What We Can Know

The year is 2119 and much of England is flooded. Those who survived the Inundation and Derangement in the mid twentieth century have retreated to higher ground. Disaster occurred with the accidental dropping of a nuclear weapon into the ocean causing tidal waves flooding much of a world already threatened by rising sea water. Travel between the small islands was by boat and on land by bike. Before this catastrophe countries continued their wars, further developed nuclear weapons and climate change was imminent. Millions of people died and those left struggled to live a very different life.

Professor Tom Metcalfe works at the University of the South Downs where he attempts to interest students in history and literature, especially in the time period 1990-2030. He is also interested in discovering what happened to the only copy of a poem, A Corona for Vivien, written by Francis Blundy in 2014. He has set out to study all available sources about the poet and his wife.

In part one of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan we learn of events that led to the writing of the poem and the the party where Francis read the poem to the guests. We also get to know Tom Metcalfe and the extent to which he has researched the lives and work of Francis and Vivien Blundy.

In part two the reader has access to a copy of a manuscript written by Vivien Blundy where she provides an account of her life and relationships and reveals what happened to the poem. Tom Metcalfe had edited Vivien's manuscript for publication.

Much of What We Can Know is about how we treat history and evaluate life that occurred at other times. The author questions what we really know about the past, how much don't we know and how reliable are the sources. Many people are reluctant to learn about the past and accept how knowledge of past events may affect what happens in the future.

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan is a social commentary on life and how current events may affect our future. This is a novel that readers should set aside uninterrupted time to read.

Juice

Juice by Tim Winton is set in a future drastically altered by climate change. People can no longer live in the tropics and during the summer families in part of Western Australia (and probably other areas in Australia) need to retreat below ground in order to survive. They can live and work above ground in the winter but need to work to gather enough supplies to allow them to survive isolation during the hot season.

An unnamed narrator recounts the story of the cause of this climatic destruction to a man he meets when he and a young girl are looking for a new location where they may possibly survive. His story describes the destruction of past lifestyles to the current disaster. The narrator also tells of his life story leading to his present predicament.

Tim Winton is known for his concerns about the environment and the effects of climate change. One of his other works is a book for young teenagers, Blueback. He has also featured in a number of television programs about the environment and threats to nature. 

Juice is a long book - 513 pages - but once I became used to the writing style I wanted to keep reading. Books like Juice encourage readers to think more carefully about how our lifestyle affects the environment in which we live. Dystopian books like Juice will hopefully encourage the reader to think about how the way we currently live may affect and / or destroy life for future generations living in our country. The novel also touches on the possibility of the creation of AI people or simulations in the future.

Juice by Tim Winton - life after the apocalypse - The Guardian  

Schooled in doubleness - Australian Book Review 

Haunted by our legacy - QUT Guild

Klara and the Sun

In Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro has produced a novel investigating a future dystopian world where robots known as AFs (artificial friends) are created to become friends of children and young people. We meet Klara in a store where AFs  are available to be sold to families requiring them. The robots are moved to various locations within the store, however the window is the prime location. It is when Klara and Rosa have their turn in the window that Klara first encounters Josie, a young girl who seems attracted to this robot. Eventually Josie persuades her mother to purchase Klara to be her special AF.

Klara soon learns that Josie is unwell but she is diligent in looking after her young charge. For much of the time Josie is dedicated to her AF but at times she is in a mood and ignores her. Klara, however, remains faithful and endeavours to take care of Josie.

We learn that Josie has been lifted (genetically modified) when younger so that she can achieve at college and in life in general. Unfortunately being lifted has resulted in the illness she now suffers. Her special friend, Rick, has not been lifted and is shunned by the guests at a party at Josie's house. Klara carefully watches what is occurring in the house and is surprised at how Josie's attitude can change in different situations.

Before Klara went to live with Josie she had observed how the Sun had healed a beggar and his dog when they appeared to be dead. Klara, with Rick's help plus the assistance of Josie's father, is determined to persuade the Sun to help her friend.

The novel looks at a variety of relationships including how people can behave in times of crises. It also takes us into another world where robots have become part of the life of some families but gradually become feared by a large part of the general community. Through Rick's story we also learn about the acceptance of the gifts we have rather than trying to be something we aren't.

Klara and the Sun is the book read by the Monash Alumni Book Club in August 2024.

American War

American War is the fourth book in the How to Read a Novel online course prepared by the University of Edinburgh. This novel by Omar El Akkad is about the Second American Civil War that commenced in 2075. Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia have broken away from the rest of the USA . Global warming has greatly affected many parts of the USA, especially in the south, and most of the country, except for the four above mentioned southern states, has decided to no longer use fossil fuels.

In the beginning of the novel we meet members of the Chestnut family - the parents Benjamin and Martina, nine year old Simon and twins Dana and Sarat. They have lost their home to flood waters and live in a shipping container. The father is trying to obtain safe passage for the family to the North when he is killed by Southern insurgents. When the area near their home is bombed Martina decides to take the children to a refugee camp, Cape Patience, where, in theory, they will be kept safe.

While the USA is self destructing the power balance in the rest of the world has changed with China and a conglomerate of Arab nations, Bouazizi, now superpowers. Aid ships bring supplies which do not always reach the people who need them. In the South there are a number of splinter groups pushing their own agenda. Break away groups also exist in the North. Sarat is befriended by an older man and is eventually recruited to carry out special missions.

There are obvious parallels in the plot with the involvement of the USA military in the affairs of other counties, especially Arab nations. The effects of Global Warming are graphically described along with the refusal of some people to accept that changes must be made for the survival of the country as well as the safety of family members. The belief by some groups that only they have the right answers is destroying the country and preventing hope for peace. Meanwhile the lives of generations are being destroyed through total disregard for the lives of others resulting in hatred of those in power in general.

A powerful story, at times dealing with physical and mental torture, which unfortunately rings true with events happening in parts of the world today, particularly in America.

This book was short listed for the James Tait Black Award for 2017.