Book #10: Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi

[grav_ity]

vaguely post-apocalyptic (but not in the way you're thinking), I'm glad I broke the "don't read award winners" rule, a book about a boy, heavily thematic, invented language, invented religion, really needed a map, kind of a downer, never going to New Orleans, is there such a thing as post-steampunk?

This book was recced by m_stiefvater a few days ago, so I went and bought it. And I really enjoyed it, actually, more than I was expecting to. It was a lot...deeper than I was expecting, but at the same time, it didn't suffer under the weight of its own themes. This is the kind of YA book that makes "legitimate fiction" sit up and take notice because it's better.

That said, I'm not really sure how to describe the book itself. It takes place in a post-carbon fuel world, where gas and oil are limited, and it really sucks for most of the population. It was very coolly post-American. I'm not even sure any of the characters were white.

My favourite part of the whole thing was the idea of New Orleans, the Drowned City, that people loved so much they tried again, only to lose it. And then they tried again, but called it MississippiMetro, because they couldn't bear the thought of losing the city for the third time. So you have the Drowned City, a monument to stupidity and waste and loss and death...and the people on the beaches who break ships.

There was just enough in this book. Just enough lingo, just enough religion, just enough history, just enough sobering prediction.

I really loved the characters, particularly Tool (who didn't live up to his name) and Nita (who used her brain a lot). And Nailer was a surprisingly interesting protagonist, who had the right amount of fear and love and drive. At first I wasn't really all that tied into his journey, but when I realized that he really was going to kill his father, I sort of fell in love with him.

This book does not pull punches. Ever. Which impresses me a lot, I'll admit. It ends kind of abruptly, but also beautifully and realistically. And totally without leaving ground for a sequel, which I appreciate.

I think this one gets a 10. It's a stealthy 10, but I can't even bring myself to dock points for not giving me a map.

Comments

Unfortunately This Doesn't Have Much To Do With Your Topic

[emmaorgana.livejournal.com]

I bought a book today not only because it sounded interesting, but because it also had a map of the city it took place in and, and because it had a floorplan for the house the characters lived in.

I thought of you as I bought it.

Re: Unfortunately This Doesn't Have Much To Do With Your Topic

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

See, it's not too much to ask for!

(Which book, btw?)

Re: Unfortunately This Doesn't Have Much To Do With Your Topic

[emmaorgana.livejournal.com]

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge.

http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Thorn-Codex/dp/0385738293/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301373544&sr=8-1-spell

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I got an ARC of SHIP BREAKER and was very excited about it as I'd heard such good things (and this was even before all the buzz and the awards), but I didn't love it. Which makes it a hard book for me to talk about, or even know what to think about, because I can't say there's anything wrong or poorly executed about it, and it wasn't at all boring to read -- I just didn't connect to it. If I were an agent looking at the manuscript, I think I would have had to say, "This is a really well written book with a lot of things going for it, but I'm not the right person to represent it."

Which goes to show, I think, that sometimes it really does come down to personal taste. As far as post-apocalyptic SF goes, INCARCERON and FEED and HOUSE OF THE SCORPION (which is probably the most of the three like SHIP BREAKER in spirit) resonated with me. DARK LIFE wasn't quite for me, but I knew that my son would love it (and he did). SHIP BREAKER, I honestly wouldn't know. But obviously lots of people do love it, so I guess I'm just weird.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

I feel kind of weird giving it a 10, to be honest, because I didn't exactly connect either. I just...am left with an overwhelming feeling of "Man...that was a GOOD BOOK." I didn't race to finish it (event though I read it in a day), and I wasn't over-emotional at the end of it. But it was just really...solid? Or something. So I totally understand where you're coming from. :)