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A review by abbie_
On the Isle of Antioch by Amin Maalouf
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!
On the Isle of Antioch is a quiet, philosophical take on the dystopian novel. It's written as journal entries by a cartoonist who lives alone, save for his one neighbour, on a remote island called Antioch. One seemingly normal day, the power goes out and the radio emits only a high-pitched whistling. It's revealed that the US president has been contacted by a people called the Empedocles, apparent descendents of the ancient Greeks, with the offer to destroy all the world's nuclear weapons to avoid an imminent catastrophe. The Empedocles' science is far beyond our own, and the world is on the brink of a complete overhaul.
I'm not sure I completely got everything that was being put down, but I enjoyed this thought-provoking read nonetheless. I've read other reviews with the critique that the book glorifies colonialism, but I felt like it was more of a warning. Given the author's Franco-Lebanese background, I would also find this surprising. The book explores the idea of the world as it is now being confronted with a 'superior' race of beings. The US, the traditional coloniser, now finds itself on the brink of being colonised itself. I found the role reversal to be a warning of such ideas, of one group of people believing themselves and their culture to be 'above' another's.
I've also read reviews on Netgalley critiquing the translation, but I personally found it engaging and natural to read. My own critique is that some things felt too convenient. Alec, the cartoonist, has a friend very conveniently placed in the US president's entourage. He just phones him up and the friend gives him all the details of what's going on with no care for security clearance or the like... Likewise his relationship with his neighbour Eve goes from cold to very intimate too quickly.
In terms of making you think though, I would recommend!
On the Isle of Antioch is a quiet, philosophical take on the dystopian novel. It's written as journal entries by a cartoonist who lives alone, save for his one neighbour, on a remote island called Antioch. One seemingly normal day, the power goes out and the radio emits only a high-pitched whistling. It's revealed that the US president has been contacted by a people called the Empedocles, apparent descendents of the ancient Greeks, with the offer to destroy all the world's nuclear weapons to avoid an imminent catastrophe. The Empedocles' science is far beyond our own, and the world is on the brink of a complete overhaul.
I'm not sure I completely got everything that was being put down, but I enjoyed this thought-provoking read nonetheless. I've read other reviews with the critique that the book glorifies colonialism, but I felt like it was more of a warning. Given the author's Franco-Lebanese background, I would also find this surprising. The book explores the idea of the world as it is now being confronted with a 'superior' race of beings. The US, the traditional coloniser, now finds itself on the brink of being colonised itself. I found the role reversal to be a warning of such ideas, of one group of people believing themselves and their culture to be 'above' another's.
I've also read reviews on Netgalley critiquing the translation, but I personally found it engaging and natural to read. My own critique is that some things felt too convenient. Alec, the cartoonist, has a friend very conveniently placed in the US president's entourage. He just phones him up and the friend gives him all the details of what's going on with no care for security clearance or the like... Likewise his relationship with his neighbour Eve goes from cold to very intimate too quickly.
In terms of making you think though, I would recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation