat and the 1950s misogyny was hard to take. However, whilst his other heroes have had me rooting for them, I found the agonising of Tom intensely irritating, as is the behaviour of his wife. The typical Matheson hero, morally upright, (by 1950s American standards), isolated, but refusing to give up, whilst ploughing a lonely furrow, is front and centre here. I have also read and enjoyed other Matheson stories, including the Incredible Shrinking Man, so I was looking forward to this. I Am Legend is a favourite of mine, (I read it long before the Will Smith film and have seen all the film versions).
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