Wool Omnibus - Hugh Howey

Wool Omnibus - Hugh Howey

When I was 12, I read "Children of the Dust" by Louise Lawrence. It was the late 1980s and the Cold War was winding down, but the novel had a profound effect on me. I think it was my first true realisation of the wrongs that human beings can do to one another with nuclear weapons. Since then I have always been fascinated by post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels and movies. While I love to read fiction for the escapism aspect, these types of stories have a different attraction. They tend to remind me that people and societies can use their intelligence and imaginations to invent amazing technologies but can get so lost on their pathway through life that they somehow become compelled to use those technologies to do indescribable things to the world. 

I could not put the Wool Omnibus down. I had to suspend disbelief at first, as I do think humans are inherently interested in exploring beyond their horizons and I had difficulty relating to a society of people who were prepared to live their lives in an underground silo, no matter how sophisticated. However, as the story moved on and more details emerged about the other silos and the social engineering that led the silo families to submit to their leaders, I was more and more drawn in and found the narrative to take on a more believable aspect. The heroine Juliette is a fantastic character who champions the direction of the storyline and inspires people to think beyond the boundaries imposed on them. The bad guy, Bernard, is eminently unlikeable from the outset, but his character is fleshed out towards the end of the omnibus as he exposes some of his motivations for action and then, while still a disagreeable character, I was more able to understand him. Other sympathetic characters appear throughout and continue to draw the reader through the development of the story. 

Overall, I found the Wool Omnibus to be suspenseful, exciting and an all round cracking story. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

March - Geraldine Brooks

Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" revolves around the experiences of four daughters whose father is away for a year at the US Civil War. This famous novel inspired Brooks to imagine the concurrent experiences of their father, who is largely absent from Alcott's story. 

It was a wonderful idea, and well-executed. I can't imagine what effort went into researching this richly detailed narrative. I know very little about the Civil War and was fascinated by Brooks' observations on abolitionism, the underground railroad and the indescribable cruelties visited upon slaves at that time. The thing that didn't ring true for me about this book was Mr March. As a matter of fact, I found his tortured martyrdom almost unbearable at times. I was able to relate to Mrs March's somewhat flawed but genuine character so much more easily, and the parts of the novel focalised from her point of view resonated most strongly with me. 

Overall I enjoyed this novel, but didn't love it the way I loved People of the Book and Caleb's Crossing. Nonetheless it inspired me to unearth my fondly dog-eared copy of "Little Women" so that I can revisit it and see if I love it as much as I did as a child.