Borne, but in the wrong world
I am currently reading Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. I’m near the end of the book, and the whole thing has been a series of twists and turns set in a post-apocalyptic (or maybe just apocalyptic) future. The story is about Rachel, Wick, and Borne, who all live together in an abandoned city ruled over by the biotech bear project gone wrong. Their lives are becoming more and more dangerous and the relationships between all three of them get very tense. It is outside of the zone of my usual reading material, being a combination of adventure and sci fi, but I am enjoying it; the concepts are so bizarre, and it makes for a very entertaining read. Personally, I don’t think the book is overly scary, but I found some of the connections between its world and our world disturbing. Other parts were just creepy and violent, such as when they interact or fight with “Mord proxies” (monstrous biotech bears) or “changelings” (children who can no longer be considered humans because they have been modified to be a part of a cult or army).
The book is in first person past tense from Rachel’s point of view, which I thought was a fascinating choice on the author’s part. Readers can tell that Rachel is out of place in this world. She seems to have had an almost normal childhood. Also, she used words I didn’t know before looking them up, such as “frisson,” “fractious,” and “espionage.” This language sticks out amid all of the death and destruction she is usually describing. When making a schedule for Borne, she included things like “Borne plays the piano… Borne recites poetry,” pointing to a formal education (VanderMeer, 163). Rachel is the kind of person who would fit right into our current society, so to see her cast into such a cruel world makes it apparent that it could happen to anyone.
The book also offers blunt commentary on current society and where the author imagines we could end up if we continue at this rate. The fictional world is poisoned, the seas have risen to cover islands, and the rain is toxic, not to mention the experimental creatures who live in and dominate over the city. No semblance of government or organization exists any more. There isn’t an explicit explanation of how all of this came to be, but it is suggested that “The Company” began making biotech so powerful that it could no longer control it. Our world is currently very technology centered, and while I haven’t yet heard of any ambitious projects aiming to turn humans into guardian bears, who’s to say that it couldn’t happen eventually?
There are certainly times during the book when it feels like Rachel is living in the future of our world, which I think was a conscious choice on VanderMeer’s part. For instance, when she finds an old dollhouse in a room with bodies “everywhere… the few husks of bones, the disintegrating skulls,” we see a part of our world (a dollhouse) in her world (a room full of corpses) (VanderMeer, 191). Rachel is jarred by these types of experiences too, saying, “I had a moment of dislocation,” when she sees the dollhouse (VanderMeer, 191). As I mentioned, she lived a nearly normal early childhood. She sometimes has flashbacks to her past, and she lived on an island until she and her parents became refugees, fleeing from one country/city to the next. Before they had to start living on the run though, she lead a normal life. She went to school, went out for dinner on her birthday, and had loved biology.
I would highly recommend reading this book. It provides a lot to think about, and being able to pretend you are in the characters’ situations without actually being in them is exciting. I appreciated how fast paced of a read it was, because the story never slowed down. I still have about a sixth of the book left, and I am not sure how it’s going to end, but I am really hoping that Rachel, Wick, and Borne get a happy ending after everything they have gone through.
This sounds like a really exciting read. It seems like the relationships between the characters are unique and interesting. I also like the element of mystery and themes of secrecy and vagueness. I'll definitely check out this book!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds exciting and kind of scary too. The mord proxies and changelings seem terrifying, but very interesting to read about. It sounds like a very cool read, and I'll have to check it out soon!
ReplyDeleteI really like Sci-Fi novels. I also feel like this book is a great combination of adventure and Sci-Fi. The apocalyptic world it is set in seems so interesting. This book can raise questions as to if we'll actually end up like this. Overall it seems like a great read and I'll definitely consider reading it to find out more.
ReplyDeleteBorne sounds like a really intense but fun read! The dystopian novels that I’ve read are sometimes quite stressful because, like you said, it’s unsettling to see how easily our world could evolve into the fictional world created by the authors. I found it interesting that Rachel’s character would be a better fit in our world because it kind of shows that even though the world around her has evolved, she has not yet fully adapted to it. Hopefully I can read this book soon!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting sci-fi book! I'm intrigued by the bizarre creatures and concepts you mentioned. I can also see how reading from Rachel's point of view really grounds the social commentary and dystopian element by contrasting Rachel's normalcy with the troubled future she lives in. I haven't read sci-fi in a couple months but this book sounds promising!
ReplyDeleteI know this is really unoriginal, but Borne sounds super interesting! The apocalyptical sci-fi aspect probably makes the book fast paced and exciting. Rachel seems like a cool character, with a personality and traits like someone from modern times, but thrown into this (kinda freaky) chaos. Borne looks pretty good!
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to expand the genres of books that I read lately, so this would be an interesting one to try. The whole idea of living in a world with no laws or government, and seeing how characters deal with a variety of challenges posed by this is very interesting. ill have to try this book.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a sci-fi book in a long time and this sound really cool! The whole concept of changelings is so chilling but I am really interested in how Rachel reacts to them. The plot also sound super suspenseful especially since we find out about Rachel's past as the story progresses. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be a very interesting way for a book to go. I feel like the books' choice to move towards a post capitalist dystopia, I do not think the three characters will get a good ending, since the book is past tense with only Rachel's point of view. Especially considering the messages I think an ambiguous or unequivocally bad ending may suit the book better, this is a very interesting book I am sure to read.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting read! I don't usually read sci-fi but as you described, the engaging topics and plot make me inclined to check it out! I also think this might relate to some topics we talked about in bio recently, as we just learned about biotechnology and its uses.
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