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Divided Kingdom
It is winter, somewhere in the United Kingdom, and an eight-year-old boy is removed from his home and family in the middle of the night. He learns that he is the victim of an extraordinary experiment. In an attempt to reform society, the government has divided the population into four groups, each representing a different personality type. The land, too, has been divided into quarters. Borders have been established, reinforced by concrete walls, armed guards and rolls of razor wire. Plunged headlong into this brave new world, the boy tries to make the best of things, unaware that ahead of him lies a truly explosive moment, a revelation that will challenge everything he believes in and will, in the end, put his very life in jeopardy ...
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
37 people are currently reading
1776 people want to read
About the author
Rupert Thomson
34 books315 followersRupert Thomson, (born November 5, 1955) is an English writer. He is the author of thirteen critically acclaimed novels and an award-winning memoir. He has lived in many cities around the world, including Athens, Berlin, New York, Sydney, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and Rome. In 2010, after several years in Barcelona, he moved back to London. He has contributed to the Financial Times, the Guardian, the London Review of Books, Granta, and the Independent.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
March 19, 2017
Well. I'm not entirely certain what that was. Thomson can really set a mood, though. I feel as if I myself have lived among the sanguines, melancholics, cholerics and phlegmatics - and those who don't fit anywhere, too. I enjoyed pondering nature vs nurture and the day-to-day effects of environment, all through fiction.
November 5, 2012
Dystopian literature has always appealed to me, for whatever reason, and the concept behind Divided Kingdom had me intrigued from the moment I read about it. The title refers to the "reassignment" of the United Kingdom into a new "Divided Kingdom": Based on individual temperaments of choleric, melancholic, sanguine and phlegmatic (these in turn based on the ancient medical concept of humorism), the population is broken into 4 quarters. The borders that separate the new quarters are heavily guarded and crossing without government permission highly illegal.
I found this book disappointing because in many ways it seemed unfinished. There were several plot-lines or characters that were set up to be really important only to disappear from the story entirely. It's written in first person narrative and I found the character difficult to identify with. This is not helped by the massive amount of years the book covers, starting in childhood, leaving the reader wondering whose voice we are hearing, i.e., is he looking back at his unbelievable past from an old age? Are we getting it as it happens? Thomas Parry spends much of the book without a goal or purpose. When he does have a goal it's quite exciting. The rest of the time it's just a bunch of stuff happening, with half-baked, poorly explained twists that detract from the story, and I was left wondering why I should care.
It's quite slow at times, mainly for this reason, even though some parts are quite well-written and the concept is interesting and reasonably well-defined. It's worth a read if you like dystopian fiction, although it could have told the same story in half the pages (if it weren't for the endless descriptive similes) and perhaps earned another star from me. Once a character with magic powers had been, shall we say, suggested, I realised that I was not likely to get any further sense from this book. Nevertheless, I blundered on and forced myself to read to the end, hoping to find some stroke of genius in the book's final chapters. As a word of warning (without spoilers), I found the ending disappointing and couldn't tell if the author was trying to be ambiguous or if he just felt like he'd written enough words.
I found this book disappointing because in many ways it seemed unfinished. There were several plot-lines or characters that were set up to be really important only to disappear from the story entirely. It's written in first person narrative and I found the character difficult to identify with. This is not helped by the massive amount of years the book covers, starting in childhood, leaving the reader wondering whose voice we are hearing, i.e., is he looking back at his unbelievable past from an old age? Are we getting it as it happens? Thomas Parry spends much of the book without a goal or purpose. When he does have a goal it's quite exciting. The rest of the time it's just a bunch of stuff happening, with half-baked, poorly explained twists that detract from the story, and I was left wondering why I should care.
It's quite slow at times, mainly for this reason, even though some parts are quite well-written and the concept is interesting and reasonably well-defined. It's worth a read if you like dystopian fiction, although it could have told the same story in half the pages (if it weren't for the endless descriptive similes) and perhaps earned another star from me. Once a character with magic powers had been, shall we say, suggested, I realised that I was not likely to get any further sense from this book. Nevertheless, I blundered on and forced myself to read to the end, hoping to find some stroke of genius in the book's final chapters. As a word of warning (without spoilers), I found the ending disappointing and couldn't tell if the author was trying to be ambiguous or if he just felt like he'd written enough words.
September 25, 2011
All right, I shamefully admit it: I love 'psychological' tests. What does your colour preference reveal about your love-life? What animal do you resemble most? Would you survive a reality television show? Thus, "Divided Kindom" was straight up my alley.
With the United Kingdom living in utter chaos, the powers that be see no other choice but to divide the country into four different quarters, according to people's psychological temperaments. And whereas I normally do tests with myself in mind, this book left me wondering about others. If we were all to be moved to different countries, depending on personality type, where would my friends, family and colleagues go?
My optimistic, action-oriented friends would be happy in the sanguine, red quarter. My bossy, over-assertive supervisor would be having an argument in the choleric yellow quarter. My hippy-dippy fellow yogi's would mellow it out in the flegmatic blue quarter. And me? I would just cry and cry for missing them all in the melancholic green quarter...
If you are into dystopian literature, psychology and a hint of David Lynch (enter the Bathysphere) go read this book!
If you just want to know what type you are, I found mine here:
http://www.ptypes.com/temperament_tes...
Be careful though, for "the new racism is psychological" (p169).
With the United Kingdom living in utter chaos, the powers that be see no other choice but to divide the country into four different quarters, according to people's psychological temperaments. And whereas I normally do tests with myself in mind, this book left me wondering about others. If we were all to be moved to different countries, depending on personality type, where would my friends, family and colleagues go?
My optimistic, action-oriented friends would be happy in the sanguine, red quarter. My bossy, over-assertive supervisor would be having an argument in the choleric yellow quarter. My hippy-dippy fellow yogi's would mellow it out in the flegmatic blue quarter. And me? I would just cry and cry for missing them all in the melancholic green quarter...
If you are into dystopian literature, psychology and a hint of David Lynch (enter the Bathysphere) go read this book!
If you just want to know what type you are, I found mine here:
http://www.ptypes.com/temperament_tes...
Be careful though, for "the new racism is psychological" (p169).
March 23, 2017
Interesting take on dystopian novel - i haven't seen one based on the 4 humors before. I enjoyed following the main character as he eventually sees all the different parts of the society. It also does a good job of conveying how traumatizing the creation of this system was and its lingering after effects.
December 3, 2014
Interesting dystopian novel from Rupert Thomson, whose only other book that I've read was set in the 13th century. Britain has been divided into four separate states, with people sorted according to their temperament;these reflect the four humors, so there's a nod to the mediaeval in it. Not entirely convincing, but the commentary on the British class system is clear enough. A curiosity, and one I enjoyed reading.
September 14, 2011
I'm fascinated by Renaissance medicine, so I found the premise of a modern population forcefully reorganized based on humoral theory intriguing… but not plausible, unfortunately; and several other points in the wandering plot, including the ending, strained credulity as well. However, it’s still a story that hits hard and sticks with you, and the writing carries everything along smoothly (and pushes my rating up to four stars), with beautifully unexpected imagery and similes on nearly every page.
"Ivy had wrapped itself around the taps. Dead insects filled the grooves on the stainless-steel draining-board. Against the far wall stood a fridge with its door open, like a man selling watches from the inside of his coat."
"She had hair the colour of copper wire, or bracken, and curious heavy-lidded eyes, and her face was covered with freckles to such a degree that she gave the impression of having been camouflaged."
"Her father appeared on the deck of the houseboat, his face the colour of a peeled apple."
"I had a feeling I hadn’t had since I was a boy – a panic that uncoiled slowly as a snake, a powerful dread of what the day might bring."
"I even turned a somersault, the sky whirling like the skirts of a woman doing an old-fashioned dance."
"I stood and stared at the cracks between the paving-stones. They looked precise but temporary, as though they had been drawn in pencil. As though they could be rubbed out. There was something frightening about that, but something exhilarating too. Like turning your hand over and seeing that all the lines have gone. The world could disappear. I could disappear. A blank slate everywhere I looked."
"Then he was gone – like a swimmer caught be a rip-tide, or a drowning man being taken down for the third time."
"Ivy had wrapped itself around the taps. Dead insects filled the grooves on the stainless-steel draining-board. Against the far wall stood a fridge with its door open, like a man selling watches from the inside of his coat."
"She had hair the colour of copper wire, or bracken, and curious heavy-lidded eyes, and her face was covered with freckles to such a degree that she gave the impression of having been camouflaged."
"Her father appeared on the deck of the houseboat, his face the colour of a peeled apple."
"I had a feeling I hadn’t had since I was a boy – a panic that uncoiled slowly as a snake, a powerful dread of what the day might bring."
"I even turned a somersault, the sky whirling like the skirts of a woman doing an old-fashioned dance."
"I stood and stared at the cracks between the paving-stones. They looked precise but temporary, as though they had been drawn in pencil. As though they could be rubbed out. There was something frightening about that, but something exhilarating too. Like turning your hand over and seeing that all the lines have gone. The world could disappear. I could disappear. A blank slate everywhere I looked."
"Then he was gone – like a swimmer caught be a rip-tide, or a drowning man being taken down for the third time."
March 26, 2008
Rupert Thomson has proven to be a master of the English language, gifted in weaving multi-plotted stories into the fabric that is the main tapestry of his novels. Previous novels, such as "Dreams of Leaving" and "The Insult", also endow Thomson with a crown of originality . It is not unusual for me to lay a Thomson novel in my lap, mid-sentence, to take pause and wonder, "Where the...? How does he do it?". His most recent work, "Divided Kingdom", ushers the reader into a disaffected Great Britain, now splintered into 4 bordered regions created by its Clockwork Orange-styled efficient government. Societal problems are oversimplified and categorized as one of four "humors", reminiscent of our own tendency to generalize individuals based on certain personality traits. It would be like if the US government rounded up the "angry folks" and declared to the downtown city regions to be their permanent residence. In Thomson's Kingdom, families are systematically dismantled, paving the way for a winding tale from the narrator, an affected youth whose life, like the Kingdom, is divided. What begins as a non-violent (but uncomfortably passive-aggressive) forced separation from his parents leads to his ironic career working for the very system that broke up his childhood home. Rest assured, Thomson's use of metaphor and imagery can at times "tighten up" the tale as much as it can, and will, obfuscate reality from the surrealistic intersections between the narrator and various ghost-like characters along the way. In short, dramatic irony is not ours; it belongs to the system.
June 20, 2018
The author has a knack for painting beautiful imagery.
Occasionally got a bit slow but his writing style made it easy to forgive that. Maybe Ken Follett fans might like this.
Occasionally got a bit slow but his writing style made it easy to forgive that. Maybe Ken Follett fans might like this.
June 5, 2017
Beauty in theme & words chosen.. A deeply felt voyage through humanities gifts.
"Clarice's face whirled.. like a clumsy planet.."
I wish a kept a list, but this captures something of the voice - not a critique but a loving, forgiving, expansion to celestial imperfection, with humor, with unbounded empathy.
Every girl "Thomas" fell in love with, I did along with him. Every loss he encountered in others stays with me now.
I hope it offers the same to you.
"Clarice's face whirled.. like a clumsy planet.."
I wish a kept a list, but this captures something of the voice - not a critique but a loving, forgiving, expansion to celestial imperfection, with humor, with unbounded empathy.
Every girl "Thomas" fell in love with, I did along with him. Every loss he encountered in others stays with me now.
I hope it offers the same to you.
May 27, 2017
An interesting concept, don't know why it hasn't been picked up for a movie. This summer you would see the usual dreadful mix of recycling ideas, while this fresh new concept of dystopia is much more provocative and complex. For anyone who spent any time in a group of ppl isolated even for a week know how much our temperament matters. This book takes the idea of dividing ppl according to their temperaments and runs with it. Problem is, IRL there are not that many pure types, most are a mix with some more dominating traits. Temperament are biologically determined, you are born into it, but still you can tweak your nature a little bit to acquire more desired characteristics. In the narrative here though, everything is decided for you, determining where you live and, most importantly, how. Not a far fetch concept, as we all live according to bizarre determinism of state borders. No matter how talented or mediocre one is, your level of living and most of life is already decided by the geography of your birth. If you are lucky enough to be born in advanced country with high GDP, you will certainly live a simple life, free from the constant struggle for survival. And if one js born in a country on a lower end of the scale, he/ she will be working all his life just to have a roof over one head and feed his/ her family. Being a woman is a huge disadvantage too. So this book just take another way of dividing borders to show how little really one has power over fate.
December 15, 2019
Uitgelezen: 'Divided Kingdom' van Rupert Thomson.
Dit leek de meest passende titel in mijn boekenkast om de kater van de Britse verkiezingen weg te spoelen en het stelde niet teleur.
In de nabije toekomst is het Verenigd Koninkrijk helemaal de verkeerde kant opgegaan, "obsessed with acquisition and celebrity, a place defined by envy, misery and greed". Dus besluit de overheid in te grijpen en de bevolking op te delen in vier groepen, volgens hun persoonlijkheidstype. De hoopvolle optimisten wonen voortaan in het 'Red Quarter', de korte lontjes krijgen het 'Yellow Quarter', de depressieve melancholici het 'Green Quarter' en het 'Blue Quarter' ten slotte is voor de stoïcijnse nuchtere types. Families worden gescheiden (ja, ook de koningin wordt van haar man en kinderen gescheiden) om psychologische besmetting te vermijden en dan begint de hele pret natuurlijk.
Vlot en knap geschreven, net als het ander boek ('The Insult') dat ik al van hem gelezen had.
Dit leek de meest passende titel in mijn boekenkast om de kater van de Britse verkiezingen weg te spoelen en het stelde niet teleur.
In de nabije toekomst is het Verenigd Koninkrijk helemaal de verkeerde kant opgegaan, "obsessed with acquisition and celebrity, a place defined by envy, misery and greed". Dus besluit de overheid in te grijpen en de bevolking op te delen in vier groepen, volgens hun persoonlijkheidstype. De hoopvolle optimisten wonen voortaan in het 'Red Quarter', de korte lontjes krijgen het 'Yellow Quarter', de depressieve melancholici het 'Green Quarter' en het 'Blue Quarter' ten slotte is voor de stoïcijnse nuchtere types. Families worden gescheiden (ja, ook de koningin wordt van haar man en kinderen gescheiden) om psychologische besmetting te vermijden en dan begint de hele pret natuurlijk.
Vlot en knap geschreven, net als het ander boek ('The Insult') dat ik al van hem gelezen had.
December 9, 2008
I like Rupert Thomson a lot. Ever since the neon orange spine of a paperback copy of his novel Soft called out to me at a London airport book shop prior to boarding an overseas plane back to the States in the summer of 2004 I've been hooked. By now I have read each of his eight novels published thus far.
Divided Kingdom was the first newly published Thomson I got to look forward to since that Heathrow discovery. The Chip Kidd designed cover of the Knopf hardcover edition featuring a mangled matrix of Big Ben photographs wet my appetite. The prospect of a dystopian United, no - excuse me, Divided Kingdom further contributed to my high expectations.
For me the book certainly delivered in the entertainment category. I would even go as far as likening Divided Kingdom to Thomson's closest approximation to the conventions of the action adventure. That may sound bad, but I mean that in a positive way. The hero's quest at the core of the story is well articulated and the novel clings to it without getting distracted with parallel protagonists or seemingly incidental secondary plots. And the protagonist undergoes a number of challenging trials and transformations, both inside and out.
The premise of a large nation state (i.e. the United Kingdom) subdividing into four novel nation states in which its citizens are sorted by their respective temperaments strikes me as rather clever, its implausibility inviting a lowering of defenses on part of the reader that in turn allows for some of the tale's insights to seep into their morale fabric. Which is not to say that Divided Kingdom offers any truly novel or ground-breaking challenges to Western society's notions of privacy, dignity or justice. Nor does it mark remarkable progress in holding a mirror to society-permeating denial or naivete such as totalitarianism therapy included in the oft-quoted 1984 or Fahrenheit 451 managed to do.
That being said, I'm not the kind of fool that poo-poo's any given book's failure to measure up to well-established classics. No, I was occasionally moved by the scenarios presented and the struggle that the story's protagonist finds thrust upon him at the outset.
Reading this book also made me realize that I sense an innately male quality to Thomson's storytelling, as if each one of his novels is imbued with a male set of elementary story particles. Even though he is well-versed in establishing compelling characters of any gender, the situations they find themselves in and the way narrative tension around them is built and released strikes me as clearly indicative of the author's own gender. Haruki Murakami shares this trait in my mind. And again, I emphasize this as a positive. Perhaps it's a case of authors following their instincts with fewer inhibitions than authors consciously concerned with writing universal prose (and in the process arriving at stories of a more immediate appeal to me and apparently a large number of other readers.)
In the end I felt a sense of loss when I reached the last page of this book - my tell-tale four-star-review gut-feeling. I clearly enjoyed visiting this unsettling universe and the hero at its center whose fate it is to examine, question, and eventually disobey its cruel and arbitrary logic. And as such things go, deal with the unpleasant but ultimately liberating consequences of this awakening. A good read.
Divided Kingdom was the first newly published Thomson I got to look forward to since that Heathrow discovery. The Chip Kidd designed cover of the Knopf hardcover edition featuring a mangled matrix of Big Ben photographs wet my appetite. The prospect of a dystopian United, no - excuse me, Divided Kingdom further contributed to my high expectations.
For me the book certainly delivered in the entertainment category. I would even go as far as likening Divided Kingdom to Thomson's closest approximation to the conventions of the action adventure. That may sound bad, but I mean that in a positive way. The hero's quest at the core of the story is well articulated and the novel clings to it without getting distracted with parallel protagonists or seemingly incidental secondary plots. And the protagonist undergoes a number of challenging trials and transformations, both inside and out.
The premise of a large nation state (i.e. the United Kingdom) subdividing into four novel nation states in which its citizens are sorted by their respective temperaments strikes me as rather clever, its implausibility inviting a lowering of defenses on part of the reader that in turn allows for some of the tale's insights to seep into their morale fabric. Which is not to say that Divided Kingdom offers any truly novel or ground-breaking challenges to Western society's notions of privacy, dignity or justice. Nor does it mark remarkable progress in holding a mirror to society-permeating denial or naivete such as totalitarianism therapy included in the oft-quoted 1984 or Fahrenheit 451 managed to do.
That being said, I'm not the kind of fool that poo-poo's any given book's failure to measure up to well-established classics. No, I was occasionally moved by the scenarios presented and the struggle that the story's protagonist finds thrust upon him at the outset.
Reading this book also made me realize that I sense an innately male quality to Thomson's storytelling, as if each one of his novels is imbued with a male set of elementary story particles. Even though he is well-versed in establishing compelling characters of any gender, the situations they find themselves in and the way narrative tension around them is built and released strikes me as clearly indicative of the author's own gender. Haruki Murakami shares this trait in my mind. And again, I emphasize this as a positive. Perhaps it's a case of authors following their instincts with fewer inhibitions than authors consciously concerned with writing universal prose (and in the process arriving at stories of a more immediate appeal to me and apparently a large number of other readers.)
In the end I felt a sense of loss when I reached the last page of this book - my tell-tale four-star-review gut-feeling. I clearly enjoyed visiting this unsettling universe and the hero at its center whose fate it is to examine, question, and eventually disobey its cruel and arbitrary logic. And as such things go, deal with the unpleasant but ultimately liberating consequences of this awakening. A good read.
October 21, 2020
This book was fantastic. One of the more unique books I've read, but I was pretty drawn in at every turn. Great intro to Thomson.
July 7, 2022
Now THIS book was an absolute work of art from start to end! This book takes you on a journey, where our protagonist (Thomas) explores many different realms that induce him to discover such groundbreaking things about himself and the system that governs his society. I really took my time just embracing every revelation alongside Thomas, and learning why a divided society would inevitably crash and burn. Basically, when everything is predetermined, it's bound to become a self-fulfilling prophecy that ultimately shapes your character.. and when Thomas acknowledges this, he realises that this system is not the be-all and end-all. He stops enabling this system and strives to experience life as he personally sees it. Anyway, I am content with my rating of 5 stars for this book, and I think anyone would find it very intriguing.
October 15, 2009
I agree that on the surface this is indeed a 'dystopian' novel. It has the standard beginning -- there is a description of a very different future that hinges on a drastic change made by a totalitarian government. It's supposed to pave the way to paradise but of course the result is dreadful for most of those involved.
But it seems that Mr. Thomson, unlike other writers in this 'genre,' does not want to write about government, politics or how the system he has invented would actually work/not work. He wants to write about human nature. The world he has created, where people are divided by their humor, is just a vehicle he uses to analyze humankind's shared differences and similarities.
So...doesn't sound so bad right? And it's not awful, but it suffers from some painful flaws. First, the governmental system and the way people act under it borders on preposterous, and Mr. Thomson does little to make the reader feel like it's in any way plausible. He describes the situation then moves on. Next, if he does want to write about humans as emotional beings he should have done more to give his narrator, Thomas Parry, a bit of humanity. Never have I read a 300 page, first-person novel and felt like I knew less about the main character. He's completely two-dimensional...again, just a foil that Mr. Thomson uses to further his thoughts on human nature as a whole.
There's more that stretches the reader's patience but I won't get too into it. The novel takes an uncomfortable twist into the supernatural at the end...eh...really? It's like the less and less confident the author is in his plot the more vague and 'mysterious' he gets.
This wasn't a terrible book...it has it's moments and the shame is that the dystopian world created is fun to consider...but the Divided Kingdom is not really what the novel is about.
But it seems that Mr. Thomson, unlike other writers in this 'genre,' does not want to write about government, politics or how the system he has invented would actually work/not work. He wants to write about human nature. The world he has created, where people are divided by their humor, is just a vehicle he uses to analyze humankind's shared differences and similarities.
So...doesn't sound so bad right? And it's not awful, but it suffers from some painful flaws. First, the governmental system and the way people act under it borders on preposterous, and Mr. Thomson does little to make the reader feel like it's in any way plausible. He describes the situation then moves on. Next, if he does want to write about humans as emotional beings he should have done more to give his narrator, Thomas Parry, a bit of humanity. Never have I read a 300 page, first-person novel and felt like I knew less about the main character. He's completely two-dimensional...again, just a foil that Mr. Thomson uses to further his thoughts on human nature as a whole.
There's more that stretches the reader's patience but I won't get too into it. The novel takes an uncomfortable twist into the supernatural at the end...eh...really? It's like the less and less confident the author is in his plot the more vague and 'mysterious' he gets.
This wasn't a terrible book...it has it's moments and the shame is that the dystopian world created is fun to consider...but the Divided Kingdom is not really what the novel is about.
July 22, 2015
I read Thomson's The Five Gates of Hell back in January and really enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to getting my teeth into this one. Unfortunately, I've been left feeling extremely disappointed.
It was an interesting premise to begin with - the United Kingdom being divided into four countries, and people being herded into different areas depending on their personality. I think Thomson could have done a lot with this idea, but for me it fell flat quite quickly. Although the book was set in a dystopian, alternate future, very little was given in order to deem this world plausible even in the slightest.
The main character is very two-dimensional, at times almost inhuman. He barely seems to register the ordeals he experiences, and he seems to have the emotional range of a teaspoon.
Towards the end of the novel, Thomson introduces a somewhat supernatural aspect that seems to do nothing but point to the possibility that our author was struggling to come up with a suitable ending, or was faltering in his ability to continue the tale. This plot twist does absolutely nothing to add to the novel's already poor believability, and just made me feel a bit uncomfortable and awkward.
I really wouldn't recommend this; I was looking for it to be an exciting political thriller that also delves deep into the intricacy of human nature and relationships, but instead I got a dull story of a man's decline. Also, the ending was weak and I was left feeling as though I had wasted my time. It's a shame, because I had really enjoyed The Five Gates of Hell. I'm hoping to try another of Thomson's novels in the near future, and hopefully I'll be able to reestablish my respect for his writing.
It was an interesting premise to begin with - the United Kingdom being divided into four countries, and people being herded into different areas depending on their personality. I think Thomson could have done a lot with this idea, but for me it fell flat quite quickly. Although the book was set in a dystopian, alternate future, very little was given in order to deem this world plausible even in the slightest.
The main character is very two-dimensional, at times almost inhuman. He barely seems to register the ordeals he experiences, and he seems to have the emotional range of a teaspoon.
Towards the end of the novel, Thomson introduces a somewhat supernatural aspect that seems to do nothing but point to the possibility that our author was struggling to come up with a suitable ending, or was faltering in his ability to continue the tale. This plot twist does absolutely nothing to add to the novel's already poor believability, and just made me feel a bit uncomfortable and awkward.
I really wouldn't recommend this; I was looking for it to be an exciting political thriller that also delves deep into the intricacy of human nature and relationships, but instead I got a dull story of a man's decline. Also, the ending was weak and I was left feeling as though I had wasted my time. It's a shame, because I had really enjoyed The Five Gates of Hell. I'm hoping to try another of Thomson's novels in the near future, and hopefully I'll be able to reestablish my respect for his writing.
Read
August 3, 2011In the future, the UK is divided up into sections depending on one's personality traits. The main character, Thomas is kidnapped at age 8 and is forced to live with a new family. He has no memory of his former life. The four quarters of England are based on the four humors. The red quarter is for sanguine people (blood), and is opptimistic and goal oriented. The yellow quarter, choleric (yellow bile) is for violent and angry people. The green quarter, melancholic (black bile) is for depressed and intellectual. The blue quarter, phlegmatic (phlem) is for people who are spiritual but sickly. Each quarter has its distinct character, and Thomas gets to explore each one. However, the white people, do not fit into either quarter and depending on where they roam become part of a mass genocide or are revered as sages. Thomas belongs in the red quarter, but after his travels, figures out that not only are people made up of each quality, but the government's attempts at dividing people are in vain. People are people, and there is growinig discontent within each quarter. This book has lots of adventure and drama, that reads like a choose your own adventure book for adults. Superb dystopian fiction! If you like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Clockwork Orange, you will love this book!
July 15, 2018
‘The divided kingdom was united after all, by just one thing: longing’
‘It is winter, somewhere in the United Kingdom. An eight year old boy is removed from his home and family in the middle of the night. He soon learns that he is the victim of an extraordinary experiment. In an attempt to reform society, the government had divided the population into four groups, each representing a different personality type.
Plunged headlong into this brave new world, the boy tries to make the best of things, unaware that ahead of him lies a truly explosive moment’
This book was such a mixed bag for me, it’s so hard to review a book that both amazed and bored you. How do you even?!
But I’ll try. The concept was so brilliant, I was so invested at the beginning. It started off so promising - I loved the pacing, the confusion that was supposed to be felt at poor Thomas Parry being separated and forced into the ‘Rearrangement’, the characters were all super interesting - obviously the protagonist being the most so since it was in first person from his perspective.
But then, you know when a book tries to build a world by explaining how everyday things are done in said world? There was so much exposition after the beginning that I believe could have been missed out and I’d still get a good idea of how the world worked. BUT, after the several chapters of exposition, after the plot was kicked forward, I did become invested once again.
The prose was so perfect. Thompson writes so brilliantly, it flowed so well and was really rather beautiful. I would read more from him based on reading one book of his - just because his writing style is very enjoyable.
And then another decline in the rollercoaster - after the basic plot was set up... it felt like it lost direction. The story seemed to lose a sense of control, I had no clue how it would end... and then when it did end, even though I’d complained earlier about the story dragging in places, it just seemed to end so suddenly?! I have questions!!
‘It is winter, somewhere in the United Kingdom. An eight year old boy is removed from his home and family in the middle of the night. He soon learns that he is the victim of an extraordinary experiment. In an attempt to reform society, the government had divided the population into four groups, each representing a different personality type.
Plunged headlong into this brave new world, the boy tries to make the best of things, unaware that ahead of him lies a truly explosive moment’
This book was such a mixed bag for me, it’s so hard to review a book that both amazed and bored you. How do you even?!
But I’ll try. The concept was so brilliant, I was so invested at the beginning. It started off so promising - I loved the pacing, the confusion that was supposed to be felt at poor Thomas Parry being separated and forced into the ‘Rearrangement’, the characters were all super interesting - obviously the protagonist being the most so since it was in first person from his perspective.
But then, you know when a book tries to build a world by explaining how everyday things are done in said world? There was so much exposition after the beginning that I believe could have been missed out and I’d still get a good idea of how the world worked. BUT, after the several chapters of exposition, after the plot was kicked forward, I did become invested once again.
The prose was so perfect. Thompson writes so brilliantly, it flowed so well and was really rather beautiful. I would read more from him based on reading one book of his - just because his writing style is very enjoyable.
And then another decline in the rollercoaster - after the basic plot was set up... it felt like it lost direction. The story seemed to lose a sense of control, I had no clue how it would end... and then when it did end, even though I’d complained earlier about the story dragging in places, it just seemed to end so suddenly?! I have questions!!
October 28, 2016
Bah, bah e ancora bah.
Un libro decisamente pretenzioso... che mi ha ricordato tanti altri libri senza raggiungere un'identità definita (non in senso positivo, in questo caso) né, ancora più importante, un significato.
L'idea di partenza è buona, e l'autore stilisticamente non è male, sorvolando su un eccessivo utilizzo delle similitudini, talvolta azzardate, che spesso sanno di melassa, fanno arricciare la bocca.
Quello su cui proprio non si può sorvolare sono i buchi di trama. Ma tanti, lasciati là volutamente, per conferire al tutto un'aura misticheggiante, onirica, ma che in realtà semplicemente non funzionano; perché tu non puoi, con questa scusa, non spiegare assolutamente niente, non dare una coerenza agli avvenimenti, buttare lì elementi di cui non mi è possibile intuire nemmeno lontanamente la natura, il significato nel contesto del racconto, il valore simbolico e la funzionalità. Qualcuno lo fa -mi viene in mente il Lotto di Pynchon-, ma, a parte i lettori divisi, un fronte che lo laurea, un altro che vuole prenderlo a mazzate (io mi colloco nel mezzo), io, da lettrice, ci vedo una differente funzionalità, una vera e propria presa in giro (ed è per questo che voglio prenderlo a mazzate), la volontà di rendere il racconto un panino imbottito, una vanità enciclopedica... cose che qui mancano. È tutto nebuloso... senza fondamento.
SPOILER:
Ma chi ca**o è quindi Vishram? Nell'epilogo dichiara di voler designare Thomas come suo successore... MA DI COSA?! Esattamente cosa diamine fa?! E perché lui, e perché gli consente di passare l'inferno?
Perché Thomas passa l'inferno E COSA ha guadagnato da questo viaggio picaresco e a suo modo avventuroso? Pare ne sia uscito arricchito spiritualmente, ma di cosa. Il romanzo sembra partire come critica sociale al nuovo modello di organizzazione, che mette fortemente in discussione, perché Thomas pian piano (forse, mi vien da dire) acquista un tot sia di consapevolezza in più sulle persone di altri quartieri, sia sul fatto che una divisione caratteriale così netta in verità non esista, ma... a che je serve sta consapevolezza? Dubito pure che gli arrivi, un pochettino, perché mica si capisce cosa se ne voglia fare, perché Vishram (pare) lavori dentro al sistema, e...quindi? Di sovvertirlo non se ne parla, dunque?
Odell! A parte i capelli "color felce" (che cavolo di colore è? Ma è verde?!), questo dono di natura lo accettiamo così com'è (evvabbé questo si può fare, vedi, che ne so, Aimée Bender), come quello dei Bianchi (ci tornerò), ma... e quindi? Doveva riportare a casa il bambino... basta? Lei che è speciale perché riesce ad attraversare i confini cavalcando il vento, per questo proprio lei? Sembra quasi che si sia altro, ma niente, non esce fuori.
La Batisfera. Perché? Come? Solo un trucchetto degli esoterici Flemmatici per sondare le recondite profondità dell'animo umano? Perché sparisce? E perché a lui? E perché Ming? Ma che vogliono da lui, cosa vogliono che scopra, che si vuole che raggiunga? Non lo sapremo mai.
I Bianchi. Dei paria. Come concetto ci stanno benissimo, ma non si capisce da dove vengano fuori. Se lo chiede anche il protagonista stesso. C'erano prima della riorganizzazione? Parlavano ancora o avevano perso l'uso della parola -e guadagnato facoltà telepatiche- durante quel trauma? Thomas opera questa speculazione... ma noi non sapremo mai la verità.
A un certo punto viene detto che certi soggetti non vengono sottoposti al cambio di quartiere, ma che gli fanno ben altro. Non si saprà mai cos'altro.
Insomma, è un continuo "non si saprà mai". Elementi che vengono continuamente inseriti nel pentolone del racconto senza mai amalgamarsi nel sapore e nel corpo finali.
FINE SPOILER
L'idea è quella di voler per forza descrivere questo mondo spaccato in quattro (o in cinque, includendo i paria), lasciandoci immergere nelle suggestive atmosfere dei quartieri, ma mentre questo riesce molto bene per quanto riguarda i quartieri blu e anche giallo, per il verde fallisce miseramente. Innanzitutto non viene trattato a sufficienza; e poi l'idea di melanconia è rappresentata in maniera quantomai superficiale (in quanto Melanconica -me lo ha detto il test, ma credo fosse scontatissimo :D - ne sono rimasta stizzita e delusa; mio caro, la mia camera è ordinata, non ci bevo dentro, i vestiti sono nell'armadio, nonostante, è vero, le tendenze suicide che si alzano nei pressi del Natale e, è vero, la mia natura passivo-aggressiva. Ecco). Il quartiere rosso viene un po' tralasciato nelle descrizioni delle sue peculiarità, anche perché il protagonista ci vive, ed è descritto più nei difetti della nuova famiglia di Thomas che nella sua particolare atmosfera.
Ciò dà vita a una specie di romanzo picaresco, dove il protagonista dovrebbe essere il viaggio, e se gli unici presupposti e scopi fossero stati questi penso che ne sarebbe uscito qualcosa di migliore, con una scrittura a tratti melensa ma piacevolmente introspettiva. Invece si volatilizza, man mano, nell'aleatorio e nell'inconcludente.
Un libro decisamente pretenzioso... che mi ha ricordato tanti altri libri senza raggiungere un'identità definita (non in senso positivo, in questo caso) né, ancora più importante, un significato.
L'idea di partenza è buona, e l'autore stilisticamente non è male, sorvolando su un eccessivo utilizzo delle similitudini, talvolta azzardate, che spesso sanno di melassa, fanno arricciare la bocca.
Quello su cui proprio non si può sorvolare sono i buchi di trama. Ma tanti, lasciati là volutamente, per conferire al tutto un'aura misticheggiante, onirica, ma che in realtà semplicemente non funzionano; perché tu non puoi, con questa scusa, non spiegare assolutamente niente, non dare una coerenza agli avvenimenti, buttare lì elementi di cui non mi è possibile intuire nemmeno lontanamente la natura, il significato nel contesto del racconto, il valore simbolico e la funzionalità. Qualcuno lo fa -mi viene in mente il Lotto di Pynchon-, ma, a parte i lettori divisi, un fronte che lo laurea, un altro che vuole prenderlo a mazzate (io mi colloco nel mezzo), io, da lettrice, ci vedo una differente funzionalità, una vera e propria presa in giro (ed è per questo che voglio prenderlo a mazzate), la volontà di rendere il racconto un panino imbottito, una vanità enciclopedica... cose che qui mancano. È tutto nebuloso... senza fondamento.
SPOILER:
Ma chi ca**o è quindi Vishram? Nell'epilogo dichiara di voler designare Thomas come suo successore... MA DI COSA?! Esattamente cosa diamine fa?! E perché lui, e perché gli consente di passare l'inferno?
Perché Thomas passa l'inferno E COSA ha guadagnato da questo viaggio picaresco e a suo modo avventuroso? Pare ne sia uscito arricchito spiritualmente, ma di cosa. Il romanzo sembra partire come critica sociale al nuovo modello di organizzazione, che mette fortemente in discussione, perché Thomas pian piano (forse, mi vien da dire) acquista un tot sia di consapevolezza in più sulle persone di altri quartieri, sia sul fatto che una divisione caratteriale così netta in verità non esista, ma... a che je serve sta consapevolezza? Dubito pure che gli arrivi, un pochettino, perché mica si capisce cosa se ne voglia fare, perché Vishram (pare) lavori dentro al sistema, e...quindi? Di sovvertirlo non se ne parla, dunque?
Odell! A parte i capelli "color felce" (che cavolo di colore è? Ma è verde?!), questo dono di natura lo accettiamo così com'è (evvabbé questo si può fare, vedi, che ne so, Aimée Bender), come quello dei Bianchi (ci tornerò), ma... e quindi? Doveva riportare a casa il bambino... basta? Lei che è speciale perché riesce ad attraversare i confini cavalcando il vento, per questo proprio lei? Sembra quasi che si sia altro, ma niente, non esce fuori.
La Batisfera. Perché? Come? Solo un trucchetto degli esoterici Flemmatici per sondare le recondite profondità dell'animo umano? Perché sparisce? E perché a lui? E perché Ming? Ma che vogliono da lui, cosa vogliono che scopra, che si vuole che raggiunga? Non lo sapremo mai.
I Bianchi. Dei paria. Come concetto ci stanno benissimo, ma non si capisce da dove vengano fuori. Se lo chiede anche il protagonista stesso. C'erano prima della riorganizzazione? Parlavano ancora o avevano perso l'uso della parola -e guadagnato facoltà telepatiche- durante quel trauma? Thomas opera questa speculazione... ma noi non sapremo mai la verità.
A un certo punto viene detto che certi soggetti non vengono sottoposti al cambio di quartiere, ma che gli fanno ben altro. Non si saprà mai cos'altro.
Insomma, è un continuo "non si saprà mai". Elementi che vengono continuamente inseriti nel pentolone del racconto senza mai amalgamarsi nel sapore e nel corpo finali.
FINE SPOILER
L'idea è quella di voler per forza descrivere questo mondo spaccato in quattro (o in cinque, includendo i paria), lasciandoci immergere nelle suggestive atmosfere dei quartieri, ma mentre questo riesce molto bene per quanto riguarda i quartieri blu e anche giallo, per il verde fallisce miseramente. Innanzitutto non viene trattato a sufficienza; e poi l'idea di melanconia è rappresentata in maniera quantomai superficiale (in quanto Melanconica -me lo ha detto il test, ma credo fosse scontatissimo :D - ne sono rimasta stizzita e delusa; mio caro, la mia camera è ordinata, non ci bevo dentro, i vestiti sono nell'armadio, nonostante, è vero, le tendenze suicide che si alzano nei pressi del Natale e, è vero, la mia natura passivo-aggressiva. Ecco). Il quartiere rosso viene un po' tralasciato nelle descrizioni delle sue peculiarità, anche perché il protagonista ci vive, ed è descritto più nei difetti della nuova famiglia di Thomas che nella sua particolare atmosfera.
Ciò dà vita a una specie di romanzo picaresco, dove il protagonista dovrebbe essere il viaggio, e se gli unici presupposti e scopi fossero stati questi penso che ne sarebbe uscito qualcosa di migliore, con una scrittura a tratti melensa ma piacevolmente introspettiva. Invece si volatilizza, man mano, nell'aleatorio e nell'inconcludente.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2013
Definire un libro come strano a volte può essere anche positivo, vuol dire che l’autore è riuscito a raccontare una storia senza violentarla all’interno di rigidi canoni comuni. Il più delle volte però definire un libro strano significa solo una cosa, ovvero che quando si sente un rumore di zoccoli non si deve perdere tempo a pensare a una zebra, bensì a un più comune cavallo: la soluzione più semplice è spesso quella giusta, quindi quando un libro è strano non lo è perché rappresenta un piccolo capolavoro rinchiuso in un numero ben preciso di pagine, è strano perché magari punta in più direzioni senza mai muoversi verso le stesse.
È il caso di questo Il regno diviso, storia arroccata su di un presupposto di una divisione del Regno Unito (grande gioco di parole nel titolo [sarcasmo: on]) venga appunto diviso in quattro paesi diversi (e non si tratta di Inghilterra, Galles, Irlanda e Scozia), nei quali vengono inviate le varie persone in base all’inclinazione caratteriale, senza tenere presente gradi di parentela e possibili amori. È in questo scenario che la voce narrante, nonché protagonista del libro, inizia la propria avventura venendo strappato dalle braccia dei propri genitori e spedito in una specie di riformatorio che lascerà per accasarsi nel Quartiere Rosso (si, i vari paesi prendono il nome da un colore che rappresenta l’indole delle persone che vi risiedono).
Sorvolando sulle inutili cartine dei vari quartieri che aprono il volume, il libro si risolve in un mosaico di pezzi abbastanza eterogenei che a tratti risultano essere assai difficile da tenere insieme, almeno per un lettore come me. Si parte da un inizio che pare essere la riproduzione romanzata della deportazione degli ebrei, per arrivare subito in un collegio che sa tanto di un annacquato Non lasciarmi, per approdare poi, dopo vari salti, a uno stile che sembra essere la brutta brutta brutta copia di Jonathan Carroll. Il romanzo prende spesso direzioni inconsuete, abbandonando senza molte spiegazioni l’ambientazione nel quale si trova per approdare ad un’altra che si discosta da quella appena lasciata in modo netto e brutale. Il risultato è abbastanza squinternato, confusionario, nel quale si incontrano personaggio che tutto a un tratto spariscono all’improvviso per non fare più ritorno. Un libro che segue l’odissea del protagonista nel suo vagabondare e nei suoi più impensabili cambiamenti camaleontici di carattere, ma che lascia troppo spesso il lettore in prenda a una confusione che l’autore non è riuscito a mettere in ordine neppure dentro la sua testa: sembra che tutto il libro sia stato scritto partendo a braccio, senza avere la ben che minima idea di dove sarebbe andato a parare e seguendo gli umori del momento. Un libro che attraverso vari stati (non solo geografici, non solo fantastici o inventati) ma che alla fine ti lascia esattamente dove sei e come sei.
È il caso di questo Il regno diviso, storia arroccata su di un presupposto di una divisione del Regno Unito (grande gioco di parole nel titolo [sarcasmo: on]) venga appunto diviso in quattro paesi diversi (e non si tratta di Inghilterra, Galles, Irlanda e Scozia), nei quali vengono inviate le varie persone in base all’inclinazione caratteriale, senza tenere presente gradi di parentela e possibili amori. È in questo scenario che la voce narrante, nonché protagonista del libro, inizia la propria avventura venendo strappato dalle braccia dei propri genitori e spedito in una specie di riformatorio che lascerà per accasarsi nel Quartiere Rosso (si, i vari paesi prendono il nome da un colore che rappresenta l’indole delle persone che vi risiedono).
Sorvolando sulle inutili cartine dei vari quartieri che aprono il volume, il libro si risolve in un mosaico di pezzi abbastanza eterogenei che a tratti risultano essere assai difficile da tenere insieme, almeno per un lettore come me. Si parte da un inizio che pare essere la riproduzione romanzata della deportazione degli ebrei, per arrivare subito in un collegio che sa tanto di un annacquato Non lasciarmi, per approdare poi, dopo vari salti, a uno stile che sembra essere la brutta brutta brutta copia di Jonathan Carroll. Il romanzo prende spesso direzioni inconsuete, abbandonando senza molte spiegazioni l’ambientazione nel quale si trova per approdare ad un’altra che si discosta da quella appena lasciata in modo netto e brutale. Il risultato è abbastanza squinternato, confusionario, nel quale si incontrano personaggio che tutto a un tratto spariscono all’improvviso per non fare più ritorno. Un libro che segue l’odissea del protagonista nel suo vagabondare e nei suoi più impensabili cambiamenti camaleontici di carattere, ma che lascia troppo spesso il lettore in prenda a una confusione che l’autore non è riuscito a mettere in ordine neppure dentro la sua testa: sembra che tutto il libro sia stato scritto partendo a braccio, senza avere la ben che minima idea di dove sarebbe andato a parare e seguendo gli umori del momento. Un libro che attraverso vari stati (non solo geografici, non solo fantastici o inventati) ma che alla fine ti lascia esattamente dove sei e come sei.
October 19, 2012
Big Ideas - but where is the tension.
This is one of those books that is undoubtedly based on a great idea from an intelligent and thought provoking story. However, in the transistion from idea to reality, Thompson has forgotton to create a story with tension that you really get into.
Its set in the future and presents a dystopian government who have divided the country and its population into four categories. This has been based on medievel humoral pathology where you are either blood, yellow bile, black bile or phlegm. This is interesting when adopted to presonalaties - as I couldn't remember what they represented.
Maybe along with the map of how the UK is split, they could have done with a reminded on the attributes.
So the book - this big concept is wrapped into the story of a protagonist you is taken from his family in the night. 27 years later he is working from the government with helping to classify people when a terrorist attack on his hotel gives him the chance to escape.
Not really sure why he wants to escape - but he does.
So he manages to travel to the other three areas of the country and embark on a series of experiences before returning to his original phelgmatic location as one of the white people who roam, uncategorised and sometimes persecuted.
There is some great imagary in these adventures including the museum of tears, the night club where you choose a door have have different drug enhanced experiences and the burning of the animals festival in a northern pub.
The main drawback of the book is its inherent complicated premise and a lack of characterisation of the main character - why does he escape and as interesting as some of the set pieces are - what are they about. And the introduction of the white people seems a complete afterthought.
This, combined with 400 pages, makes it not a complete success and not as enjoyable as the book of revelation.
Would still read more of his work though.
This is one of those books that is undoubtedly based on a great idea from an intelligent and thought provoking story. However, in the transistion from idea to reality, Thompson has forgotton to create a story with tension that you really get into.
Its set in the future and presents a dystopian government who have divided the country and its population into four categories. This has been based on medievel humoral pathology where you are either blood, yellow bile, black bile or phlegm. This is interesting when adopted to presonalaties - as I couldn't remember what they represented.
Maybe along with the map of how the UK is split, they could have done with a reminded on the attributes.
So the book - this big concept is wrapped into the story of a protagonist you is taken from his family in the night. 27 years later he is working from the government with helping to classify people when a terrorist attack on his hotel gives him the chance to escape.
Not really sure why he wants to escape - but he does.
So he manages to travel to the other three areas of the country and embark on a series of experiences before returning to his original phelgmatic location as one of the white people who roam, uncategorised and sometimes persecuted.
There is some great imagary in these adventures including the museum of tears, the night club where you choose a door have have different drug enhanced experiences and the burning of the animals festival in a northern pub.
The main drawback of the book is its inherent complicated premise and a lack of characterisation of the main character - why does he escape and as interesting as some of the set pieces are - what are they about. And the introduction of the white people seems a complete afterthought.
This, combined with 400 pages, makes it not a complete success and not as enjoyable as the book of revelation.
Would still read more of his work though.
January 27, 2023
Un romanzo di scoperta del sé travestito da distopico.
Il Regno Unito, “ormai una nazione allo sfascio” a causa del consumismo, della violenza e della corruzione, è stato diviso in quattro nuove repubbliche distinte e autonome e la popolazione “smistata” in base all’impronta caratteriale, secondo le categorie delle teorie umorali formulate da Ippocrate (V secolo a.C.) e poi riprese da Galeno (II sec. a.C.) e da Rudolf Steiner (XIX sec. d.C.). La Riorganizzazione ha portato così alla costituzione di un Quartiere Rosso per i sanguigni, di un Quartiere Blu per i flemmatici, di un Quartiere Giallo per i collerici e di un Quartiere Verde per i malinconici. Il romanzo prende avvio proprio dalla prima notte della Riorganizzazione, con il prelevamento del protagonista – all’epoca bambino – dalla propria casa e dalle braccia dei genitori in lacrime. Ma Thomas è un bambino fortunato, molto fortunato. Perché viene etichettato come sanguigno e destinato quindi al Quartiere Rosso, quello dell’ottimismo, del sorriso, del buon vivere e della tranquillità e addirittura, terminati gli studi, viene reclutato dal governo. Proprio per un incarico di lavoro, gli viene offerta la possibilità – molto rara – di entrare e soggiornare per un breve periodo in un altro Quartiere, quello dei flemmatici Blu. Ma qui qualcosa lo toccherà nel profondo e lo spingerà a fuggire, contravvenendo a ogni legge sullo sconfinamento e sulla contaminazione psicologica (vale a dire la socializzazione con gli altri tipi psicologici).
Al di là di quanto potrebbe – e forse vorrebbe – indicare questa idea di partenza interessante e non priva di originalità, Divided Kingdom è solo formalmente un distopico, ma non contenutisticamente. Il viaggio di Thomas è infatti un cammino di scoperta di sé e della propria umanità in un percorso che precipita dal lindo e confortevole Quartiere Rosso via via in luoghi e situazioni sempre più disagevoli e poi estremi e ostili: il Quartiere Blu che per primo mina la sua serenità e la sua muta – e apparentemente partecipe – accettazione del Regno Diviso, poi il Quartiere Giallo dei collerici dove viene picchiato e derubato, poi quello dei malinconici Verdi che lo rende estremamente fragile a contatto della disperazione e della rassegnazione degli altri e infine persino quello neutro, libero ma estremamente vulnerabile del Popolo dei Bianchi, coloro che sono stati esclusi dalla società per mancata cromia e ora ne vivono ai margini, talvolta tollerati, spesso ignorati, troppe volte braccati, violati, uccisi. Non a caso Thomas cambierà diversi nomi in ogni situazione in cui verrà a trovarsi, quasi a scandire i suoi nuovi Io, le sue nuove identità, così come l’abbandono del nome che gli avevano dato i suoi genitori aveva fatto da spartiacque tra la sua prima vita e quella nuova impostagli dalla Riorganizzazione:
Come molti miei coetanei avevo due nomi, due vite. Un tempo mi chiamavo Matthew Micklewright, ma quella persona non esisteva più e ormai non mi suscitava più nemmeno curiosità. Era troppo lontana, troppo remota, troppo improbabile. Perché attaccarsi a qualcosa che non esiste più? A che scopo? Quel vecchio nome era diventato vuoto come un baccello. Un nome svuotato di vita e significato. Un nome senza volto. E poi la notte in cui la mia vita era ricominciata… Uno strano inizio. Soldati, luci intense. Il freddo. Quegli uomini che, come chirurghi, mi sollevavano di peso per portarmi in un mondo nuovo. Le lacrime, probabilmente, anche se non me le ricordavo. Ma forse tutte le nascite sono spietate.
Questo percorso può dunque essere inteso in senso spirituale come una metafora esistenziale di crescita e scoperta, non solo per la sua parabola discendente e poi ascendente, ma soprattutto perché il protagonista sembra rubare in ogni Quartiere un brandello della qualità che lo identifica, o più correttamente riscoprire dentro di sé l’esistenza di quell’umore, ricomponendo in qualche modo un’identità limitata e frammentata dalla Riorganizzazione. Peccato che il viaggio di Thomas paia terminare esattamente là dove era iniziato: al sicuro nel Quartiere Rosso, con la prospettiva certa di una promozione in campo professionale e di un coinvolgimento romantico con l’ultima donna del cuore (le altre, liet motiv dell’intera narrazione, nel finale non ricevono stranamente nemmeno una menzione). Non è mutata realmente la condizione del protagonista, ma solo la sua consapevolezza di sé e non quella del mondo in cui si trova, che infatti non sembra intenzionato a cambiare o criticare più tanto. A riprova che la sovrastruttura distopica del romanzo è meramente funzionale alla costruzione delle avventure del protagonista.
Nel testo compaiono elementi sovversivi e di denuncia nei confronti della Riorganizzazione, che ha smembrato le famiglie, condannato all’oblio persone solo a causa di test fallibili e imprecisi, assegnato nuove identità e limitato la libertà di ogni individuo; ma tali elementi, per lo più fallimentari, sono sempre a margine della narrazione e non riguardano mai in prima persona il protagonista, che sì infrange la legge, sì si ribella scappando, ma lo fa solo per se stesso, non per una visione comunitaria e sociale e nemmeno per il mero e crudo ideale di giustizia. Fedele così all’egoismo che caratterizza il Quartiere Rosso cui appartiene, l’unico in realtà che abbia guadagnato qualcosa dalla divisione del Regno: nel Quartiere Blu infatti tutti vivono tentennando nell’indecisione, in quello Giallo i collerici sguazzano nella tecnologia, nella lussuria e nel crimine e in quello Verde hanno un museo delle lacrime e il suicidio è all’ordine del giorno.
Purtroppo lo stile dell’autore, che alterna paragrafi tediosamente descrittivi ad altri onirici, psichedelici, inspiegabilmente lirici, è poco convincente e lo storytelling non riesce a essere sempre coinvolgente. Tuttavia, non mancano nel testo, oltre alla pregevole idea di partenza le cui potenzialità vengono però poi disattese, brani davvero intensi e interessanti di introspezione e immagini commuoventi (come il Museo delle lacrime o la violenta scena della carneficina dei Bianchi). Così, a chiusura dell’ultima pagina, ci si trova un poco confusi sull’esito della lettura e, nonostante razionalmente si possano elencare molti pregi al romanzo, si ha l’insoddisfatta impressione di aver letto un distopico inefficace o un libro intimistico e psicologico in parte inconcludente.
Recensione anche su urban-fantasy.it:
(9 aprile 2013)
Il Regno Unito, “ormai una nazione allo sfascio” a causa del consumismo, della violenza e della corruzione, è stato diviso in quattro nuove repubbliche distinte e autonome e la popolazione “smistata” in base all’impronta caratteriale, secondo le categorie delle teorie umorali formulate da Ippocrate (V secolo a.C.) e poi riprese da Galeno (II sec. a.C.) e da Rudolf Steiner (XIX sec. d.C.). La Riorganizzazione ha portato così alla costituzione di un Quartiere Rosso per i sanguigni, di un Quartiere Blu per i flemmatici, di un Quartiere Giallo per i collerici e di un Quartiere Verde per i malinconici. Il romanzo prende avvio proprio dalla prima notte della Riorganizzazione, con il prelevamento del protagonista – all’epoca bambino – dalla propria casa e dalle braccia dei genitori in lacrime. Ma Thomas è un bambino fortunato, molto fortunato. Perché viene etichettato come sanguigno e destinato quindi al Quartiere Rosso, quello dell’ottimismo, del sorriso, del buon vivere e della tranquillità e addirittura, terminati gli studi, viene reclutato dal governo. Proprio per un incarico di lavoro, gli viene offerta la possibilità – molto rara – di entrare e soggiornare per un breve periodo in un altro Quartiere, quello dei flemmatici Blu. Ma qui qualcosa lo toccherà nel profondo e lo spingerà a fuggire, contravvenendo a ogni legge sullo sconfinamento e sulla contaminazione psicologica (vale a dire la socializzazione con gli altri tipi psicologici).
Al di là di quanto potrebbe – e forse vorrebbe – indicare questa idea di partenza interessante e non priva di originalità, Divided Kingdom è solo formalmente un distopico, ma non contenutisticamente. Il viaggio di Thomas è infatti un cammino di scoperta di sé e della propria umanità in un percorso che precipita dal lindo e confortevole Quartiere Rosso via via in luoghi e situazioni sempre più disagevoli e poi estremi e ostili: il Quartiere Blu che per primo mina la sua serenità e la sua muta – e apparentemente partecipe – accettazione del Regno Diviso, poi il Quartiere Giallo dei collerici dove viene picchiato e derubato, poi quello dei malinconici Verdi che lo rende estremamente fragile a contatto della disperazione e della rassegnazione degli altri e infine persino quello neutro, libero ma estremamente vulnerabile del Popolo dei Bianchi, coloro che sono stati esclusi dalla società per mancata cromia e ora ne vivono ai margini, talvolta tollerati, spesso ignorati, troppe volte braccati, violati, uccisi. Non a caso Thomas cambierà diversi nomi in ogni situazione in cui verrà a trovarsi, quasi a scandire i suoi nuovi Io, le sue nuove identità, così come l’abbandono del nome che gli avevano dato i suoi genitori aveva fatto da spartiacque tra la sua prima vita e quella nuova impostagli dalla Riorganizzazione:
Come molti miei coetanei avevo due nomi, due vite. Un tempo mi chiamavo Matthew Micklewright, ma quella persona non esisteva più e ormai non mi suscitava più nemmeno curiosità. Era troppo lontana, troppo remota, troppo improbabile. Perché attaccarsi a qualcosa che non esiste più? A che scopo? Quel vecchio nome era diventato vuoto come un baccello. Un nome svuotato di vita e significato. Un nome senza volto. E poi la notte in cui la mia vita era ricominciata… Uno strano inizio. Soldati, luci intense. Il freddo. Quegli uomini che, come chirurghi, mi sollevavano di peso per portarmi in un mondo nuovo. Le lacrime, probabilmente, anche se non me le ricordavo. Ma forse tutte le nascite sono spietate.
Questo percorso può dunque essere inteso in senso spirituale come una metafora esistenziale di crescita e scoperta, non solo per la sua parabola discendente e poi ascendente, ma soprattutto perché il protagonista sembra rubare in ogni Quartiere un brandello della qualità che lo identifica, o più correttamente riscoprire dentro di sé l’esistenza di quell’umore, ricomponendo in qualche modo un’identità limitata e frammentata dalla Riorganizzazione. Peccato che il viaggio di Thomas paia terminare esattamente là dove era iniziato: al sicuro nel Quartiere Rosso, con la prospettiva certa di una promozione in campo professionale e di un coinvolgimento romantico con l’ultima donna del cuore (le altre, liet motiv dell’intera narrazione, nel finale non ricevono stranamente nemmeno una menzione). Non è mutata realmente la condizione del protagonista, ma solo la sua consapevolezza di sé e non quella del mondo in cui si trova, che infatti non sembra intenzionato a cambiare o criticare più tanto. A riprova che la sovrastruttura distopica del romanzo è meramente funzionale alla costruzione delle avventure del protagonista.
Nel testo compaiono elementi sovversivi e di denuncia nei confronti della Riorganizzazione, che ha smembrato le famiglie, condannato all’oblio persone solo a causa di test fallibili e imprecisi, assegnato nuove identità e limitato la libertà di ogni individuo; ma tali elementi, per lo più fallimentari, sono sempre a margine della narrazione e non riguardano mai in prima persona il protagonista, che sì infrange la legge, sì si ribella scappando, ma lo fa solo per se stesso, non per una visione comunitaria e sociale e nemmeno per il mero e crudo ideale di giustizia. Fedele così all’egoismo che caratterizza il Quartiere Rosso cui appartiene, l’unico in realtà che abbia guadagnato qualcosa dalla divisione del Regno: nel Quartiere Blu infatti tutti vivono tentennando nell’indecisione, in quello Giallo i collerici sguazzano nella tecnologia, nella lussuria e nel crimine e in quello Verde hanno un museo delle lacrime e il suicidio è all’ordine del giorno.
Purtroppo lo stile dell’autore, che alterna paragrafi tediosamente descrittivi ad altri onirici, psichedelici, inspiegabilmente lirici, è poco convincente e lo storytelling non riesce a essere sempre coinvolgente. Tuttavia, non mancano nel testo, oltre alla pregevole idea di partenza le cui potenzialità vengono però poi disattese, brani davvero intensi e interessanti di introspezione e immagini commuoventi (come il Museo delle lacrime o la violenta scena della carneficina dei Bianchi). Così, a chiusura dell’ultima pagina, ci si trova un poco confusi sull’esito della lettura e, nonostante razionalmente si possano elencare molti pregi al romanzo, si ha l’insoddisfatta impressione di aver letto un distopico inefficace o un libro intimistico e psicologico in parte inconcludente.
Recensione anche su urban-fantasy.it:
(9 aprile 2013)
February 22, 2021
I'm sure this book fits in somewhere in a tradition of hero's journey books where the protagonist is a somewhat distant, detached observer even when he/she is participating in events around him. Problem is, I've never read any that I found worthwhile. What's the point in trying to empathise with
a protagonist without passion, barely affected by even the most terrible of events?
Also, the social division based on medieval humours strikes me as exceedingly facile, something fun to work out on the back of a coaster, not turn into a 400-page book. The most baffling aspect of this book to me is that the author somehow seems to think it wouldn't be the worst of ideas, as apparently his four 'kingdoms' are actually shaped by this oversimplified categorisation.
At any rate, readers interested in a dystopia based on arbitrary and overly simple categories are much better served by something like Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey.
a protagonist without passion, barely affected by even the most terrible of events?
Also, the social division based on medieval humours strikes me as exceedingly facile, something fun to work out on the back of a coaster, not turn into a 400-page book. The most baffling aspect of this book to me is that the author somehow seems to think it wouldn't be the worst of ideas, as apparently his four 'kingdoms' are actually shaped by this oversimplified categorisation.
At any rate, readers interested in a dystopia based on arbitrary and overly simple categories are much better served by something like Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey.
April 1, 2019
Divided Kingdom starts of with an interesting hook and plot which really drive the first part of the book. However, the middle is slow, mundane and the character has no real goal. This ended in my DNF pile quickly after reading 100 pages of just... Pretty much a recount of the main characters mundane life over 10 or so years. Not to mention, there was a weird scene of him thinking about his adoptive sister... And touching himself... Which grossed me out as a reader, but that's more of a personal thing. Another thing that Thomson did that annoyed me, was introduce a bunch of characters in the first few chapters, for them to return 10 years later and we've already forgotten their names. I mean, it's realistic, but the main character remembers them, so we should too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2017
***3.5 stars***Some spoilers ahead***
I was all set to give it a solid 4 stars. I can identify with the protagonist who leaves behind his established life to follow his heart. I loved the journey but in the last third of the book, what started as a reality based story (when i say reality based i mean that could conceivably happen) we are thrown some mystical/supernatural twists. I don't mind those type of stories but the majority of the book is rooted in some type of reality and all of a sudden the author feels the need to add a fantastic element to it. I seemed to care less for the fate of our narrator. I still like the book but wished for something better.
I was all set to give it a solid 4 stars. I can identify with the protagonist who leaves behind his established life to follow his heart. I loved the journey but in the last third of the book, what started as a reality based story (when i say reality based i mean that could conceivably happen) we are thrown some mystical/supernatural twists. I don't mind those type of stories but the majority of the book is rooted in some type of reality and all of a sudden the author feels the need to add a fantastic element to it. I seemed to care less for the fate of our narrator. I still like the book but wished for something better.
March 31, 2021
Is it an interesting premise? Yes
Is it well written? Yes
Does it actually have a plot? Well I suppose so...
Does it have a story arc in the traditional sense? No, not really
Is there resolution? No
I can't figure out what this book is. It's a work of literary fiction and I am rapidly discovering that I don't like literary fiction. It's a narrative for narrative's sake. It's not a page turner. There's almost no drama, even less comedy. It's just a step by step process of one person's weird tour of a weird distopian world... Oh and one character has inexplicable supernatural powers for no reason at all except maybe as a plot device to resolve an otherwise ambling tale of nothing.
Is it well written? Yes
Does it actually have a plot? Well I suppose so...
Does it have a story arc in the traditional sense? No, not really
Is there resolution? No
I can't figure out what this book is. It's a work of literary fiction and I am rapidly discovering that I don't like literary fiction. It's a narrative for narrative's sake. It's not a page turner. There's almost no drama, even less comedy. It's just a step by step process of one person's weird tour of a weird distopian world... Oh and one character has inexplicable supernatural powers for no reason at all except maybe as a plot device to resolve an otherwise ambling tale of nothing.
July 16, 2017
Intriguing idea but the author doesn't really do anything with it. And obviously if you think about the proposal of segregating people by class geographically for longer than 30 seconds it's rather absurd. OK, they call it humours but it's just class, like we have today except without border guards. Who's going to clean the houses of all the upper class in the red quarter? But I would've gone with it if there was any story to go with it.
November 21, 2017
This book had a lot of promise. It could have bee a cross between 1984 and Divergent. But about a third of the way in, the character starts making unexplained out of character decisions and the book goes downhill from there, ending with a whimper. Lack of character development. A plot that loses all focus. Two stars is generous.
March 19, 2009
A quirky, poetic vision of an alternative England set in the near future.
I didn't give myself enough time to really savour the complexity of the plot as it was a selection for a library reading group. Still I now have my own copy and plan to revisit it.
I didn't give myself enough time to really savour the complexity of the plot as it was a selection for a library reading group. Still I now have my own copy and plan to revisit it.
February 8, 2014
A totally fanscinating premise, which was then pissed away in the last 300 pages of aimless running around. Too many descriptions of weather and dreams
Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews