Imagine you鈥檙e listening to the radio. A song comes up you鈥檝e never heard before. You don鈥檛 know the band, but you like the quiet, melancholic melody. You stop to listen and the more you do, the more you like it. Except, you鈥檙e waiting for the song to take flight. You鈥檙e waiting for something to happen, something to take the song to the next level and surprise you. It never happens.
That鈥檚 what happened to me with this book. I wanted to like it better than I did.
It盲ranta writes beautifully, but her story also falters and stumbles on preachiness in the beginning. She uses repetition and a book ending for this small story that鈥攗nfortunately鈥攔emains small. I didn鈥檛 feel like It盲ranta made the oppression and horrors of a dry future awful and dejected enough to justify the lie told in the epilogue. I didn鈥檛 feel like she鈥檇 earned it.
I mentioned the preachiness. It seems to be contagious. Every (other or third) Finnish book that I pick up seems to somehow describe the horrors of natural disasters and a future we as a human race have squandered. That鈥檚 fine message to be told, but I don鈥檛 appreciate being forced to swallow the utter condemnation of men while turning the pages. After all, these are authors living in today鈥檚 world relying on peddling their wares to the very people burying their childrens鈥� children in plastic tombs if these authors are to be believed.
I love the fact that Finnish and Scandinavian authors in general seem to trust their readers鈥� intelligence, but I wish they trusted us a bit more. A refrain repeated endlessly is never as effective as a slow realisation coming from within.
If you鈥檝e read the book, you might think my review slightly contradictory, but it鈥檚 not. Part of it is criticising the what and a part of it is criticising the how. In both, I was expecting more than I got.
Still, this novel falls on the side of 鈥淥K鈥� rather than 鈥渂ad but didn鈥檛 hate it鈥� of my two star rating.
Filled with philosophical themes, existentialism and moments of pure beauty, Memory of Water is a highly original, remarkably intelligent and infuriatingly teasing work of speculative fiction set in a dystopian world.
What we have here is a sad and hopeless world driven to the brink of extinction by its own inhabitants; humans. The global warming caused all the ice to melt, overflowing the oceans. The earth is scorched, the heat is almost unbearable, and the drinking water is almost impossible to get. Those who have access to it, hold all the power. The government is rationing the purified sea water, making sure people get only enough to survive, and executing those desperate enough to dig illegal wells and water pipes.
Memory of a Water tells the story of tea master's daughter, Noria, as she is charged with keeping a life-changing secret. A secret of a hidden fresh water spring, guarded by generations of tea masters.
The setting, the customs and the unique Scandinavian atmosphere make this story feel exotic and fresh. The characters - oddly calm and focused in times of such desperation and thirst - surprise the reader with their coldly calculated decisions and peaceful acceptance of their fates. The plot line flows lazily like a stream of arctic fresh water - it speeds up rarely, it offers very few twists and instead of smashing into a dam, it flows into the ocean, offering no definite ending or clear conclusion to the story. On top of all that, while this book is supposedly written with teen readers in mind, I would not dare categorize it as YA fiction. It's neighter YA nor adult story, it's simply its own thing. Frankly, I don't believe readers who are used to reading fast-paced, action-packed YA blockbusters will find this book to their taste. It's on the slower, more contemplative side, with no clearly marked boundaries and completely unconventional construction. I don't think I have ever read anything quite like it, but I think fans of Japanese fiction (Haruki Murakami, Yukio Mishima, Abe Kobo) , or, say, Paolo Coelho and Jos茅 Saramago, will have more luck with it. In other words, it's more of a book for those who appreciate non-commercial, lyrical, meditative part-contemporary, part-SciFi cautionary tales.
Reading Memory of Water was definitely an enriching experience for me. I was drawn to this bleak and yet somehow beautiful world. The gentle and evocative style of the prose and the fascinating tradition of the tea ceremony contrasted with the injustice, the cruelty and the suffering depicted in this story, made for a fascinating read. I am very upset that there will be no sequel, for there are so many questions demanding to be answered, it's almost maddening. And yet, in a way, I understand why Itaranta decided to leave an open ending and so many secrets left undiscovered. In the end, this story is like water itself, "it exists beyond all beginnings and ends".
The novel is set years into the future where global warning and rising seas has seen the destruction of cities, the takeover of Europe by China and the scarcity of fresh water.
Noria Kaitio is learning to become a tea master like her father which comes with its own responsibilities. One of which is knowledge of a hidden source of fresh water that used to supply the town but is now kept secret from the military. But for how long鈥�
It鈥檚 worth noting that Memory of Water was originally published in Finland in 2012. Emmi Itaranta took on the task of translating her own novel for its English-language publication.
Should I Read It?
Yes. If the gorgeous writing doesn鈥檛 pull you in, the compelling story will. Itaranta doesn鈥檛 shy away from the moral conundrum Noria faces once she becomes responsible for the spring. Does she keep it secret 鈥� and therefore keep it out of the clutches of the military 鈥� or does she reveal her secret, on possible pain of death, to support a village that is slowly dying from a lack of purified and desalinated water? This choice, and Noria鈥檚 eventual decision provides the novel with a real sense of danger and tension.
And did I mention that the prose is beautiful?
Representative Paragraph
Noria鈥檚 father reveals a hidden spring of fresh water鈥�
"Water rushed from inside the rock in strings and threads and strands of shimmer, in enormous sheets that shattered the surface of the pond at the bottom of the cave when they hit it. It twisted around the rocks and curled in spirals and whirls around itself, and churned and danced and unravelled again. The surface trembled under the force of the movement. A narrow stream flowed from the pond towards the shelf of stone that the doorway we had come through was on, then disappeared into the ground under it. I could see something that looked like a white stain on the rock wall above the surface of the water, and another lever in the wall further away. My father urged me on, to the edge of the pond.
鈥楾ry it,鈥� he said. I dipped my fingers in the water and felt its strength. It moved against my hand like breathing, like an animal, like another person鈥檚 skin. It was cold, far colder than anything I was used to. I licked my fingers carefully, like I had been taught to do since I was very young: never drink water you haven鈥檛 tasted first. 鈥業t鈥檚 fresh,鈥� I said. Lantern light folded on his face when he smiled, and then, slowly, the smile ran dry."
Commentary
I want to make it clear from the outset that I really liked Memory of Water. The writing is beautiful and Noria Kaitio is a likeable and well-rounded character. But I couldn鈥檛 help but wonder whether I was allowing Itaranta鈥檚 gorgeous, delicate prose to distract me from her hazy, nebulous world building. In particular, while the scarcity of water is blamed on climate change and rising seas, it鈥檚 not entirely clear how humanity pulled itself from the darkness that was the Twilight Century (the period that bridges the technological past with this post apocalyptic present). There鈥檚 also no explanation as to how or why China took over Europe or who they鈥檙e currently fighting.
There is the view that the true science fiction novel uses science to drive the narrative and not as window dressing. Post Apocalyptic fiction often struggles with this because the focus is often on the fight for survival rather than explaining how the world ended or more importantly finding a solution through science and engineering. Famously, Cormac McCarthy doesn鈥檛 bother to describe what led to the near destruction of humanity in his harrowing novel, The Road. As a result McCarthy鈥檚 book is less science and more survival fiction.
While Memory of Water has more science fictional flesh on the bone when compared to The Road, I鈥檓 sure there will be those who won鈥檛 class it as an SF novel. Justin Landon, in his positive review of the book for Tor.com, acknowledges this:
"鈥� There鈥檚 more story to tell in It盲ranta鈥檚 world, both about the how and why. Without these things it becomes less a science fiction than a literary character study with some odd parameters. Could this have been the story of a girl in desert culture, with no hints at our own imagined future? Most assuredly. Whether that detracts from the novel is a question for each reader to answer. For me, Noria鈥檚 journey was satisfying and poignant. Emmi It盲ranta鈥檚 novel recalls a memory of what鈥檚 important, not only to survive, but to actually live."
Like Landon, I was more than satisfied with the journey. But more than that, I don鈥檛 think Itaranta has been skimpy with her world building due to a lack of care or a different set of priorities. Rather, holding back on explanations 鈥� how did China takeover Europe? What happened during the Twilight Century? 鈥� are a feature of the novel, not a bug.
As the book is written in first person, we only know what Noria knows. Living in a secluded village coupled with a military that鈥檚 not keen on giving away secrets means that information about the past is hard to find. And it鈥檚 not like Noria isn鈥檛 interested. Her father鈥檚 decision to train her as a tea-master and show Noria the secret of the spring means that she鈥檚 more aware of the world around her, and with that awareness comes curiosity and an unwillingness to accept the status quo.
What鈥檚 brilliant, though, is how Itaranta tantalises Noria (and the reader) with the truth, with the possibility of learning more, and then pulls it away. For example, Noria鈥檚 mother is an academic and when the pressure increases at home 鈥� the military encroaching on the property looking for a source of fresh water 鈥� she decides to take a job in a University. Noria is offered the option to go with her mother or stay with her father and continue her tea-master studies. In the end she forgoes the possibility of knowledge to maintain the traditions set by her father and those that came before him. It鈥檚 a selfless act.
This selflessness is a recurring theme in the novel. When Noria and Sanja discover a CD in the plastic grave detailing a secret, unsanctioned expedition into the Lost Lands to look for fresh water, both of them are overwhelmed with the need to know more. When the opportunity arises, Noria is prepared to leave her village, leave her responsibilities as the tea-master and protector of the spring and embark on a journey of discovery. And traditionally, we鈥檇 expect a character in this type of novel to venture forth, to spend multiple books discovering the secrets of the Twilight Century. However, Noria鈥檚 earlier decision to share water with the rest of the village rather than watch them suffer means that ultimately her chance to explore, to add more flesh to the bone, is taken away from her.
This novel is not an example of where the author has scribbled the world building on the back of an envelope. There鈥檚 enough evidence within Memory of Water to indicate that Itaranta has a clear idea of what brought about this particular apocalypse. But by holding back these details from Noria and the reader, Itaranta provides us with a book that鈥檚 less about the ongoing scarcity of water or the wars that China is fighting and more about Noria鈥檚 selfless attempts to keep her community and traditions alive. In the end then, the beautiful prose and the fantastic character work is not a distraction but enhances the power of this fantastic science fiction novel.
Viimeinkin t盲m盲 on luettu. Varmaan vuoden verran olen yritt盲nyt saada aikaiseksi, mutta parempi my枚h盲盲n kuin ei milloinkaan. Odotukseni olivat ehk盲 hiukan liian korkealla, mutta pidin silti lukemastani. Etenkin milj枚枚 ja tunnelma lumosivat ja dystopinen asetelma on kammottavuudessaan uskottava. Romaanin alkupuoli oli mielest盲ni vahvempi kuin loppupuoli ja koin, ett盲 alun hienosti rakennettu j盲nnite ei onnistunut s盲ilym盲盲n samanlaisena loppuun asti. Kielest盲 sen sijaan nautin valtavasti ja It盲rannan toinen romaani on ehdottomasti lukulistalla.
it could be such a brilliant book, but unfortunately it wasn't. I enjoyed it though, actually I enjoyed the writing, the era, the environment but the story has too many flaws, secrets, dark holes...
The story set in a dystopian world. Due to global warming all ices are melted and apparently contaminated. Now military control remaining water resources and having any secret well or spring or water pipe is a serious crime.
Noria is daughter of a tea master in a small village. Tea masters are watchers of water and normally the know of hidden springs. Noria is trained to be a tea master herself and everything looks normal until a new military commander set his foot for a Tea ceremony into their house and find the water too fresh to be coming from pipes.
The writing in this book is so beautiful that you want to continue reading and it's such a waste that this good idea, this good writing was weakened by details of the story.
I read this because it was nominated one month for the Sword and Laser book club but lost to a book I had already read.
There are elements of this novel to like. The combination of Scandinavian and Chinese culture for the society of New Qian was really the best part, especially the section combining the northern lights with the Chinese festivals. Beautiful! Magical!
The theme of water scarcity is frequent these days, although having a teamaster in each village/town/city with the secrets of the water was a new twist.
I felt like much of the writing itself was repetitive, somehow separated from the true emotion of the story. Even in moments that I felt should have great despair, it felt like Noria was floating through life. Strange.
Do you know this feeling, when you close a book and all you can think of is 'Perfect!'? Well this was one of those rare occasions. Every word where it is supposed to be, every sentence masterfully crafted. And to think that I only read the English translation and was told that the Finnish original was even better ... Kudos to the translator!
This book is about a dystopian world, a society after wars. It is about water, the most sought after good. Though melancholic and hopeless at times, the story about a young tea master (this idea alone deserves applaus) is written like said water: always flowing, seeking its way through the cracks and holes of a harsh reality. Every other page I wanted to stop and note a sentence or paragraph.
It盲ranta is a Finnish author, and as I understand it, she wrote the book in both Finnish and in English, and it鈥檚 been published in both languages. Speaking as an author, let me tell you, that鈥檚 pretty badass.
Here鈥檚 the publisher鈥檚 summary:
"In the far north of the Scandinavian Union, now occupied by the power state of New Qian, seventeen-year-old Noria Kaitio studies to become a tea master like her father. It is a position that holds great responsibility and a dangerous secret. Tea masters alone know the location of hidden water sources, including the natural spring that once provided water for her whole village. When Noria鈥檚 father dies, the secret of the spring reaches the new military commander 鈥� and the power of the army is vast indeed. But the precious water reserve is not the only forbidden knowledge Noria possesses, and resistance is a fine line. Threatened with imprisonment, and with her life at stake, Noria must make an excruciating, dangerous choice between knowledge and freedom."
This book was at times powerful and beautiful and tragic and depressing and triumphant. There鈥檚 not a great deal of action. The pace is almost leisurely at times, even as the tension ratchets every higher. Day by day Noira goes about her business, watching helplessly as the military imprison and execute others in the village for water crimes. The waiting builds suspense and fear far more effectively than any series of graphic action or violence would have. There鈥檚 also the contrast between the horrors Noira witnesses and the beauty of It盲ranta鈥檚 writing.
And then there鈥檚 the worldbuilding. The book is set in a post-apocalyptic Finland. Rising sea levels and other environmental catastrophes have eliminated most sources of fresh water and a serious, if uneven, regression in technology. We never get the full details about what happened, because Noria 鈥� like most people 鈥� doesn鈥檛 know the truth. She knows only the stories she鈥檚 been taught. But over the course of the book, she uncovers bits and pieces鈥�
I鈥檓 sure that aspect of the book will come across as preachy to some, and there鈥檚 certainly a message here about waste and overconsumption and the environment. But given that we don鈥檛 even know the full details of what happened, it felt like a reasonable example of 鈥淚f this goes on鈥︹€� to me.
There鈥檚 also beauty here. The way Noria contemplates every detail of the tea ceremony, and the ideas and philosophy behind it. I don鈥檛 know enough to say whether or not the author鈥檚 description is accurate, only that it was beautifully written. There鈥檚 love as well. Noria鈥檚 relationship with her friend Sanja, who works as a plastic smith (digging up and repairing old plastic for the village) is a powerful source of conflict. While they love one another, the secrets Noria guards and the struggles they both face just to survive would strain any relationship.
Blurb comparing a book to Ursula LeGuin? Gets me to read it every time...
Yes, I can see where the comparison came from. It probably reminds me most of the feel of LeGuin's 'Annals of the Western Shore' trilogy. The similarity is not so much in actual content, but in what is dwelled on; the themes and pace.
This will also appeal to those looking for post-apocalyptic YA who are interested in more thoughtful, character-oriented stories instead of just action.
The setting is a dystopian future Scandinavia, which has been under an oppressive Chinese (New Qian, that is) rule for generations. Water is mysteriously scarce, and controlled by the corrupt and brutal military junta. Noria is a young woman who has brought up in the tradition of the tea ceremony, a ritual that helps give peace and stability to people whose lives have too little of those elements. She has a secret. Her family knows the location of a secret fresh water spring. When she is left alone in the world, will she choose to keep her knowledge to herself, even as her friends and neighbors go thirsty?
The themes of secrets, knowledge, sharing and trust run through the story, contributing to a lovely and satisfying tale. No, the author is not as masterful as LeGuin - but few are.
I received a copy of this title through the 欧宝娱乐 First Reads giveaway. Much appreciation for the book.
Nez k膩p膿c ilgi atliku izlas墨拧anu, jo bija tak skaidrs, ka t膩 b奴s tie拧i man膩 gaum膿 - gudra, bet viegli las膩ma, anti utopija. Somu autores jap膩nisk膩s v膿smas (t膿jas ritu膩l膩 un citur) mani nep膩rsteidza, jo, stud膿jot Somij膩, vair膩kk膩rt dzird膿ju no pa拧iem somiem, cik joc墨gi, ka vi艈u kult奴ra esot tik l墨dz墨ga jap膩艈u. Nu vai patie拧膩m ir, tas ir str墨d墨gs jaut膩jums, bet saskat墨t l墨dz墨bu bija mod膿 vismaz pirms p膩ris gadiem, ja t膩 ver teikt. Protams, ka darb膩 par pasauli, kur膩 p膿c naftas kariem dzeramais 奴dens k募uvis par retumu, galvenais v膿st墨jums ir par ekolo模iju, par to, ko nodar膩m pasaulei jau tagad (nu ja nepaliek vien si啪eta l墨men墨, bet te ir gr奴tu palikt, ja t膩 apak拧doma ir tik ac墨mredzama) , ta膷u var aizdom膩ties ar墨 par to, cik viegli ir sagroz墨t v膿sturi. Bais膩kais, ka 拧is n膩kotnes scen膩rijs nav neiesp膿jams. Kopum膩 tie拧膩m laba las膩mviela, ko tur daudz.
I went into this book blind, knowing nothing about it other than the title which screamed to me 鈥渆nvironmental apocalypse鈥�. That wasn鈥檛 far off, although I guess it鈥檚 more dystopian than apocalyptic. Water resources are limited as one would expect by the title, and access to them is strictly controlled by the military.
Sometimes these types of books feel tedious to me because they tend to have similar themes and plots. I really enjoyed this one, though. There were some gaps in the world-building that I wanted to see defined more clearly, and there were some plot points that were a stretch, but they didn鈥檛 hit any of my particular pet peeves. Since I was enjoying the story so much, I was mostly able to overlook them.
This book has the type of writing I imagine many would describe as 鈥渂eautiful鈥�, or 鈥減oetic鈥� maybe, or some such adjective. That isn鈥檛 something I really have a proper appreciation for, especially if the writing is so flowery that it鈥檚 not clear what the author is trying to convey. That wasn鈥檛 the case here, though. The writing was clear and the story was interesting. I also liked the characters and cared about what happened to them, although I didn鈥檛 necessarily identify with all their choices.
This is one of those books where the story begins with the almost-end and then goes back and spends the entire book telling about the events that led up to that point. Since the reader has that end in mind the whole time they鈥檙e reading the story, I think most people will know what鈥檚 going to happen long before it happens. (The following spoiler contains vague reactions to the end but no specific plot details.)
One great thing about this book was that it was very light on romance. There are some implications of one depending on how you read things, but it鈥檚 easily overlooked rather than the author hitting you over the head with it like many do. One can read as much or as little into it as they want to. I chose to read more into it than I might have otherwise because it helped me understand
So I guess it wasn鈥檛 a perfect book, but I found it easy to pick up and difficult to put down.
脛idinkielen opettajani tapasi sanoa, ett盲 "kaunis" on sana, jota ihminen saa kirjoituksissaan k盲ytt盲盲 korkeintaan kymmenen kertaa el盲m盲ss盲盲n. T盲m盲n kirjan kohdalla minun on pakko k盲ytt盲盲 yksi kiinti枚st盲ni. Kirja on yksinkertaisesti uskomattoman kaunis. It盲rannan kieli on vedenkirkasta ja kuulasta, tarinaa kuljetetaan taitavasti kohti v盲ist盲m盲t枚nt盲 loppua. Kirjan maailma on lis盲ksi erilaisuudestaan huolimatta todenmakuinen ja sen henkil枚t moniulotteisia ja aidon tuntuisia. Voiko sen enemp盲盲 vaatia esikoisteokselta?
Teemestarin kirja on dystopia, joka tekee lukijaansa l盲htem盲tt枚m盲n vaikutuksen. Lukekaa, hyv盲t ihmiset!
Memory of Water is a slow story, a story which takes all the time it needs to unfold. Although it鈥檚 post-apocalyptic and dystopian, the focus is more on the emotional journey of the protagonist, who comes to understand her world and her place in it. The background is really fascinating, amalgamating a Finnish setting with Asian tea ceremonies. The prose and the pacing all echo those tea ceremonies: deliberate, considered, every movement relevant and part of the whole.
It鈥檚 not about dramatic clashes between armies and civilians, sudden revolutions or dramatic government takeovers. Instead, it鈥檚 about surviving day to day, about choosing who you betray, about making your own path despite the constraints around you. It鈥檚 a slow dying of thirst, not a brutal death at the hands of strangers. It鈥檚 about seeing the world change around you, but so slowly you鈥檙e almost lulled into not reacting.
It鈥檚 about humans wrecking the world, and then making it hard for other humans to live with the consequences. It鈥檚 introspective, slow. The main character might well annoy most readers because of that slow narration and its philosophical bent.
I thought it was gorgeous 鈥� and I鈥檓 extremely impressed that It盲ranta wrote it in both Finnish and English. In English, at least, it鈥檚 lyrical and beautiful and carefully crafted in a way that, yes, recalls that theme of the tea ceremony.
This book had truly beautiful prose and I loved that aspect of it. While I didn't get particularly attached to the characters I did enjoy the story. I really did not the heavy handed foreshadowing. Not only did it throw me out of the story, it made the things that happened late in the story lose their punch. It's hard for me to get really excited about an ending that's telegraphed from the start of the book.
The way this is written is beautifully evocative and it suits the feel of the tea ceremonies that happen throughout the book. I just wish I could have loved the story as much as the writing.
This story is a slow burner in a future climate changed world, with portents dribbled out sparingly. The writing is accomplished with fleshed out characters, but a bit drawn out in inundating one in thoughts of water, snow and ice of a distant past, heat, and insects; and the descriptive text is verbose more often than not.
Nevertheless, the story held my attention, at my point in life evoking a doleful feeling overall.
This is a book club read that I would probably never have heard of otherwise. It's a sort of post-apocalypse dystopia, but not quite like any I've read before.
For the first 200 pages, I was enjoying it quite a bit. The setting had some serious plausibility issues, but I was able to overlook them because I was engaged and curious about the world. Unfortunately in the latter half of the book, some things happened that started to really annoy me.
I see that this book is labeled "young adult" by some. I don't read much YA and it's never been clear to me what exactly makes a book "YA", but for the first half of the book I wasn't seeing it here. Now, I'm beginning to think "YA" actually means "young characters who act precisely as stupid as the plot requires of them at any given time".
After the protagonists start making bad decisions in order to carry the plot along, I lost my immersion in the story. When that happened, the problems with plausibility that I had ignored up to that point started to seem more and more ridiculous.
This is a 3-star book that should have been a 4-star book.
Now, for the spoilery rant:
Finally, Noria says about her mother's books:
Many of them spoke of temperatures and seasons and weather, drowned land and oceans that had pushed their shorelines inland, and all of them spoke of water, but the books didn't always agree on everything. I asked my mother once what this meant. She called herself a scientist. If scientists didn't agree with each other, I asked, did this mean that nobody really knew? She thought about this for a while and then said that there were different ways of knowing, and sometimes it was impossible to say which way was the most reliable.
What unscientific baloney.
There are many, many ways of believing, but there are actually very, very few ways of knowing, and precisely one of them is science, and it ONLY way of knowing the things within its magisteria. Scientists understand the difference between what they believe and what they know, and between what they know and what they hypothesize, and between what they hypothesize and what they theorize, and they understand varying degrees of certainty and degrees of probability. When two scientists disagree, it's not because they have competing methods of knowing the truth; it's because they have competing imperfect approximations of the truth. Either one or (almost always) both of them doesn't 100% know, but that doesn't mean they 100% don't know either. Scientists have to live in the gray area between knowing and not knowing, but should never wander into the realm of believing.
I'm not docking points for this paragraph, because it's not an important part of the book and I don't think the things characters say should necessarily be considered views of the author. I think it's important to mention, though, because this is a book about global warming, and Noria's mother's answer will likely be read as a commentary on science today. And it's nonsense.
弄dens ir viena no liel膩kaj膩m m奴su m膩jas Zemes d膩van膩m mums visiem, par br墨vu. Bet cilv膿ki pa拧i ar savu r墨c墨bu laika gait膩 拧o d膩vanu un privil膿模iju ir izkrop募oju拧i. Somu autore 拧aj膩 virzien膩 ir g膩jusi v膿l t膩l膩k - vi艈as pied膩v膩taj膩 (ne)t膩laj膩 n膩kotn膿 t墨ra dzeram膩 sald奴dens dabiska ieguve tikpat k膩 jau vairs nav iesp膿jama un ir liels retums.
Man bija gr奴ti ielas墨ties 拧膩d膩 pasaul膿, kur b奴t墨b膩 ir 墨stenojies viens no visslikt膩kajiem pasaules scen膩rijiem, kur Eiropas gaismu neso拧膩s civiliz膩cijas v膿rt墨bas ir zaud膿ju拧as 膧zijai, noticis savstarp膿js rietumu un austrumu trad墨ciju neizprotams sajaukums, turkl膩t tas viss milit膩r膩s diktat奴ras un re啪墨ma apst膩k募os, kas b奴t墨b膩 jau ir l膿nas beigas visam ... Man to bija gr奴ti pie艈emt, lai gan j膩atz墨st - somu ciema iedz墨vot膩ji, protams, rais墨ja simp膩tijas un vi艈u neapskau啪am膩 st膩vok募a l墨dzju拧anu. Zil膩 ap募a k膩 simbola izv膿le (gan tekst膩, gan uz v膩ka) - manupr膩t, 募oti veiksm墨ga un ieder墨ga jeb sav膩 墨staj膩 viet膩.
Nu, ko - atliek tikai godam nov膿rt膿t, cik mums 拧eit - dz墨vojo拧ajiem Latvij膩 - ir 募oti paveicies, ka t墨ra sald奴dens ieguves probl膿ma nav aktu膩lajos jaut膩jumos, ...jo citur t膩 jau ir realit膩te.
Hieno kirja: mielenkiintoinen tarina ja upeaa kielt盲. Vaikka tarina ja kieli olivat 盲盲rimm盲isen nautittavia, samalla ahdistuin lukemastani todella paljon. T盲m盲 tulevaisuus voi olla yksi mahdollinen, enk盲 ikin盲 tahtoisi kenenk盲盲n joutua kokemaan sit盲.
This was lovely. A dystopian clifi that mirrored the discrimination to access to natural resources to the holocaust. Was it heavyhanded? Yes. Was it beautiful? Also yes.
CONTENT WARNING:
Things to love:
-The prose. Slow and beautiful.
-The contemplation of the past. Thoughtful and layered.
-The friendship. It's so rare to see platonic love as the mover in a story. Here it is!
Things that detracted for me:
-The tea bit. The central element has tea ceremonies as a venerated thing, which is true in some present day cultures. However, it didn't seem to be part of the daily life of townfolks, and it used a LOT of scarce resources. I didn't understand how this fit in with the story when it seemed anathema to it. Again, I get that it was supposed to be about tradition and stewardship of resources, but it didn't contend with its own hypocrisy (in translation, anyway!) so I spent a lot of time wondering about this rather than following the story.
-The catalyst. I mean freakin' DUH. This was painful to watch because it would be foremost in the minds of the characters if it actually happened.
In the end I'm so glad to have read it, and the detractors are smaller than the benefits. Worth a read!
A fairly quick read, not sure how to rate it yet. I mostly liked the writing but found descriptions a little confusing sometimes, and my attention wandered occasionally.
This is a lovely, lyrical novel. It takes place long after a water shortage. The reader doesn't see the wars or the chaos, just the new world that has emerged. The traditions and cultures that underpin the new society are at once recognizable and new. The main characters are capable and inquisitive teenagers who never act more heroic than is believable. I loved that the author didn't ever pander to the tropes of current teen lit. There's connection and conflict between characters, but no boy to moon over. There's nothing staged either: no Lottery, no Games, no test that everyone must pass. Just people trying to figure out how to live their lives. Even the antagonists are given complexity and nuance. And I'll return again to the language, which was absolutely delicious. "鈥 looked anyway, and wished I hadn't. That was what we did nowadays: tried to avert our gaze from the things that were happening, and failed, and then tried to live on as if we had not seen them. All the while those things stayed with us, made their home under our skin, in the thrumming, dark-red space of the chest, their unbending slivers scratching the soft, wet heart. When I walked on the streets, I could see people carrying these sights within: buried, but not deep enough not to cast an afterthought across their faces, altering them as a slow shift in light." This will definitely be one of my Norton nominees.
Emmi It盲rannan "Teemestarin kirja" (Teos, 2012) on hieno esikoisteos dystopisesta tulevaisuuden yhteiskunnasta, jossa ihmiskunta on onnistunut sotien ja kuluttaen suistamaan itsens盲 tuhon partaalle, ja jossa sotilashallinto pit盲盲 ihmisi盲 tiukasti otteessaan. Suurin pula on puhtaasta vedest盲, ja tilanteen muuttuessa pahemmaksi joutuu vuosisatoja kest盲nytt盲 teeseremoniaa yll盲pit盲v盲 Noria p盲盲tt盲m盲盲n mit盲 tehd盲 salaisuudelle, jonka is盲 on h盲nelle uskonut.
Emmi It盲ranta kirjoittaa harvinaisen kauniisti, vaikka h盲nen tulevaisuudenvisionsa onkin hyyt盲v盲. "Teemestarin kirjassa" ei selitet盲 asioita puhki, mutta siit盲 huolimatta - tai ehk盲 siit盲 johtuen - romaanissa kuvattu maailma tuntuu uskottavalta. Yhteiskuntakriittisi盲 teemojakaan ei alleviivata tarpeettomasti, vaan asia tulee selv盲ksi hienovaraisemmallakin volyymilla.
L盲ht枚kohtaisesti kirja on kai suunnattu aikuisille, mutta kyll盲p盲 t盲t盲 kelpaisi lukiolaisille ja fiksummille yl盲koululaisillekin suositella.
It's more of a 3.7 star book for me. It's very intruiging and interesting book. But very calm in its story telling, never really dramatic even though its setting and topics discussed. I can't decide if the pace was perfect for the book or if I wanted more speed or similar. But I enjoyed it nevertheless