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A review by mbenzz
The Divers' Game by Jesse Ball
2.0
What the hell did I just read?
I was under the impression this was a political/societal dystopian novel about a world where there are two groups of people...Pats and Quads. Pats 'belong' and have gas masks and carry around gas canisters to kill any Quads they deem a threat, and Quads are immigrants who have no rights, are branded on their cheeks, and have their thumbs removed for easy identification. Whenever they leave their designated areas, they are at the mercy of the Pats. I thought this would be a deep look into what that kind of society means and how it affects people.
That is not what I got.
Instead, I got a book of four short stories that are only connected by their environment/location and society, but nothing else. Yes, the last story (The Letter) is about the wife of the teacher from the first story, but other than that none of them are connected and none of them are FINISHED. I really hate when authors fail to follow-through with their stories and try to leave endings as 'mysterious' and 'thought-provoking'. "What do you THINK happened at the end?"
I don't know, how about you FINISH THE DAMN STORY AND TELL US YOURSELF!?!
It's lazy writing and very few authors pull it off successfully. I want to know...what happened to Lethe?? Did she make it home? Was she attacked? What was the fate of the Infanta and why does that festival even take place? Did they ever find Ollie? What happened to the boy who was supposed to watch him?
I found the prose and overall structure of this book to be grating and pretentious. There are no quotations to let you know when people are speaking and the author tries WAY too hard to sound vague and dreamy. It comes off as insipid. We're never really told WHY things are the way they are. There's a short spot at the beginning where the author uses classroom time to try and lay down the structure of this society, but it feels rushed and unfinished.
I could go on, but you know what? I'm done. This book isn't worth any more of my time. This was the first Jesse Ball book I've ever read and it will certainly be my last.
I was under the impression this was a political/societal dystopian novel about a world where there are two groups of people...Pats and Quads. Pats 'belong' and have gas masks and carry around gas canisters to kill any Quads they deem a threat, and Quads are immigrants who have no rights, are branded on their cheeks, and have their thumbs removed for easy identification. Whenever they leave their designated areas, they are at the mercy of the Pats. I thought this would be a deep look into what that kind of society means and how it affects people.
That is not what I got.
Instead, I got a book of four short stories that are only connected by their environment/location and society, but nothing else. Yes, the last story (The Letter) is about the wife of the teacher from the first story, but other than that none of them are connected and none of them are FINISHED. I really hate when authors fail to follow-through with their stories and try to leave endings as 'mysterious' and 'thought-provoking'. "What do you THINK happened at the end?"
I don't know, how about you FINISH THE DAMN STORY AND TELL US YOURSELF!?!
It's lazy writing and very few authors pull it off successfully. I want to know...what happened to Lethe?? Did she make it home? Was she attacked? What was the fate of the Infanta and why does that festival even take place? Did they ever find Ollie? What happened to the boy who was supposed to watch him?
I found the prose and overall structure of this book to be grating and pretentious. There are no quotations to let you know when people are speaking and the author tries WAY too hard to sound vague and dreamy. It comes off as insipid. We're never really told WHY things are the way they are. There's a short spot at the beginning where the author uses classroom time to try and lay down the structure of this society, but it feels rushed and unfinished.
I could go on, but you know what? I'm done. This book isn't worth any more of my time. This was the first Jesse Ball book I've ever read and it will certainly be my last.