Introspective Dystopia.
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The blurb
Barry James is detained in a quarantine facility in the blistering heat of the Great Karoo. Here he exists in two worlds: the discordant and unforgiving reality of his incarceration and the lyrical, snowy landscapes of his dreams.
He has cut all ties with his previous life, his health is failing, and he has given up all hope. All he has to cling to are the meanderings of his restless mind, the daily round of pills and the journals he reluctantly keeps as testimony to a life once lived.
And then there’s an opportunity to escape. But to escape what? And where to? Can there be a life to go back to? Is there still a world out there in the barren wasteland beyond the fence?
The Review
Those who enjoy dystopian fiction will no doubt be drawn to this one, as I was - which promises a nearby dystopian future in which an unknown respiratory illness has ravaged humankind and many sufferers are being kept in quarantine. Along with our protagonist, Barry James, we are not privy to what has happened in the outside world, so it is up to the imagination to envisage what society might exist outside of the treatment facilities confines.
This is not a book with a huge amount of action, which I find unusual for a dystopian theme, which are usually action packed. Although there is a 'prison-break' type escape involved, actually not a lot happens. The format of the book is almost all based on James' journals and so it is very introspective in nature, especially as he tries to disentangle his reality from the vivid nature of his consuming dreams. (It's always difficult to absorbed by other people's dreams anyway) However, for readers that enjoy focussing on a character study of how one individual reacts to such extreme circumstances and the slow breakdown of his determination to survive and personality, this will provide an interesting read.
Partly, I found engaging with this book a bit difficult at times, as the protagonist reacts to everything around him with such apparent apathy. He really only seems to engage with the escape plan just for 'something to do', to escape from the monotony of his days. It's hard to care about the outcome, when the main character doesn't care that much about his own survival.
Having said that, there is a lot of underlying tension in this book that slowly builds; I always felt that there was some reveal just lurking around the corner, or some big event that would undo everything we knew so far, but it never transpired. This book left me with more questions than answers, something I personally find uncomfortable and unsatisfying, but I'm sure other readers will be fascinated by.
Low is obviously a talented writer and is able to bring about a despairing atmosphere to this book that really takes hold. The book has a very dream-like, ethereal quality to it, that is intentionally and carefully crafted. I'll be on the look out for future work by this author.
This is not a book about actions, or that comments on how this outbreak of disease affects the wider world. It keeps its sphere of focus very restricted - just on the inhabitants of the facility and the medical staff they interact with. It does however make you consider our own feelings about those unfortunate souls basically kept in captivity, in order to stop the spread of an infectious disease and the morality of this.
Asylum was released on 15th April 2019 by Legend Press.
Big thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.