SF/F Review: Amatka by Karin Tidbeck https://t.co/6FSuUutxP9 Short Review: 10 out of 10 (1/4)— garik16 (@garik16) August 31, 2017
Short Review (cont): A dystopian tale in a world, where strict description of all things is necessary to keep a hold on reality, poses (2/4)— garik16 (@garik16) August 31, 2017
Short Review (cont): interesting questions about love, language, freedom, & life worth living. Short & dark but absolutely compelling (3/4)— garik16 (@garik16) August 31, 2017
Amatka is a book originally published in Sweden in 2012, finally making it over to America in 2017 (Translated by the author herself). It's a short novel and definitely falls in the sub-genre of "Weird" science fiction typified to some extent by Jeff VanderMeer (who's a known fan of Tidbeck). But more importantly, this Dystopian tale is incredibly strong and thought-provoking and original (at least to me), and is easily amongst the best things I've read all year - Maybe the best thing I've read all year.
---------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------
Amatka takes place on a planet/world in which humanity has settled in four (formerly five) colonies. But most materials/objects on the planet have a special property: if objects aren't labeled constantly and reminded of what they are (whether verbally or by written labeling), the objects can lose their shape and turn into possibly turning other labeled objects into gloop as well. As such, the colonists have created a culture where labeling things is paramount and failing to do so is a major offense, and the colonists follow strict rules in order to survive in their ordinary lives.
Vanja works for a hygeine product company of the biggest colony and is sent to the colony of Amatka to do market research. But when there she finds two things she never expected: Love in the native Amatkan woman Nina, and a mystery that encapsulates not just the colony of Amatka, but all of the colonies themselves. This mystery forces Vanja to really think about whether life in the highly regimented and controlled colonies is truly worth living. But to further investigate that mystery and this question may not only jeopardize Vanja's life in the strictly-regimented colony, but also her newfound love.
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I don't want to describe it any more in detail, because this is a book where things are revealed - about the main character, the colony Amatka, and the world itself - over time in ways to make major impacts, and I don't want to dilute anything. It's quite clear early on that this is a dystopian story and one in which things aren't as they seem, but where this story goes is far from predictable.
More impressively this is a book that takes its main ideas - questions about freedom in a world where objects and reality are defined by language - and really explores them. The answers it provides are not ones that are clear - the ending IS ambiguous (and that's all I'll say about that) - but unlike the last book I reviewed (The Sudden Appearance of Hope), this IS a book that doesn't get sidetracked from its core ideas and really takes those to a proper conclusion.
I could nitpick the story a little - the book could spend a little more time exploring the side characters and the relationship between Vanja and Nina - but it'd be just that - nitpicking - and the minor nitpicks did not really detract from the power of this story one bit. This isn't a "fun" book - not that much dystopian fiction is - but it is one that will make you think and wonder at its ideas for a long time after you finish.
Final note: I listened to this in audiobook form and the audiobook quality is excellent.
Anyhow, probably my favorite book I've read all year. Read this.
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