I only read The Giver. It was pretty good, but not particularly good enough for me to want to keep reading the rest. I've put them on my mental "eventually read" list, but won't actually bother to put them on any wishlists, so I may forget about them before I get around to them. I think one of the things I disliked about the book was the mixture of technology and magic. Usually I like sci/fan crossovers, but somehow the magic of what's-his-name's memory ability is just so hand-wavy that it bugged me.
The implications that teenage girls are forced into reproduction is so creepy in itself (Vessels wear a leather mask during birth so they don't see the baby) that I'm surprised Lowry went there at all.
Reminds me of The Handmaid's Tale. Now that's a book I can read again. :-P
But is it really forcing if the girls think that this is the right thing to do and do it willingly? I mean, we don't hear any stories about girls rebelling (at least not in The Giver). Of course, they might just be too drugged to rebel before they get to that point and then be trapped into it afterwards... Hm, I wonder where they get the sperm from. Maybe from the same people making the decisions about who gets to reproduce? I forget who assigns the jobs.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2013-05-04 05:18 pm (UTC)The implications that teenage girls are forced into reproduction is so creepy in itself (Vessels wear a leather mask during birth so they don't see the baby) that I'm surprised Lowry went there at all.
Reminds me of The Handmaid's Tale. Now that's a book I can read again. :-P
But is it really forcing if the girls think that this is the right thing to do and do it willingly? I mean, we don't hear any stories about girls rebelling (at least not in The Giver). Of course, they might just be too drugged to rebel before they get to that point and then be trapped into it afterwards... Hm, I wonder where they get the sperm from. Maybe from the same people making the decisions about who gets to reproduce? I forget who assigns the jobs.