This book made a strong impression on me. As I see it, this story is an hommage to people who, in times of destruction and violence, strive to keep their humanity and tolerance of others. This is the lot of the nameless man who tells his life’s story in this dystopian tale, as he tries to survive the heat and the greed of others, the ones who were responsible for the terrible situation the earth is in.
I was wrangled into a chair and told that, when the hood came off, I was to face ahead and only ahead. The hood would only be removed if I promised to comply. Confounded, I accepted their terms. The blindfold was swept off by someone behind me. And immediately I sensed there were others in the low-lit room. All of them out of view. Behind me.
Ahead lay a blank wall. Eyes forward now, said a woman's voice, the same from earlier in the day. Now, just wait and watch.
The wall lit up harsh and white. A series of images rose and fell away without explanation. People, cities, homes, domestic fittings, forests, rivers of ice, throngs of wild-eyed fish, fields of grain to the horizon. This was not the world I knew. For one thing, the colours were wrong. Every picture had a cloying sheen that rendered it alien and disquieting.
This is weird, I said. What is this?
Just watch, said the woman.
