For quite some time I've been delving into the world of Audible and the audiobooks they provide. I particularly enjoy them for while I am travelling or walking any distance as I find other methods of entertainment rather arduous; reading while walking is a recipe for disaster and makes me feel particularly unwell while journeying, while I find music lacks engagement and I drift off getting bored over longer periods (1+ hours). Audiobooks therefore are the perfect mix of the two. Engaging meaning I don't get bored and clock-watch, yet not sickening to experience in motion.
My most recent audiobook adventure has been The Ship, by Antonia Honeywell. I immediately thought of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaiden's Tale when it began. Of a dystopian nature the exact time it is set is rather ambiguous. People appear to have a memory of similar times to ours, but this fluctuates wildly dependent on the person, older ones having obviously the clearest of memories. It is also unclear whether some may be the relayed memories of others. Furthermore being a book set in London many familiar landmarks are mentioned, however in a rather sorry state. Richmond Park has been turned into a homeless refugee camp and the British Museum is experiencing a distinct lack of exhibits.
The protagonist Lalage Paul is a girl of 16, though flashbacks are scattered throughout, who lives in the broken down London. Her father created a program called The Dove, essentially a human cataloging system, allowing the "fair" distribution of resources to those with an identity card, though those lacking one do not exist and are doomed to the refugee parks. This has allowed Lalage and her family to live in comparative luxury in their flat in Bloomsbury. Lalage is spared by her Mother many of the horrors of the new world, and she is therefore slightly oblivious.
She and her mother frequent the British Museum on learning trips and she experiences safety in her flat. London however continues to degrade around them, but the eradication of another of London's great parks is the last straw for her father Michael. He unveils a long term project to help his family escape the madness. The Ship. A gargantuan vessel filled with all the provisions they could dream of in their near starving state, and 500 select passengers to progress the human race, providing Lalage a safe cotton wool wrapped world to grow up within. However while boarding the ship the unimaginable happens twisting Lalage's world upside down. How will she cope in this new setting full of strangers when her home and family in London are ripped out of her hands without word of warning.
First of all the books starts off on a very good footing. The reader has a pleasant voice, so you stay attentive. The imagery is beautiful and I found it to be extremely well written. I was easily able to envisage the settings in great detail, without feeling like the description was never ending. I particularly liked this as I enjoy being able to picture vividly what is going on. The familiar and iconic setting enables a basis to work from with regards to the rest of the story.
That said the protagonist is particularly irritating. She come across in a rather needy and annoying manner, though feels like she is an all knowing person revealing secrets to the 500. She seems to be particularly mopey and becomes fixated on the same topic again and again. She is also rather selfish and experiences callus regard for others on the ship. I found myself siding with the other members the majority of the time, though this was not necessarily a bad thing. As I became more involved in the book I was persistently urging Lalage to side with the other members, engrossing me more. Though some things were repeated a fair few times, an example being her love Tom's green eyes. The amount of times I heard this fact became slightly tiresome, though if I were reading as oppose to listening I am not sure I would have noticed this quite as much.
The ending overall confused me slightly. The book focused very much on Lalage and her opinions on the ship for the majority of the book but the ending felt a little abrupt. It finished almost suddenly and I felt as though I wanted to know more, again not a bad thing. It could be that it was setting up for a sequel.
All in all I very much enjoyed the first section of the book, wonderful imagery exciting story line, but the second portion left me guessing easily what would happen next and wanting more of an explanation. I'd overall give it 3 out of 5 stars. It had very good potential and I enjoyed a good lot of it, I just felt repetition and abrupt endings let it down a tad.
This book was provided to me by the Midas publishing team. All my product reviews are however objective and will not be swayed by the provider.
All the best and,
Cheerio! x
No comments :
Post a Comment