A review by zen
Docile, by K. M. Szpara
I'm completely torn, here.
On one hand, the writing is just damn good. I read this in two sittings, and only because at 4am yesterday I decided it was maybe time to go to sleep. So I guess the story was entertaining.
On the other hand, I think I hit the emotional climax at the middle of the book and afterwards something just didn't feel completely right, not on a narrative level, but because I became confused about what I should take away from the book.
I guess my problem was that the tagline is, There is no consent under capitalism. That shit has implications on how this book reflects on real life and viceversa, and I simply didn't feel that from the book?
More specifically:
1) I don't know what to think of Alex. Spoilers to follow but, while I did like the character per se,
2) Not exactly vibing with the fact that the book seems to be set not too far away from the present (three generations in the future at most?) but there's no connection with the actual, historical slavery that happened in the U.S., the consequences of which are still here in the present, this year more obviously than ever. And again, I wouldn't have minded it too much if the tagline wasn't explicitly making a commentary on the current state of society, you know? I'm not even American but that silence doesn't go easily unnoticed.
I did like the queerness in the book, it felt so natural and so normal, and I like how the author managed to create a dysfunctional society where sexuality and queerness are not part of what makes it bad. But I don't know, the ending now doesn't sit well with me.
On one hand, the writing is just damn good. I read this in two sittings, and only because at 4am yesterday I decided it was maybe time to go to sleep. So I guess the story was entertaining.
On the other hand, I think I hit the emotional climax at the middle of the book and afterwards something just didn't feel completely right, not on a narrative level, but because I became confused about what I should take away from the book.
I guess my problem was that the tagline is, There is no consent under capitalism. That shit has implications on how this book reflects on real life and viceversa, and I simply didn't feel that from the book?
More specifically:
1) I don't know what to think of Alex. Spoilers to follow but, while I did like the character per se,
Spoiler
I think he didn't suffer the consequences of what he did. I liked him at first because of how he's been shown—since the start of the book, he's never completely on board with his parents' way of thinking, and we did see him doubt some of the things he should've been sure about. The fact that he gets angry when Elisha talks badly about Dociline, or even how Alex treats other Dociles and his friends who were former Dociles are pretty self-explainatory. And I think that a character like that resonates a lot with real life. There are people with good intention who are simply programmed by society to do bad things and regret it later in life, and I'm pretty fond of the idea that even villains can be victims. But... that's not an excuse, you know? Alex did abuse Elisha. He did rape him and allow many other Dociles to suffer under similar circumstances. And he just didn't get punished for that. At the end of the book, he's unscathed. Sure, he lost his family, his money and status, but that really cannot be compared to people losing their lives, parts of their bodies, their freedom, and their mental stability. That's simply not how it works. The fact that in the last page Elisha convinces him to go through with his idea of creating a solution (for a problem he created in the first place!) wasn't enough. Solving an issue isn't enough if you're not held accountable as much as you should, I think.2) Not exactly vibing with the fact that the book seems to be set not too far away from the present (three generations in the future at most?) but there's no connection with the actual, historical slavery that happened in the U.S., the consequences of which are still here in the present, this year more obviously than ever. And again, I wouldn't have minded it too much if the tagline wasn't explicitly making a commentary on the current state of society, you know? I'm not even American but that silence doesn't go easily unnoticed.
I did like the queerness in the book, it felt so natural and so normal, and I like how the author managed to create a dysfunctional society where sexuality and queerness are not part of what makes it bad. But I don't know, the ending now doesn't sit well with me.