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A review by amaldae
Genesis by Bernard Beckett
3.0
A-day-after-reading edit completed nearly a week later--
3.5/5 stars. I frankly don't remember enough of this novel to say that it deserves a four. What I remember is a lecture, a short course on philosophy, something that did not even require participation on my part other than just sitting there listening (quite unlike the best lectures I have attended to and books I have read, which have actually stayed with me; this might have something to do with the last paragraph of my review). //
Pre-Hungergamian dystopia. It exists.
If you think that the extreme juxtaposition of religion and reason is stupid, you will like this book. Yes, even Beckett's Genesis is sort of about Adam, Eve, and the Fall of Man, but it's also set in a utopian/dystopian society where reason governs the heart–possibly more than ever.
The inhabitants of the Republic, including our protagonist, are happy (goodness, really? And this is still classified as dystopia? ...that's the THG-effect speaking right there). Through the frame story that is our protagonist's oral examination, we are introduced to a system that has evolved from a very literar take on Plato's original utopia into something allegedly better.
The book takes us through some of the basic questions of philosophy and mixes in some psychology along with other scientific subjects (mainly for the flavor I guess, since they did not really add to the story anything other than a sense of the author wanting to impress the reader), essentially challenging the reader to confront their ugliest preconceptions and most conventional values. Somewhere along the way it ends up being a sort of study on religion, as well...
As a young adult novel, Genesis doesn't explore anything in great depth but is content in simply stirring the pot for us. Still, it gives the presumately young reader a nice sense of what is it that most of their classmates are so ready to hate without sacrificing it a second thought, as well as reason to believe that rather than being boring, discussion can actually be stimulating. That's a great lesson, and I believe the book to be engaging enough to make at least the more cerebral youngsters willing to educate themselves further. It offers some solutions and I was not a fan of the forceful way in wich some parts were delivered, butmaybe that's just me being non-cerebral overall I think it did a really good job.
Anyway! This kind of a focus makes the book rather heavy in content, especially considering its brevity. If you're the type of a person who prefers in-the-moment interaction and gut-level decision-making to more nitpicky intellectal sparring, then this book will probably offer you a challenge.
Another problem I had with Beckett's novel was the structure. Sure, it's inventive and allows him to lay out an interesting world in surprising depth and detail, better still in a way that does not come across as clumsy info-dumping. However, I don't think he used it as effectively as possible; especially the long monologies, recitings of age-old discussions and hologram scenes did not hold my attention. The story-telling is skillful and the text flows well, but it's hard for me to believe that it's an oral presentation–something a girl at Anax's age (or anybody else for that matter) could perform so flawlessly and with such sense of style and progression. It's as if Beckett forgot the limitations of his narrative solution from time to time–which is a shame, especially because Anax any more than Beckett's otherwise surprisingly choppy prose did not win me over at the intervals either.
But I do have to say that the translation was pretty much spectacular.
Oh, and also–if somebody else understood why the ending made enough sense (beside being effective for shock-value, of course) for Anax to guess what was waiting for her... please do share your understanding in the comments section below.
Maybe I just have to conclude that while appreciated, this was not exactly my cup of tea. It just did not speak to the heart as much as it did to the head, which for me is a minus more ofen than not.
3.5/5 stars. I frankly don't remember enough of this novel to say that it deserves a four. What I remember is a lecture, a short course on philosophy, something that did not even require participation on my part other than just sitting there listening (quite unlike the best lectures I have attended to and books I have read, which have actually stayed with me; this might have something to do with the last paragraph of my review). //
"I am unique. I am a miracle." –Man
"What if that's not strictly true?" –Reason
Pre-Hungergamian dystopia. It exists.
If you think that the extreme juxtaposition of religion and reason is stupid, you will like this book. Yes, even Beckett's Genesis is sort of about Adam, Eve, and the Fall of Man
Spoiler
or notThe inhabitants of the Republic, including our protagonist, are happy (goodness, really? And this is still classified as dystopia? ...that's the THG-effect speaking right there). Through the frame story that is our protagonist's oral examination, we are introduced to a system that has evolved from a very literar take on Plato's original utopia into something allegedly better.
Spoiler
Knowledge and overt curiosity are still off-limits, though.The book takes us through some of the basic questions of philosophy and mixes in some psychology along with other scientific subjects (mainly for the flavor I guess, since they did not really add to the story anything other than a sense of the author wanting to impress the reader), essentially challenging the reader to confront their ugliest preconceptions and most conventional values. Somewhere along the way it ends up being a sort of study on religion, as well...
As a young adult novel, Genesis doesn't explore anything in great depth but is content in simply stirring the pot for us. Still, it gives the presumately young reader a nice sense of what is it that most of their classmates are so ready to hate without sacrificing it a second thought, as well as reason to believe that rather than being boring, discussion can actually be stimulating. That's a great lesson, and I believe the book to be engaging enough to make at least the more cerebral youngsters willing to educate themselves further. It offers some solutions and I was not a fan of the forceful way in wich some parts were delivered, but
Anyway! This kind of a focus makes the book rather heavy in content, especially considering its brevity. If you're the type of a person who prefers in-the-moment interaction and gut-level decision-making to more nitpicky intellectal sparring, then this book will probably offer you a challenge.
Another problem I had with Beckett's novel was the structure. Sure, it's inventive and allows him to lay out an interesting world in surprising depth and detail, better still in a way that does not come across as clumsy info-dumping. However, I don't think he used it as effectively as possible; especially the long monologies, recitings of age-old discussions and hologram scenes did not hold my attention. The story-telling is skillful and the text flows well, but it's hard for me to believe that it's an oral presentation–something a girl at Anax's age (or anybody else for that matter) could perform so flawlessly and with such sense of style and progression. It's as if Beckett forgot the limitations of his narrative solution from time to time–which is a shame, especially because Anax any more than Beckett's otherwise surprisingly choppy prose did not win me over at the intervals either.
But I do have to say that the translation was pretty much spectacular.
Oh, and also–if somebody else understood why the ending made enough sense (beside being effective for shock-value, of course) for Anax to guess what was waiting for her... please do share your understanding in the comments section below.
Maybe I just have to conclude that while appreciated, this was not exactly my cup of tea. It just did not speak to the heart as much as it did to the head, which for me is a minus more ofen than not.