September has flashed by in a haze of dystopian fiction (new and old) as well as dollop of 11th Century Irish history.
I very much enjoyed Shauna Lawless’ The Land of the Living and the Dead. You can read why you should pick up her Gael Song series, here, but in, short, it’s because it’s a wonderful blend of history and folklore, with great characters and deep and artfully constructed story arcs.
Is Technology Good?
The best book I read this month (and possibly, probably, this year) is J.O. Morgan’s Appliance. This was published a couple of years ago and continues my current trend of reading dystopian fiction. I would urge every GeekParent out there to find and read this book. It’s short and easy to read, but I can’t stop thinking about it.
The “Appliance” in question is a teleportation machine. Appliance is a series of short stories that chart the development of the machine, and through those stories, we glean a sense of its impact on society. The book starts with the very first public test of the Appliance—a hulking thing with wires that connect points A to B, to a future where… well, I’ll let you read the book to find out.
Like a lot of good science fiction, this is an allegorical tale. The Appliance could stand in for many technological advances, though the telephone and AI are two obvious things that spring to mind. In under two hundred pages, the book examines how humanity relates to technological advancement for good and ill. How we use the tools we have invented but also how we become slaves to them. How the benefits of such technologies are never quite what we imagined they might be.
Appliance is an excellent book. Great for book groups and a novel that will bear repeated rereads.
Not a Leg Warmer in Sight.
Speaking of rereads—I reread 1984 this month. A book I haven’t read in over 20 years. I remember it being quite dry, when I last read it, and if I’m honest, I didn’t understand parts of it. Now having grown up (a little), I found it a more terrifying read, and I can see how much contemporary dystopian fiction (and science fiction more generally) owes a debt to Orwell. It also made me realize how much personal circumstance and experience inform one’s opinion of books. This led to the scary thought that if books are different every time you read them, perhaps I need to start reading everything all over again!
I reread 1984 because, in September, I also read Julia by Sandra Newman. This book tells much of the same story as 1984 but from Julia’s perspective. Newman’s version is inevitably more modern in tone, but the thematic and stylistic similarities are impressive. Much like the original, this is not a cheery read. It continues the examination of control and power, in particular relating to the control of women. Considering some of the rhetoric coming out of certain quarters of the political sphere, the theme has never felt so relevant or important.
There are some distinct differences between 1984 and Julia, particularly towards the book’s conclusion. I won’t spoil what they are, but while Julia arguably has a brighter ending, there is still an unsettling darkness that envelopes the final pages of the book.
The Book Group Choice
My book group choice depicts another dystopian vision—sadly one that actually happened. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen tells the story of a Vietnamese communist spy, who was placed high up in the South Vietnamese regime. As the novel opens, he is rescued and repatriated to the United States. The novel charts his progress, not only as a stranger in a strange land but also how he navigates being surrounded by enemies who have become friends. Ultimately, his journey will take him back to Vietnam, where he will come face to face with the regime he has been informing for.
The Sympathizer was significantly more brutal than I had anticipated. “Tremendously funny” are the first two words of the cover quote. The book is funny in places, but it is also gut-wrenching many times over. It’s a very dark examination of human nature. I hesitate to recommend the book, but it is clear why it won the Pulitzer Prize. The Sympathizer is an artfully constructed novel, with many layers and themes that reveal the futility of war and the self-justification of oppressive regimes. The real-life groups featured in the book all too well resemble “The Party” from 1984. Whether this is a testament to Orwell’s prescience or Viet Thanh Nguyen’s writing, I’m not sure. Perhaps both.
While there is definitely a satirical element to the book, most notably when our narrator joins the crew of a Vietnam War film, directed by a nameless “Auteur,” my overall impression is that The Sympathizer is not “Tremendously funny.” It’s a depressingly accurate assessment of power, race, prejudice, and the crushingly casual manner in which political machines treat their populace. An important read, but not an easy one.
The Lighter Shade of Dreams
For a bit of light relief, I read The DallerGut Dream Department Store. This Korean smash novel features a whimsical department store where dreams are made. People (and animals, intriguingly) come to the store to purchase dreams—and just about every type of dream you could wish for is represented.
I can see why this book has done so well. It is clever and observant about human nature and our conscious and subconscious desires. The author, Miye Lee, has distilled why we dream and what we might be looking for when we do into a cozy 200-page format. Unfortunately, the more “cozy” fiction I read, the more I think it might not be for me. Legends and Lattes was another cozy novel that really ought to have been perfect for me, but also left me (ironically) cold. Perhaps I have an iron heart, or perhaps I need a little crunch in my fiction.
The world would be a dull place if we all liked the same thing. I can completely see why the denizens of the Dallergut Department Store appeal to many people around the world. Sadly, I’m not one of them.
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