Escape from Reality
Have you ever read a book that so captivates your imagination that you don’t want to leave it and return to the real world? One that shocks you when you look up at the clock and see how much time has past? I’m not talking about an “interesting” story of mystery of fantasy, I’m talking about a story that makes you strive to comprehend, that confuses, that puzzles, that draws deep emotions by its imagery. I picked up this book called “The Child Garden” by Geoff Ryman from a church book sale for the price of “a plastic bag full of books for $6”.
I’ve pretty much given up trying to find a good book by browsing the best sellers list (I guess I don’t normally like what “the crowd” likes), or by carefully analyzing book covers and reading random pages. I’ve found most of my favourite books by dumb luck. My current process is to start at the bargain bins and just read the cover enough to ensure it’s not another “murder mystery”, “romance”, or “big court case”. (I’ve read enough of those to need a break for 10 years or so) After that, the strategy is volume – just pick up books, give them a chance, and don’t be afraid to stop reading it, if it’s boring.
“The Child Garden” has grabbed me completely. I haven’t even read a quarter of the book yet and I’m loving it so much I’m already worried the rest of the book won’t be as good as what I’ve read so far. (is that the pessimist in me?)
Anyways, what can I say about the story so far? It’s based in the future, and most every human illness and frailty has been cured by injections of types of a “virus”. People have a virus injected which them everything they need to know instantly so even toddlers are as smart as an adult from today. But the problem is that since people don’t need to “learn” anything anymore, life is very static and boring (although most people can’t even see that). The main character (a girl) meets some sort of genetically engineered polar bear person that doesn’t use any virus so still knows how to create and enjoy music and life. This causes the girl to fall in love with this bear and begin to see her world in a completely different way.
Why do I like this story? Because it’s so weird I don’t know what will happen next? Because I have a desire to break out of my static and boring world? I don’t know. And maybe the best thing is that I don’t care if this story wraps up nicely in the end, it’s already served its purpose for me.
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