Something to Read: May 2006

Lilith's Brood

This is actually a trio of mid-sized novels, Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago collected under one cover. It is also known as the Xenogenesis Trilogy. The author is Octavia E. Butler. She was an author that I always liked - I like the way she used ideas. Others, including scientists, liked the way she used ideas.

This makes two science-fiction books in a row. I am not a big science-fiction reader, really. Lilith's Brood tells the story of Lilith, a survivor of Earth after the World War that killed almost everyone. Lilith is saved and adopted into a family of the aliens who have moved to the planet after the humans died. She becomes the gatekeeper, not entirely of her own will, for all of the other humans who have been saved by the aliens. To have offspring the humans and aliens must form mixed families. The novel explores the often precarious balance of different beings living together and the balance of power between the two groups and their offspring. I give this a thumbs up.

Never Let Me Go

This is a novel set in contemporary England by Kazuo Ishiguro. Published 2005 in English. The story examines an interesting ethical situation through the eyes of those being acted upon. The narrator, Kathy reminiscences about her happy life growing up in a private school, Halisham, with friends Ruth and Tommy. As Kathy's memories unfold, the strength of the friends' fraternal love shines through at the same time that the horror of their situation, and their acceptance of it, becomes clearer. It is a disturbing book.