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The Book of Malachi
In this frightening, high-concept science fiction thriller, a mute man must confront the horrors of organ farming on a deep-sea oilrig.
Longlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize SA
Nominated for the 2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans
"Will have you ripping through the pages. Part thriller, part horror, part speculative this gripping read goes to the heart of ethical quandaries, forcing the reader to "What if it were me?" - Sunday Times (SA)
Malachi, a mute thirty-year-old man, has just received an extraordinary job offer. In exchange for six months as a warden on a top-secret organ-farming project, Raizier Pharmaceuticals will graft Malachi a new tongue.
So Malachi finds himself on an oilrig among warlords and mass murderers. But are the prisoner-donors as evil as Raizier says? Do they deserve their fate?
As doubt starts to grow, the stories of the desperate will not be silenced – not even his own. Covertly Malachi comes to know them, even the ones he fears, and he must make a choice – if he wants to save one, he must save them all. And risk everything, including himself.
"Sharp and compact but devastatingly poetic. This book packs real power into every page." - Charlie Human
"Farren has created an extraordinary narrator in Malachi... [An] intense and memorable [read]." - SFX
Longlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize SA
Nominated for the 2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans
"Will have you ripping through the pages. Part thriller, part horror, part speculative this gripping read goes to the heart of ethical quandaries, forcing the reader to "What if it were me?" - Sunday Times (SA)
Malachi, a mute thirty-year-old man, has just received an extraordinary job offer. In exchange for six months as a warden on a top-secret organ-farming project, Raizier Pharmaceuticals will graft Malachi a new tongue.
So Malachi finds himself on an oilrig among warlords and mass murderers. But are the prisoner-donors as evil as Raizier says? Do they deserve their fate?
As doubt starts to grow, the stories of the desperate will not be silenced – not even his own. Covertly Malachi comes to know them, even the ones he fears, and he must make a choice – if he wants to save one, he must save them all. And risk everything, including himself.
"Sharp and compact but devastatingly poetic. This book packs real power into every page." - Charlie Human
"Farren has created an extraordinary narrator in Malachi... [An] intense and memorable [read]." - SFX
331 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 15, 2019
45 people are currently reading
878 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
December 6, 2020
In the near future, Malachi Dakwaa is working in a chicken processing plant when he is offered a job to work as a maintenance officer on an offshore rig. Malachi’s tongue was removed by guerrillas who invaded his classroom in 2020 when he was 15. His muteness makes him a perfect candidate for this new job, first because he can be lured by the promise of a new tongue and second because muteness will keep him from conversing with his charges. He will have one of the worst jobs ever, grooming the hands and feet of naked prisoners kept in cages while their bodies are used to grow spare body parts for sale. These prisoners have been convicted of terrible crimes, but do they really deserve to be in this organ farm?
The blurb for this book makes it sound pretty straightforward as “a gripping thriller with a speculative twist” but it is way more peculiar than that implies. The premise and setting are truly original and I’ve never encountered anyone like Malachi before. The writing style is so unique that it always held my interest. There were so many strange images: “I nod and scoop at my yellow pudding. It detaches from my bowl like a loose cornea.” “I drag my eyes from it, but my memory bites me behind my knees, snatches pieces off my hips.” “His pleas gather speed down my slippery back, fly off to kingdom come.” “...a soft fur of compassion brushes against us.”
I was astonished when I got to the end of this book and discovered that the author is a woman because the book is really penis-centric. There is no sex in the book, but I don’t think I’ve read another book by a female author that was this obsessed with penises. The book isn’t all that easy to describe, and I’m sure it’s not for everyone but I found it oddly enjoyable and I would read more by this author.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
The blurb for this book makes it sound pretty straightforward as “a gripping thriller with a speculative twist” but it is way more peculiar than that implies. The premise and setting are truly original and I’ve never encountered anyone like Malachi before. The writing style is so unique that it always held my interest. There were so many strange images: “I nod and scoop at my yellow pudding. It detaches from my bowl like a loose cornea.” “I drag my eyes from it, but my memory bites me behind my knees, snatches pieces off my hips.” “His pleas gather speed down my slippery back, fly off to kingdom come.” “...a soft fur of compassion brushes against us.”
I was astonished when I got to the end of this book and discovered that the author is a woman because the book is really penis-centric. There is no sex in the book, but I don’t think I’ve read another book by a female author that was this obsessed with penises. The book isn’t all that easy to describe, and I’m sure it’s not for everyone but I found it oddly enjoyable and I would read more by this author.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
February 23, 2024
Kind of a weird book; one that leaves you wondering whether or not you liked it?
I think the summary is selling one kind of book and this is just not quite it. The story is about shame, the pain of living with your mistakes, and the power of self love and forgiveness. It’s written in an almost poetic style at times—Malachi has a love affair with words—and the irony of having no tongue and being unable to speak is not lost on him.
What kept this from being a book I really enjoyed was that Malachi’s inner voice has no filter. This is perfectly acceptable if you’re alone in your own head, but there’s a fine line between emotive first person point of view storytelling and just plain too much information. At times I felt things veered into that slightly unappetizing arena of oversharing, with no particular payoff in terms of the story or character development.
I think the summary is selling one kind of book and this is just not quite it. The story is about shame, the pain of living with your mistakes, and the power of self love and forgiveness. It’s written in an almost poetic style at times—Malachi has a love affair with words—and the irony of having no tongue and being unable to speak is not lost on him.
What kept this from being a book I really enjoyed was that Malachi’s inner voice has no filter. This is perfectly acceptable if you’re alone in your own head, but there’s a fine line between emotive first person point of view storytelling and just plain too much information. At times I felt things veered into that slightly unappetizing arena of oversharing, with no particular payoff in terms of the story or character development.
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November 2, 2020This is an excellent book but not one for the squeamish! This could be classed as Science Fiction or Speculative Fiction but the horrible truth is that this could be happening now somewhere on our world.
A bunch of criminals have been taken to an oil rig, isolated somewhere out in the ocean to be used to grow organs for other people. They are unwilling donors who have things such as hearts and spleens grown inside their bodies later to be cut out and sold for a very high price. But they are killers and worse – do they deserve what is happening to them after the atrocities that some of them have committed? Do they deserve our sympathy?
Enter Malachi, an African, who has been recruited to work with the prisoners. In exchange he will eventually get a new tongue. His old one was cut from his mouth as a child by guerrillas. Has he any sympathy for the prisoners?
I will not spoil the story by saying any more. Just read it and see. This is one of the best books that I have read for quite a while, but not for children.
A bunch of criminals have been taken to an oil rig, isolated somewhere out in the ocean to be used to grow organs for other people. They are unwilling donors who have things such as hearts and spleens grown inside their bodies later to be cut out and sold for a very high price. But they are killers and worse – do they deserve what is happening to them after the atrocities that some of them have committed? Do they deserve our sympathy?
Enter Malachi, an African, who has been recruited to work with the prisoners. In exchange he will eventually get a new tongue. His old one was cut from his mouth as a child by guerrillas. Has he any sympathy for the prisoners?
I will not spoil the story by saying any more. Just read it and see. This is one of the best books that I have read for quite a while, but not for children.
June 30, 2019
Disclaimer: I was an early reader of The Book of Malachi back in the day when Tracey Farren’s novel was called The Rig and I interviewed her for her launch. I find her writing to be extraordinarily beautiful.
I can remember the debate raging around Tracey Farren's first published novel, Whiplash (now a movie and republished as Tess) with readers saying it was too harsh, gritty, dark etc. and me thinking then, but, but, but ... it's *also* luminous and witty and acutely sensitive and compassionate. I feel the same way about her latest creation, Malachi. He's a character who will stay with me forever, and only in the best possible way. Yes, we learn from the blurb that he has no tongue. Yes, he's given an awful job to do by virtue of his disfigurement/dismemberment, and yes the people he has to tend to are the very dregs of humanity, the sort we don't really want to look in the eye. Or at least that's the way the reader feels on first meeting them. But (and here we have to trust this writer who gets to the very heart and soul of things, unflinchingly and honestly) the more Malachi works with (and on) these people, the more their characters emerge and the more we cannot avert our eyes. And just as with the stories told in Whiplash/Tess and Tracey’s other novel, Snake, redemption is waiting in the wings.
It’s worth getting to know Malachi. Tess had no voice to speak of when we first met her, and nor did Stella from Snake. Malachi is truly voiceless. And yet he’s the one tasked with guiding us through the novel. No easy task for him, or for the writer who brought him to life.
The Book of Malachi is exciting and challenging. It’s the sort of novel bookclubs should read and spend ages debating. It should be recommended for university English courses. I’d seriously urge those of you who are put off by the blurb to give it a try. And if you do - buckle up. You’re in for a hell of a ride.
Talking about characters and stories that stay with you … I was thinking about The Book of Malachi today as I drove home from a meeting and Oryx and Crake came to mind. So I headed off to Goodreads to see what people thought of Margaret Atwood’s take on a dystopian society set in the relatively near future. The thread there made for very interesting reading. It’s a love it or hate it book. I remember loving it, others in my bookclub, not so much. Margaret Atwood certainly knows how to break the mould, and that’s a risky undertaking for any writer. I feel Tracey Farren does the same work. She takes on the hard stories, the difficult and sometimes unlovable characters and the result is often uncomfortable to read. But so worth it!
The Book of Malachi is already making waves. Double-up waves. Which, according to the website BootSurfCamps is the kind of wave that you get when two waves meet, and their troughs and crests align. The wave energy from the combined waves creates a wave that is large and highly powerful. Double-up waves are ultra-hollow and also dangerous when they start to break. Even advanced surfers with years of experience can have a difficult time in tackling these wild beasts. Try going for double-up waves only if you are in the mood for some daring adventure but know that you have experience on your side."
I like these words: Highly powerful; dangerous; wild beasts; daring adventure. That's the ride the world is in for when it meets Malachi and travels with him, through the troughs, up to the crests, as his world and ours align.
I can remember the debate raging around Tracey Farren's first published novel, Whiplash (now a movie and republished as Tess) with readers saying it was too harsh, gritty, dark etc. and me thinking then, but, but, but ... it's *also* luminous and witty and acutely sensitive and compassionate. I feel the same way about her latest creation, Malachi. He's a character who will stay with me forever, and only in the best possible way. Yes, we learn from the blurb that he has no tongue. Yes, he's given an awful job to do by virtue of his disfigurement/dismemberment, and yes the people he has to tend to are the very dregs of humanity, the sort we don't really want to look in the eye. Or at least that's the way the reader feels on first meeting them. But (and here we have to trust this writer who gets to the very heart and soul of things, unflinchingly and honestly) the more Malachi works with (and on) these people, the more their characters emerge and the more we cannot avert our eyes. And just as with the stories told in Whiplash/Tess and Tracey’s other novel, Snake, redemption is waiting in the wings.
It’s worth getting to know Malachi. Tess had no voice to speak of when we first met her, and nor did Stella from Snake. Malachi is truly voiceless. And yet he’s the one tasked with guiding us through the novel. No easy task for him, or for the writer who brought him to life.
The Book of Malachi is exciting and challenging. It’s the sort of novel bookclubs should read and spend ages debating. It should be recommended for university English courses. I’d seriously urge those of you who are put off by the blurb to give it a try. And if you do - buckle up. You’re in for a hell of a ride.
Talking about characters and stories that stay with you … I was thinking about The Book of Malachi today as I drove home from a meeting and Oryx and Crake came to mind. So I headed off to Goodreads to see what people thought of Margaret Atwood’s take on a dystopian society set in the relatively near future. The thread there made for very interesting reading. It’s a love it or hate it book. I remember loving it, others in my bookclub, not so much. Margaret Atwood certainly knows how to break the mould, and that’s a risky undertaking for any writer. I feel Tracey Farren does the same work. She takes on the hard stories, the difficult and sometimes unlovable characters and the result is often uncomfortable to read. But so worth it!
The Book of Malachi is already making waves. Double-up waves. Which, according to the website BootSurfCamps is the kind of wave that you get when two waves meet, and their troughs and crests align. The wave energy from the combined waves creates a wave that is large and highly powerful. Double-up waves are ultra-hollow and also dangerous when they start to break. Even advanced surfers with years of experience can have a difficult time in tackling these wild beasts. Try going for double-up waves only if you are in the mood for some daring adventure but know that you have experience on your side."
I like these words: Highly powerful; dangerous; wild beasts; daring adventure. That's the ride the world is in for when it meets Malachi and travels with him, through the troughs, up to the crests, as his world and ours align.
November 12, 2020
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I had a really hard time getting through this one. Nothing to do with the concept or the hard-hitting morality questions. It was because of the writing style. I really did not enjoy T. C. Farren's style. Every sentence, it seemed, had an adjective, sometimes two. A fair amount of the time these adjectives were used to describe things in such an abstract way that you had to stop and try to figure out just how that description in any fit what was being described.
I think the best way to describe the writing was that she tried far too hard to make it far too literary. All it achieved was confusion and a pace that was so slow that, even a speed-reader would have struggled to burn through the pages very fast.
Malachi's bizarre obsession with sounding like a thesaurus was frustrating. He described his throat as a larynx, his fingers as phalanges, air as oxygen ... everything was very prim and proper and educated. Until he talked about his rear end which was always his 'bum' rather than gluteus maximus (which would have tied in with his strange fascination with proper names of things).
It's a shame, as I really liked the concept. The moral dilemma that Malachi finds himself in 'do I help these criminals, in whose bodies are being grown organs to help the needy, or do I free them from this living torture?' was an inspired and intriguing story idea.
Sadly, the slow pace and frustrating descriptions made it hard to get my teeth fully into this story. When I did, I enjoyed it. I liked the concept and thought it had real potential. But, that potential was hampered by characters that had no character. Malachi tends to forty prisoners, only a handful of which we know the names of (the rest being barely referenced. Ever.) Out of that handful who had names, even fewer had any actual character work put into them. They were, for the most part just names and their crime 'John Doe the thief' etc ... Even the characters that Malachi worked with barely had any flair to them. They had jobs and names and were barely defined in any other way than that.
Malachi's obsession with electrocuting his genitals every time he felt the slightest bit of arousal was strange and added next to nothing to the plot.
For the most part, I felt it would be a two out of five but was swayed by the last thirty pages or so. The ending took the pace from parked to second gear and it felt like a breath of fresh air because of this. Despite the ending being left open to the reader's imagination somewhat, I still felt happy with how everything got wrapped up and just wish that Farren had injected that same level of pace and excitement into the whole novel. Because, beyond that, it was pretty much just a guy clipping forty peoples' finger and toenails with an awful lot of memory sequences thrown in mid paragraph that just confused the heck out of me as to why they didn't have their own part.
I had a really hard time getting through this one. Nothing to do with the concept or the hard-hitting morality questions. It was because of the writing style. I really did not enjoy T. C. Farren's style. Every sentence, it seemed, had an adjective, sometimes two. A fair amount of the time these adjectives were used to describe things in such an abstract way that you had to stop and try to figure out just how that description in any fit what was being described.
I think the best way to describe the writing was that she tried far too hard to make it far too literary. All it achieved was confusion and a pace that was so slow that, even a speed-reader would have struggled to burn through the pages very fast.
Malachi's bizarre obsession with sounding like a thesaurus was frustrating. He described his throat as a larynx, his fingers as phalanges, air as oxygen ... everything was very prim and proper and educated. Until he talked about his rear end which was always his 'bum' rather than gluteus maximus (which would have tied in with his strange fascination with proper names of things).
It's a shame, as I really liked the concept. The moral dilemma that Malachi finds himself in 'do I help these criminals, in whose bodies are being grown organs to help the needy, or do I free them from this living torture?' was an inspired and intriguing story idea.
Sadly, the slow pace and frustrating descriptions made it hard to get my teeth fully into this story. When I did, I enjoyed it. I liked the concept and thought it had real potential. But, that potential was hampered by characters that had no character. Malachi tends to forty prisoners, only a handful of which we know the names of (the rest being barely referenced. Ever.) Out of that handful who had names, even fewer had any actual character work put into them. They were, for the most part just names and their crime 'John Doe the thief' etc ... Even the characters that Malachi worked with barely had any flair to them. They had jobs and names and were barely defined in any other way than that.
Malachi's obsession with electrocuting his genitals every time he felt the slightest bit of arousal was strange and added next to nothing to the plot.
For the most part, I felt it would be a two out of five but was swayed by the last thirty pages or so. The ending took the pace from parked to second gear and it felt like a breath of fresh air because of this. Despite the ending being left open to the reader's imagination somewhat, I still felt happy with how everything got wrapped up and just wish that Farren had injected that same level of pace and excitement into the whole novel. Because, beyond that, it was pretty much just a guy clipping forty peoples' finger and toenails with an awful lot of memory sequences thrown in mid paragraph that just confused the heck out of me as to why they didn't have their own part.
September 4, 2019
This is stunningly unique. Most striking is the shattering contrast between the disturbing horror of the organ-farming plot, plus the devastating histories of some of the prisoners, and the courage and tenderness of mute Malachi Dakwaa as he gives the caged killers their daily mani- and pedicures, and starts to see them as deeply wounded individuals, many as savagely hurt as he himself has been. He is just the most wonderful character.
Original, tense, and profoundly moving.
Original, tense, and profoundly moving.
February 21, 2021
Unfortunately for me the blurb was more attractive than the writing. I have read the 5 star reviews and the 1/2 star reviews and it seems the higher ratings seem to focus more on the story and the ethical and moral points Malachi is faced with, the lower ratings seem to pick up more on the writing style and the repetitive plot with a lack lustre and shallow cast where a lot of the characters adds little to nothing to the plot moving forward.
The biggest points for me was the weird and disjointed writing style I appreciate as Malachi is mute Farren needed to be a little more descriptive in order to get his way of thinking across but it was too many adjectives and confusing at times I had no clue what it was that was being described a few times. It made it so clunky and awkward to read and just didn't add any fluidity for me at all.
My second was the (for me) unnecessary and constant use of Malachi zapping his genitals evertime he was aroused, in fact.. the mention of penises altogether got boring quite quickly and still not sure what it added to the story. Again mix these with very bland and uninteresting characters who I just couldn't find any redeeming factor in for the most point, it made for a frustrating and disappointing read overall.
The biggest points for me was the weird and disjointed writing style I appreciate as Malachi is mute Farren needed to be a little more descriptive in order to get his way of thinking across but it was too many adjectives and confusing at times I had no clue what it was that was being described a few times. It made it so clunky and awkward to read and just didn't add any fluidity for me at all.
My second was the (for me) unnecessary and constant use of Malachi zapping his genitals evertime he was aroused, in fact.. the mention of penises altogether got boring quite quickly and still not sure what it added to the story. Again mix these with very bland and uninteresting characters who I just couldn't find any redeeming factor in for the most point, it made for a frustrating and disappointing read overall.
June 12, 2019
I love books where every word has a purpose. Malachi is one such book. TC Farren writes so fluidly it like being taken on a swift river cruiser. I’m not even sure why I bought this book, as reading the cover it wouldn’t have been I book I would immediately have been drawn to. But from the 1st paragraph I got swept along.
Malachi is such a sweet boy I felt immediately drawn to him, and rooting for his happiness. The characters, while supposedly flawed became so human you can’t help sympathising with them.
It’s definitely a book that will stay in my mind - I’ll probably re-read it every year! Definitely worth the risk
Malachi is such a sweet boy I felt immediately drawn to him, and rooting for his happiness. The characters, while supposedly flawed became so human you can’t help sympathising with them.
It’s definitely a book that will stay in my mind - I’ll probably re-read it every year! Definitely worth the risk
January 17, 2021
I was so excited to read this book after reading the blurb, it made the book sound so unmissable and I couldn't wait. I found myself, however, thoroughly underwhelmed.
My opinion of the story dropped steadily the further I read, I found myself increasingly irritated with the protagonist, and by the end of the story I felt that I truly disliked Malachi. I felt that he had no redeeming qualities, although this could be attributed to the fact that I found it extremely difficult to form a connection with or feel any sort of affection for him as a character as the author provided little to no description of his personality outside of his trauma and unusual relationship with his sexuality. In fact, the author provides almost no character descriptions for the prisoners, choosing rather to describe a small aspect of their physical appearance (which centers largely around genitals and secondary sex characteristics), making it difficult to form a connection with them and therefore feel anythjng for them as characters. Malachi's "feelings" for Vicki come across as rather disturbing as they are portrayed as purely physical attraction and a desire to perform sexual acts with her, to the point of seeming obsessive and predatory.
The cover of this book promises "a gripping thriller with a speculative twist" however I did not feel gripped by the story and I was honestly left wondering what the twist was. In my opinion, the blurb does not represent the story accurately at all and the only reason I finished the book was because I felt obligated to given how excited I was to read it and by the time I realised how disappointed I was beginning to feel in it I was well over halfway and felt committed to seeing how it ended. Finishing this book felt like a chore and the writing felt somewhat repetitive, unnatural and forced at times. I cannot see myself recommending this book to anyone.
My opinion of the story dropped steadily the further I read, I found myself increasingly irritated with the protagonist, and by the end of the story I felt that I truly disliked Malachi. I felt that he had no redeeming qualities, although this could be attributed to the fact that I found it extremely difficult to form a connection with or feel any sort of affection for him as a character as the author provided little to no description of his personality outside of his trauma and unusual relationship with his sexuality. In fact, the author provides almost no character descriptions for the prisoners, choosing rather to describe a small aspect of their physical appearance (which centers largely around genitals and secondary sex characteristics), making it difficult to form a connection with them and therefore feel anythjng for them as characters. Malachi's "feelings" for Vicki come across as rather disturbing as they are portrayed as purely physical attraction and a desire to perform sexual acts with her, to the point of seeming obsessive and predatory.
The cover of this book promises "a gripping thriller with a speculative twist" however I did not feel gripped by the story and I was honestly left wondering what the twist was. In my opinion, the blurb does not represent the story accurately at all and the only reason I finished the book was because I felt obligated to given how excited I was to read it and by the time I realised how disappointed I was beginning to feel in it I was well over halfway and felt committed to seeing how it ended. Finishing this book felt like a chore and the writing felt somewhat repetitive, unnatural and forced at times. I cannot see myself recommending this book to anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2019
Like nothing you’ve ever read before, Tracey Farren is a wordsmith and virtually every sentence sings off the page in symphony with characters you feel you know by the end. Enthralling.
January 5, 2021
After reading the blurb of "The Book of Malachi" I was absolutely taken and I could not wait to begin. I started the book and as I read on I became more and more disappointed and I felt incredibly let down by the very gripping blurb. The story is incredibly repetitive, there is almost no description of the characters (other than how their genitals look) and the protagonist is one of the most unlikeable character I have ever encountered. So little description of the characters was given that I felt I could not connect with any of them at all. I truly feel that the blurb is the most exciting part of the book and the story does not deliver on the very gripping blurb.
On top of this, the author places a very heavy focus on the characters genitals (specifically penises). Descriptions of the characters genitalia are given so often and so repetitively that they eventually add nothing to the story and just become annoying.
If I could give one tip to potential readers it would be that if you want to read this book based on the blurb alone...don't. You will probably be disappointed.
On top of this, the author places a very heavy focus on the characters genitals (specifically penises). Descriptions of the characters genitalia are given so often and so repetitively that they eventually add nothing to the story and just become annoying.
If I could give one tip to potential readers it would be that if you want to read this book based on the blurb alone...don't. You will probably be disappointed.
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June 23, 2019Read my five star feature in the Sunday Times: http://bit.ly/2NguAaK
~My job is to check the plastic, see that it seals off the body parts, splays the flesh flat like the faces against a windscreen.
~I have seen decapitation. The head disengages as if the spine is nothing. A mere rumour.~
~The subjects were suffering in mime.~
~There's no point in having a child if you didn't have time to love it.~
~Words are water.~
~The movies at the refuge center cured me of diving to the ground at the sound of bullets, and pissing, just pissing. Some children had to be packed into their metal beds with blankets to muffle the sound while the movies played for two hours. It didn't occur to the welfare workers to simply not play films about war and devastation, for goodness' sake.~
~This is the first time [X] has spoken of their earthly life. It's like Jesus suddenly saying he has Weet-Bix for breakfast.~
~My job is to check the plastic, see that it seals off the body parts, splays the flesh flat like the faces against a windscreen.
~I have seen decapitation. The head disengages as if the spine is nothing. A mere rumour.~
~The subjects were suffering in mime.~
~There's no point in having a child if you didn't have time to love it.~
~Words are water.~
~The movies at the refuge center cured me of diving to the ground at the sound of bullets, and pissing, just pissing. Some children had to be packed into their metal beds with blankets to muffle the sound while the movies played for two hours. It didn't occur to the welfare workers to simply not play films about war and devastation, for goodness' sake.~
~This is the first time [X] has spoken of their earthly life. It's like Jesus suddenly saying he has Weet-Bix for breakfast.~
October 30, 2020
The Book of Malachi is a story set in some undefined near future, where science has advanced to a point to allow the growth of human organs in order to provide needed transplants, however, the practice seems to be less than legal, and as such leads to some shady and frightening practices. This is where Malachi comes into this story.
Malachi has spent years working in factories and on production lines, and has an impeccable work record. Thanks to his skills he seems like the ideal person to work for Raizier Pharmaceuticals, but the thing that makes him the perfect candidate is that he has no tongue. Raizier offers to give Malachi a new tongue if he comes to work for them for just six months, helping to take care of the prisoners on their off shore oilrig. Malachi agrees, believing that it's a good trade, that those people locked away in cages, used to grow new organs and go through rounds of surgery deserve their fate. They're murderers and rapists after all, why shouldn't they suffer if it means that they can save other people's lives?
However, Malachi quickly begins to discover that despite their pasts, the things that they have done, these people are still people; and they deserve basic compassion. Stripped naked, kept in cages, fed through tubes, their conditions are barely better than animals. And when they begin to tell Malachi their stories, the things that led them to this place he not only begins to see that they're in some cases victims of circumstance, people who have been forced into awful decisions, but some of them are just as much victims as he is.
One of the best things about The Book of Malachi is the surprising twists the narrative takes. I wasn't too surprised that Malachi comes to see the caged criminals as more than just incubators for organs, but it was the way their stories affected him, the parallels he saw to his own life that took me by surprise. We learn over the course of the book that Malachi wasn't born mute, but suffered something awful that led to him losing his tongue. Malachi eventually reveals the reasons for this to both the reader and the prisoners, and you see that this is not only the first time that he's ever shared this information, but just how much it affects him.
Malachi's journey through the book isn't just him learning to see the prisoners as people, but learning to see himself as one too. He's walked around with incredible guilt and self hatred for years, putting himself as the reason for the suffering he has been through, and lives that have been lost. It's through his interactions with these killers that he learns to let go of this pain, to start to see himself as a person worth loving, worth being proud of.
There are some characters amongst the prisoners that I don't think we're supposed to like, some whose crimes are completely unjustifiable, like the resident rapist, but with others it's not so clear cut. There's a character who admits to having killed his wife and her lover when he discovered them together, who lashed out in a moment of blind rage and deeply regrets what he's done. He's presented as a very clear headed and decent person, and one who's torn apart inside by the regret and grief over his past actions, and you can't help but feel a little sorry for him, acknowledging that this is a situation that you yourself could find yourself in. There are others who have more extreme stories, but who still manage to feel sympathetic, victims of circumstance.
Thanks to the duplicity and intentional harm being caused by some of the people working at Raizier, and the way they even treat some of their staff the people who think of themselves as being the 'good guys', as doing something shady in order to help others, it means that there's not really anyone in this book who can be seen as a good person. Every character here is a shade of grey, a victim or an offender in some way. They've all done bad things, or turn a blind eye to bad things. Because of this, the book ends up being an incredibly complex character study, even for the minor characters. It's a story where I don't know how I feel about the people involved, and at times don't know who to root for.
T.C. Farren has done a spectacular job at crafting a story that's going to test its readers. You're going to come away thinking about your own morals, about what you feel is good and bad, and how those ideas can easily be twisted to opposite means. Yes, some people have done awful things in their lives, and you might think there's nothing wrong in those people suffering a little if it leads to a good outcome, but does that make you a bad person if you allow that? The Book of Malachi asks if the ends justify the means, and if people are every truly evil or irredeemable. It's a book that will make you feel uncomfortable, but in a good way, in a way that will leave you stunned.]
More book reviews at www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com
Malachi has spent years working in factories and on production lines, and has an impeccable work record. Thanks to his skills he seems like the ideal person to work for Raizier Pharmaceuticals, but the thing that makes him the perfect candidate is that he has no tongue. Raizier offers to give Malachi a new tongue if he comes to work for them for just six months, helping to take care of the prisoners on their off shore oilrig. Malachi agrees, believing that it's a good trade, that those people locked away in cages, used to grow new organs and go through rounds of surgery deserve their fate. They're murderers and rapists after all, why shouldn't they suffer if it means that they can save other people's lives?
However, Malachi quickly begins to discover that despite their pasts, the things that they have done, these people are still people; and they deserve basic compassion. Stripped naked, kept in cages, fed through tubes, their conditions are barely better than animals. And when they begin to tell Malachi their stories, the things that led them to this place he not only begins to see that they're in some cases victims of circumstance, people who have been forced into awful decisions, but some of them are just as much victims as he is.
One of the best things about The Book of Malachi is the surprising twists the narrative takes. I wasn't too surprised that Malachi comes to see the caged criminals as more than just incubators for organs, but it was the way their stories affected him, the parallels he saw to his own life that took me by surprise. We learn over the course of the book that Malachi wasn't born mute, but suffered something awful that led to him losing his tongue. Malachi eventually reveals the reasons for this to both the reader and the prisoners, and you see that this is not only the first time that he's ever shared this information, but just how much it affects him.
Malachi's journey through the book isn't just him learning to see the prisoners as people, but learning to see himself as one too. He's walked around with incredible guilt and self hatred for years, putting himself as the reason for the suffering he has been through, and lives that have been lost. It's through his interactions with these killers that he learns to let go of this pain, to start to see himself as a person worth loving, worth being proud of.
There are some characters amongst the prisoners that I don't think we're supposed to like, some whose crimes are completely unjustifiable, like the resident rapist, but with others it's not so clear cut. There's a character who admits to having killed his wife and her lover when he discovered them together, who lashed out in a moment of blind rage and deeply regrets what he's done. He's presented as a very clear headed and decent person, and one who's torn apart inside by the regret and grief over his past actions, and you can't help but feel a little sorry for him, acknowledging that this is a situation that you yourself could find yourself in. There are others who have more extreme stories, but who still manage to feel sympathetic, victims of circumstance.
Thanks to the duplicity and intentional harm being caused by some of the people working at Raizier, and the way they even treat some of their staff the people who think of themselves as being the 'good guys', as doing something shady in order to help others, it means that there's not really anyone in this book who can be seen as a good person. Every character here is a shade of grey, a victim or an offender in some way. They've all done bad things, or turn a blind eye to bad things. Because of this, the book ends up being an incredibly complex character study, even for the minor characters. It's a story where I don't know how I feel about the people involved, and at times don't know who to root for.
T.C. Farren has done a spectacular job at crafting a story that's going to test its readers. You're going to come away thinking about your own morals, about what you feel is good and bad, and how those ideas can easily be twisted to opposite means. Yes, some people have done awful things in their lives, and you might think there's nothing wrong in those people suffering a little if it leads to a good outcome, but does that make you a bad person if you allow that? The Book of Malachi asks if the ends justify the means, and if people are every truly evil or irredeemable. It's a book that will make you feel uncomfortable, but in a good way, in a way that will leave you stunned.]
More book reviews at www.trans--scribe.blogspot.com
April 2, 2022
I really don't know what to say.
This is a 3.5 review. But it was one strange book.
So let's start with the main character. Malachi is a little complicated. Yes he is mute. His tongue has been cut out and he eventually tells the story of why. This part of the story is bloody brilliant by the way. Up until he tells his story I was a little unsure and not overly engaged. The story he tells is good though. And I like how he communicates with the phone. He's overall very likeable but and this is a big but, what the hell is going on with his penis????
What on earth am I going on about, I hear you cry. Well, this is the reason I can't score the hook higher. There is a real preoccupation with his penis. So he works in this prison where they harvest organs grown in prisoners. I get that. But they are all naked, and he spends his days cutting their nails. I just couldn't help but feel perplexed as to why the prisoners are all naked and why Malachi keeps talking about their knees and ankles. He appears to have a strange fetish or at least a preoccupation with bones and joints. And why do I need to know that he dampens his sexual desires by electrocuting his genitals? I really hoped there was going to be some revelation which would make sense of this at the end. But nope. If the author took these bits out the story wouldn't change. The sex bit doesn't add anything at all. Was it just to fill up the pages as all he actually does is cut nails?
Do t get me wrong, the book had good bits. I enjoyed learning about the prisoners, but I'd have preferred to learn more. The book would lend itself to a multi view approach for example. A d what's the crews story? Not exploring this felt like a lost opportunity.
So overall, this is a 3.5 it's weird. It's not life changing, nor particularly thought provoking, but it's different and probably something many people have thought of, this idea of using prisoners for medical testing. The writing was nice too, I learnt some new fancy words and the story flowed reasonably well.
This is a 3.5 review. But it was one strange book.
So let's start with the main character. Malachi is a little complicated. Yes he is mute. His tongue has been cut out and he eventually tells the story of why. This part of the story is bloody brilliant by the way. Up until he tells his story I was a little unsure and not overly engaged. The story he tells is good though. And I like how he communicates with the phone. He's overall very likeable but and this is a big but, what the hell is going on with his penis????
What on earth am I going on about, I hear you cry. Well, this is the reason I can't score the hook higher. There is a real preoccupation with his penis. So he works in this prison where they harvest organs grown in prisoners. I get that. But they are all naked, and he spends his days cutting their nails. I just couldn't help but feel perplexed as to why the prisoners are all naked and why Malachi keeps talking about their knees and ankles. He appears to have a strange fetish or at least a preoccupation with bones and joints. And why do I need to know that he dampens his sexual desires by electrocuting his genitals? I really hoped there was going to be some revelation which would make sense of this at the end. But nope. If the author took these bits out the story wouldn't change. The sex bit doesn't add anything at all. Was it just to fill up the pages as all he actually does is cut nails?
Do t get me wrong, the book had good bits. I enjoyed learning about the prisoners, but I'd have preferred to learn more. The book would lend itself to a multi view approach for example. A d what's the crews story? Not exploring this felt like a lost opportunity.
So overall, this is a 3.5 it's weird. It's not life changing, nor particularly thought provoking, but it's different and probably something many people have thought of, this idea of using prisoners for medical testing. The writing was nice too, I learnt some new fancy words and the story flowed reasonably well.
March 20, 2022
The horror of body harvesting and the inhumanity that exist in the souls of many. A difficult read, a warning of horror that is possible in the future and perhaps even occurring now.
September 19, 2019
A fiercely intense dark fantasy for our times
The conception of the Book of Malachi, like all great speculative stories, is at the edge of the real. In our world, with opioid-peddling pharmaceutical companies, oil companies that fund climate change denialism, fashion brands that use bonded labour in third-world countries and – especially – profit-driven agricultural behemoths, it’s no great stretch to imagine a biotech company using the living bodies of convicts to grow human organs.
On an offshore rig on the open seas, the prisoners are caged, naked and brimming with growth hormones. Malachi must tend them as they grow these extra internal organs for the profit of the corporation. The parallels with factory farming and modern meat processing are chilling. In fact, Malachi begins his career in a chicken processing plant.
Imagining the details of organ farming (as with the details of, say, dairy production) is burdensome, but worthwhile – lucky for us, Tracey Farren has shouldered the weight of the task to create this original narrative. She also imagines a remarkable character, Malachi.
Mutilation follows Malachi. Quite literally, he’s suffered his own unspeakable trauma – his tongue was cut out in a civil war in the country of his birth. In return for the promise of a fresh, grafted organ, Malachi works the rig. He’s repulsed by the collection of murderers and miscreants he must tend to, but as he does his rounds, they reveal their own stories. Against his will, their tales have a powerful effect on him: he begins to feel again, to feel for them, even to love them.
The Book of Malachi is an exploration of the injury of incarceration, and of the force that trauma exerts on a life; it’s part action thriller, part fantasy and an all-too-real reflection of the disturbing harms created by powerful corporations. Malachi may be constrained in his speech, but his inner voice is at turns lyrical, bitter and ecstatic. It’s a voice with a fierce intensity that never lets up, and stays with you long after the last page.
The conception of the Book of Malachi, like all great speculative stories, is at the edge of the real. In our world, with opioid-peddling pharmaceutical companies, oil companies that fund climate change denialism, fashion brands that use bonded labour in third-world countries and – especially – profit-driven agricultural behemoths, it’s no great stretch to imagine a biotech company using the living bodies of convicts to grow human organs.
On an offshore rig on the open seas, the prisoners are caged, naked and brimming with growth hormones. Malachi must tend them as they grow these extra internal organs for the profit of the corporation. The parallels with factory farming and modern meat processing are chilling. In fact, Malachi begins his career in a chicken processing plant.
Imagining the details of organ farming (as with the details of, say, dairy production) is burdensome, but worthwhile – lucky for us, Tracey Farren has shouldered the weight of the task to create this original narrative. She also imagines a remarkable character, Malachi.
Mutilation follows Malachi. Quite literally, he’s suffered his own unspeakable trauma – his tongue was cut out in a civil war in the country of his birth. In return for the promise of a fresh, grafted organ, Malachi works the rig. He’s repulsed by the collection of murderers and miscreants he must tend to, but as he does his rounds, they reveal their own stories. Against his will, their tales have a powerful effect on him: he begins to feel again, to feel for them, even to love them.
The Book of Malachi is an exploration of the injury of incarceration, and of the force that trauma exerts on a life; it’s part action thriller, part fantasy and an all-too-real reflection of the disturbing harms created by powerful corporations. Malachi may be constrained in his speech, but his inner voice is at turns lyrical, bitter and ecstatic. It’s a voice with a fierce intensity that never lets up, and stays with you long after the last page.
January 8, 2021
Really struggled with this one. Felt like was designed purely as shock factor built around a solid but fairly basic premise. And IMHO not particularly well done.... I always find it difficult giving less than 3 star reviews. I’m in absolute AWE of anyone who could write a book. It’s a skill and a talent that I simply cannot comprehend..... So I will always stress, in case the author might read this review, that I could try for a thousand years and would never be able to produce any sort of novel at all, even one to average 0.1 stars! There are many many books in life that I have abandoned after 50 pages, 150 pages.... This was not one of them as I definitely had to and wanted to finish it!
In a similar vein, I read Tender is the Flesh last year which was similarly a shock factor book. I thought that was truly wonderfully written, but struggled to know how to rate it or even how to review it - but then found the perfect words for review..... not mine! Read the review by “lark benobi” on here instead!
In a similar vein, I read Tender is the Flesh last year which was similarly a shock factor book. I thought that was truly wonderfully written, but struggled to know how to rate it or even how to review it - but then found the perfect words for review..... not mine! Read the review by “lark benobi” on here instead!
November 6, 2020
Sadly I just couldn't get on with this one, the writing style just didn't gel well for me and it wasn't the story that I thought it would be from the blurb. I can see why it's been well received as it tackles a lot of difficult topics with regard to morality and forgiveness both of Malachi himself and he of others. But it was unable to really build the sense of dread in me that it was trying to do, I felt distracted by the over sexualised content that felt baffling given the surroundings. The cover is fantastic and the concept is creepy as hell, it just wasn't executed in a way that worked for me.
Because this is a 2* review I won't be posting to my blog as per my policy, but I wanted to write something to acknowledge the lovely people at Titan Books who sent a finished copy for me to review.
Because this is a 2* review I won't be posting to my blog as per my policy, but I wanted to write something to acknowledge the lovely people at Titan Books who sent a finished copy for me to review.
June 13, 2021
This book just didn't work for me. I wanted to like it, but I found myself annoyed at the protagonist and what he does. Not only that, but the thoughts of the protagonist veered into territory that was way too sexual for me. As such, I found myself unable to enjoy the book. Perhaps it will work for someone else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2021
WTF did I just read? Not my cup of tea
November 13, 2020
11/10/2020 3.5 rounded up. I'm still thinking about this one. Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
11/13/2020 I'm still thinking about this cleverly constructed fable set fifteen or so years in the future. Thirty year-old Malachi is hired to essentially be the groom for a stable of murderers whose bodies are being used as part of a top-secret organ-growing project run by Raizier Pharmaceuticals. The nutrients fed to the prisoners cause their nails to grow far faster than usual, and since the wardens would rather their cash cows didn't hurt themselves, someone must be given the daily task of clipping their claws (if you'll forgive my bag of mixed metaphors here.) Malachi is the perfect candidate, in large part due to his muteness. In addition to the usual remuneration, Raizier offers to graft on a new tongue for him in exchange for a little over half a year's work. Lonely Malachi, seeing not much of a future at the chicken processing plant where he currently runs quality control, readily accepts.
The prisoners, he is told on the long journey by both car and helicraft, are the worst of the worst, rapists and killers who are being given a chance to give back to society for their misdeeds by having their bodies be used as vessels to grow extra necessary parts. After these parts are harvested, the criminals will be sent back to prison to finish out their terms. Upon arrival at the offshore rig where the prisoners are being kept, Malachi discovers that all the other staffers he'll interact with -- the non-medical staff, essentially -- have also been promised organs for their loved ones: a heart here, lungs for another, arteries for a third.
The reality of the holding cell is the first shock for our new prison warden. Forty naked prisoners are held in plexiglass enclosures in one large room through which he must travel with his trolley of grooming items. Handsome, gregarious Tamba, his new roommate, oversees from the console room above, while Meirong, their cold supervisor, checks in from time to time to make sure that no one is communicating with the prisoners. Apparently, Malachi's predecessor had made that mistake, but Raizier is confident that hiring an illiterate mute will circumvent any future issues.
Trouble is, Malachi isn't actually illiterate, tho he's feigned so for years as part of a self-imposed penance for the crime that cost him his tongue. As the prisoners begin to tell him their stories, however, Malachi discovers that not all crimes are created equal, and that perhaps the greatest one of all is the injustice being perpetrated on his new charges. But what can he do, a lone, mute man on a rig in the middle of the ocean?
The Book Of Malachi is a searing indictment of inhumane carceral systems and for-profit prisons, both of which are mere symptoms of a society that chooses to see certain elements of humanity as merely chattel or animals. I very much admired the sensitivity with which T. C. Farren examined the concepts of guilt and absolution, tho a certain part of me wonders how absolution can be granted without sincere attempts at atonement -- it isn't enough to claim you feel tortured for your crimes without actively trying to make things right with the ones you harmed or the ones they left behind. The question of rehabilitation and restitution is, of course, an ongoing one, and TBoM brings important moral considerations to the discussion. I did also admire Ms Farren's craftsmanship in building the interlocking parts of her complex tale, as Malachi struggles first with his conscience and his desires before undertaking the even more physical struggle for freedom. It was also very cool that the lens was fixed firmly on Africa in all its diversity, as TBoM was peopled almost exclusively with characters strongly tied to the continent, whether by birth or long-term residence.
We're lucky enough to be able to interview Ms Farren so watch out for that in the coming weeks! In the meantime, The Book Of Malachi was published in the US by Titan Books on November 10th, 2020, and is available for purchase from Bookshop! Want it now? For the Kindle version, click here.
11/13/2020 I'm still thinking about this cleverly constructed fable set fifteen or so years in the future. Thirty year-old Malachi is hired to essentially be the groom for a stable of murderers whose bodies are being used as part of a top-secret organ-growing project run by Raizier Pharmaceuticals. The nutrients fed to the prisoners cause their nails to grow far faster than usual, and since the wardens would rather their cash cows didn't hurt themselves, someone must be given the daily task of clipping their claws (if you'll forgive my bag of mixed metaphors here.) Malachi is the perfect candidate, in large part due to his muteness. In addition to the usual remuneration, Raizier offers to graft on a new tongue for him in exchange for a little over half a year's work. Lonely Malachi, seeing not much of a future at the chicken processing plant where he currently runs quality control, readily accepts.
The prisoners, he is told on the long journey by both car and helicraft, are the worst of the worst, rapists and killers who are being given a chance to give back to society for their misdeeds by having their bodies be used as vessels to grow extra necessary parts. After these parts are harvested, the criminals will be sent back to prison to finish out their terms. Upon arrival at the offshore rig where the prisoners are being kept, Malachi discovers that all the other staffers he'll interact with -- the non-medical staff, essentially -- have also been promised organs for their loved ones: a heart here, lungs for another, arteries for a third.
The reality of the holding cell is the first shock for our new prison warden. Forty naked prisoners are held in plexiglass enclosures in one large room through which he must travel with his trolley of grooming items. Handsome, gregarious Tamba, his new roommate, oversees from the console room above, while Meirong, their cold supervisor, checks in from time to time to make sure that no one is communicating with the prisoners. Apparently, Malachi's predecessor had made that mistake, but Raizier is confident that hiring an illiterate mute will circumvent any future issues.
Trouble is, Malachi isn't actually illiterate, tho he's feigned so for years as part of a self-imposed penance for the crime that cost him his tongue. As the prisoners begin to tell him their stories, however, Malachi discovers that not all crimes are created equal, and that perhaps the greatest one of all is the injustice being perpetrated on his new charges. But what can he do, a lone, mute man on a rig in the middle of the ocean?
The Book Of Malachi is a searing indictment of inhumane carceral systems and for-profit prisons, both of which are mere symptoms of a society that chooses to see certain elements of humanity as merely chattel or animals. I very much admired the sensitivity with which T. C. Farren examined the concepts of guilt and absolution, tho a certain part of me wonders how absolution can be granted without sincere attempts at atonement -- it isn't enough to claim you feel tortured for your crimes without actively trying to make things right with the ones you harmed or the ones they left behind. The question of rehabilitation and restitution is, of course, an ongoing one, and TBoM brings important moral considerations to the discussion. I did also admire Ms Farren's craftsmanship in building the interlocking parts of her complex tale, as Malachi struggles first with his conscience and his desires before undertaking the even more physical struggle for freedom. It was also very cool that the lens was fixed firmly on Africa in all its diversity, as TBoM was peopled almost exclusively with characters strongly tied to the continent, whether by birth or long-term residence.
We're lucky enough to be able to interview Ms Farren so watch out for that in the coming weeks! In the meantime, The Book Of Malachi was published in the US by Titan Books on November 10th, 2020, and is available for purchase from Bookshop! Want it now? For the Kindle version, click here.
October 26, 2020
Malachi is mute, his tongue removed years ago when soldiers came to his village and killed everyone but him. However, if he will work for Raizier Pharmaceuticals for six months on an oilrig, then Raizier will grow him a new one. It seems like a dream job until Malachi realises that his role is to care for criminals who are being used as incubators, growing new organs for the wealthy elite. Doubt of his wards’ guilt set in as the prisoners tells him their stories—Malachi questions whether they deserve their fate regardless of whether they are guilty or not. As relationships form, Malachi must decide what is more important, his tongue or the lives of forty inmates.
The Book of Malachi is told from Malachi’s point of view in first person present tense. There is a leaning towards a literary style, which, although not my favourite style, works really well here. The use of present tense, as well as separating the chapters by days, creates a sense of immediacy, which made it difficult for me to put the book down.
We learn early on that Malachi could talk at one point and is a lot more intelligent than the people around him. His story of how he came to be a mute is fed to us in pieces as Malachi discovers one of the criminals on the lab helped the soldiers who destroyed his village. One of my favourite elements is that Malachi is an unreliable narrator. His exposure to the criminals and their honesty strips away the lies he tells himself, and us, to reveal the truth.
There are some graphic elements in The Book of Malachi, which could trigger people. There are frank descriptions of genital self-mutilation, the murder of children, and operations. Malachi is also fixated with the genitals of the criminals. They are all naked to make caring for them more straightforward, so every time Malachi is with them, the reader is given descriptions of their bodies. There is a reason for this, but for the sake of being spoiler-free, I won’t tell you. However, I will say that, after a while, it felt gratuitous and lost its initial impact.
The central theme explores the subject of guilt. There is no doubt that the inmates on the oilrig are guilty of something, but is it what they were found guilty of and do they deserve their punishment? And are Raizier’s employees innocent? The organ harvesting operation is illegal, and the employees are being paid with much-needed organs for their loved ones. Without Raizier, their family members would die, so does that excuse the employees when they ignore the neglect of a stranded sailor who went to them for help? There is no easy answer for us or for Malachi, which is part of this book’s appeal. Everyone is guilty of something, and it is a question of what they can live with.
The Book of Malachi is not for the faint-hearted or squeamish, you have been warned, but it is also a gripping, tense novel about second chances. Highly recommended.
The Book of Malachi is told from Malachi’s point of view in first person present tense. There is a leaning towards a literary style, which, although not my favourite style, works really well here. The use of present tense, as well as separating the chapters by days, creates a sense of immediacy, which made it difficult for me to put the book down.
We learn early on that Malachi could talk at one point and is a lot more intelligent than the people around him. His story of how he came to be a mute is fed to us in pieces as Malachi discovers one of the criminals on the lab helped the soldiers who destroyed his village. One of my favourite elements is that Malachi is an unreliable narrator. His exposure to the criminals and their honesty strips away the lies he tells himself, and us, to reveal the truth.
There are some graphic elements in The Book of Malachi, which could trigger people. There are frank descriptions of genital self-mutilation, the murder of children, and operations. Malachi is also fixated with the genitals of the criminals. They are all naked to make caring for them more straightforward, so every time Malachi is with them, the reader is given descriptions of their bodies. There is a reason for this, but for the sake of being spoiler-free, I won’t tell you. However, I will say that, after a while, it felt gratuitous and lost its initial impact.
The central theme explores the subject of guilt. There is no doubt that the inmates on the oilrig are guilty of something, but is it what they were found guilty of and do they deserve their punishment? And are Raizier’s employees innocent? The organ harvesting operation is illegal, and the employees are being paid with much-needed organs for their loved ones. Without Raizier, their family members would die, so does that excuse the employees when they ignore the neglect of a stranded sailor who went to them for help? There is no easy answer for us or for Malachi, which is part of this book’s appeal. Everyone is guilty of something, and it is a question of what they can live with.
The Book of Malachi is not for the faint-hearted or squeamish, you have been warned, but it is also a gripping, tense novel about second chances. Highly recommended.
November 11, 2020
The Book of Malachi is not a book for the faint-hearted, and it certainly won’t be a book for everyone, as it delves deep into some very dark subjects, and to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this one. It was incredibly well written, and I’m not one for shying away from darker books, but there were a few points in this one where it felt not quite gratuitous but brushing up against the periphery of that.
That said, this was a very unique book that takes that Sci-Fi/Speculative element and makes it disturbingly real and close to the world that we live in now because it does not feel outside the realms of possibility that this could be happening somewhere out in our world. A dystopian future that feels terrifyingly like it could be an alternative present and I think perhaps that was the Book of Malachi’s greatest strength was, because it made it immediate and devasting with its possibility. There is also the fact that this book is an in-depth dive into the way humans can and will treat one another for exploitation, for money or personal gain, and exploration of the depths of human cruelty and morality, and this is another aspect that is dealt with very well. Yes, it’s dark, yes it pushes the limits at times, but it never does so unquestionably, and it doesn’t shy away from exploring them, which while disturbing is to be admired.
The titular Malachi makes for an interesting main character, and the first person POV means that we dive as deeply into his thoughts and feelings, and experience, as we do the world and situation that he finds himself, which creates the sense that we are there, experiencing the horrors of the world, the questions for ourselves. That he is mute provides not only motivation for his participation in what is happening on the oil rig, but it adds depth to his perception of the world and how he experiences, and in a way, it makes his experience and the choices that he makes more visceral because he has to confront himself, his past and what might happen if he chooses to help, or chooses to keep his peace and do his job. We spend so much time with Malachi and his thoughts, that his turmoil becomes ours, that his decisions are weighed as heavily in our thoughts, and it really does add an extra dimension to this book.
There is not a lot of light or hope within this book to offset the darkness, and I think perhaps some glimmers might have made this book more accessible, and in some ways would have deepened the sense of horror. There is a glimmer of it towards the end though that was much needed.
Overall, I did enjoy The Book of Malachi, and it is a book that will stay with me for a while, but I think it is very much a book that will not appeal to everyone because it is truly a dark read. However, for those who enjoy dystopian fiction, especially ones with bleak futures filled with terror, or just fiction on the darker (very dark) side, then this may well be the book for you.
That said, this was a very unique book that takes that Sci-Fi/Speculative element and makes it disturbingly real and close to the world that we live in now because it does not feel outside the realms of possibility that this could be happening somewhere out in our world. A dystopian future that feels terrifyingly like it could be an alternative present and I think perhaps that was the Book of Malachi’s greatest strength was, because it made it immediate and devasting with its possibility. There is also the fact that this book is an in-depth dive into the way humans can and will treat one another for exploitation, for money or personal gain, and exploration of the depths of human cruelty and morality, and this is another aspect that is dealt with very well. Yes, it’s dark, yes it pushes the limits at times, but it never does so unquestionably, and it doesn’t shy away from exploring them, which while disturbing is to be admired.
The titular Malachi makes for an interesting main character, and the first person POV means that we dive as deeply into his thoughts and feelings, and experience, as we do the world and situation that he finds himself, which creates the sense that we are there, experiencing the horrors of the world, the questions for ourselves. That he is mute provides not only motivation for his participation in what is happening on the oil rig, but it adds depth to his perception of the world and how he experiences, and in a way, it makes his experience and the choices that he makes more visceral because he has to confront himself, his past and what might happen if he chooses to help, or chooses to keep his peace and do his job. We spend so much time with Malachi and his thoughts, that his turmoil becomes ours, that his decisions are weighed as heavily in our thoughts, and it really does add an extra dimension to this book.
There is not a lot of light or hope within this book to offset the darkness, and I think perhaps some glimmers might have made this book more accessible, and in some ways would have deepened the sense of horror. There is a glimmer of it towards the end though that was much needed.
Overall, I did enjoy The Book of Malachi, and it is a book that will stay with me for a while, but I think it is very much a book that will not appeal to everyone because it is truly a dark read. However, for those who enjoy dystopian fiction, especially ones with bleak futures filled with terror, or just fiction on the darker (very dark) side, then this may well be the book for you.
September 30, 2020
I will start by saying that I know this book wont be for everyone, books that feature dark subjects will always have that effect on potential readers but I truly enjoyed this book and despite the grim subject, I was sucked in till the end.
Malachi Dakwaa is mute, he spends his days working in a chicken processing factory and his nights sleeping in a stall in converted stables. He is a clever man with some considerable demons, having lost his tongue at an early age and seeing loved ones murdered in front of you will do that to a person.
His life is about to change and for the better, he is offered a job working for a classified medical programme. This position is not in a hospital, it is on an oil rig far off the coast of Africa and his payment for six months will be the grafting of a new tongue. You see the rig is not drilling for oil, it is harvesting organs from prisoners, these prisoners have committed horrible acts and as punishment their bodies are being used to grow organs. Malachi will be monitoring them.
The rig houses other people of course and they are all there for the same reason, they have all been promised payment in the form of a body part for a loved one, lungs for a baby boy, a heart for a young girl and they are all desperate to get paid.
Malachi will maintain the prisoners, they are all kept naked in cages, his job is to cut their nails which grow extremely quickly, make sure they are well (because if they are sick, the precious cargo inside them which is worth millions will be null and void) and most importantly not to talk to them, that of course won’t be a problem. He quickly gets in to the swing of things and his disgust for the prisoners is obvious but then he starts to listen to them. All of them are guilty but what if they deserve better?
The setting of this book is quite sinister, I mean of course it is, its an oil rig where they are cutting up people to make money. But the rig itself is huge and I think for me the fact it is in the middle of the ocean with no land around for miles makes me incredibly uneasy - plus did I mention there is sharks!?
Malachi is a complex character, he is thought to be stupid because he is mute but that is incredibly far from the truth, he is an avid reader and that shows in his thoughts. He is compassionate and hard working but as his time on the rig goes by he sees things that he doesn’t like on little bit.
Like I said at the start this book won’t be for everyone but of course if we all liked the same books then life would be incredibly boring. The Book of Malachi is well written and will stay in your thoughts for days after.
Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Malachi Dakwaa is mute, he spends his days working in a chicken processing factory and his nights sleeping in a stall in converted stables. He is a clever man with some considerable demons, having lost his tongue at an early age and seeing loved ones murdered in front of you will do that to a person.
His life is about to change and for the better, he is offered a job working for a classified medical programme. This position is not in a hospital, it is on an oil rig far off the coast of Africa and his payment for six months will be the grafting of a new tongue. You see the rig is not drilling for oil, it is harvesting organs from prisoners, these prisoners have committed horrible acts and as punishment their bodies are being used to grow organs. Malachi will be monitoring them.
The rig houses other people of course and they are all there for the same reason, they have all been promised payment in the form of a body part for a loved one, lungs for a baby boy, a heart for a young girl and they are all desperate to get paid.
Malachi will maintain the prisoners, they are all kept naked in cages, his job is to cut their nails which grow extremely quickly, make sure they are well (because if they are sick, the precious cargo inside them which is worth millions will be null and void) and most importantly not to talk to them, that of course won’t be a problem. He quickly gets in to the swing of things and his disgust for the prisoners is obvious but then he starts to listen to them. All of them are guilty but what if they deserve better?
The setting of this book is quite sinister, I mean of course it is, its an oil rig where they are cutting up people to make money. But the rig itself is huge and I think for me the fact it is in the middle of the ocean with no land around for miles makes me incredibly uneasy - plus did I mention there is sharks!?
Malachi is a complex character, he is thought to be stupid because he is mute but that is incredibly far from the truth, he is an avid reader and that shows in his thoughts. He is compassionate and hard working but as his time on the rig goes by he sees things that he doesn’t like on little bit.
Like I said at the start this book won’t be for everyone but of course if we all liked the same books then life would be incredibly boring. The Book of Malachi is well written and will stay in your thoughts for days after.
Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 31, 2023
Probably the most damning comment I can make about this book is that I put it down after the first 1/4 and almost DNF'd. Not because it was terrible. I just wasn't engaged. The conflict takes a long, long time to develop. Another turn-off, there are many observations about genitalia that aren't relevant to the story. Every few pages, Malachi is is noticing something about his own or someone else's genitalia.
The synopsis explains that Malachi has been hired as a warden on a prison colony on an oil rig. He is not a warden. He's given the job of trimming the prisoners finger and toenails, and from the outset the prisoners pose no danger to him, other than causing him to have uncomfortable flashbacks about his past. He warms up to them shockingly fast, and the main story arc happens over one week. Malachi has been hiding his story within himself for 15 years. I do not buy that he would've engaged with the prisoners in 2-3 days.
The setting is well done. The story is set slightly into the future, but relies on contemporary events for Malachi's backstory. I know some people from revolution-torn areas in Africa, so I am familiar with the situations Malachi describes, and the stories told in this book match the first hand accounts I've heard. Also, it is unfortunately very believable that a corporation would set up an unethical organ farming operation using convicted African criminals.
I would've liked this book better if the prisoners had shown more misbehavior and provided more conflict before Malachi's perception of them and their perception of him shifted. No time was spent exploring the dehumanizing that happens in correctional institutes. Which brings me to my other disappointment. Time. This book should've utilized Malachi's entire 6 month tenure. One week was not long enough for him to get to know the huge cast of characters.
3* because I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this book and I almost DNF'd. I don't feel like it was a waste of my time--that would've earned it a 2* review--but I can't get excited enough to recommend it.
The synopsis explains that Malachi has been hired as a warden on a prison colony on an oil rig. He is not a warden. He's given the job of trimming the prisoners finger and toenails, and from the outset the prisoners pose no danger to him, other than causing him to have uncomfortable flashbacks about his past. He warms up to them shockingly fast, and the main story arc happens over one week. Malachi has been hiding his story within himself for 15 years. I do not buy that he would've engaged with the prisoners in 2-3 days.
The setting is well done. The story is set slightly into the future, but relies on contemporary events for Malachi's backstory. I know some people from revolution-torn areas in Africa, so I am familiar with the situations Malachi describes, and the stories told in this book match the first hand accounts I've heard. Also, it is unfortunately very believable that a corporation would set up an unethical organ farming operation using convicted African criminals.
I would've liked this book better if the prisoners had shown more misbehavior and provided more conflict before Malachi's perception of them and their perception of him shifted. No time was spent exploring the dehumanizing that happens in correctional institutes. Which brings me to my other disappointment. Time. This book should've utilized Malachi's entire 6 month tenure. One week was not long enough for him to get to know the huge cast of characters.
3* because I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this book and I almost DNF'd. I don't feel like it was a waste of my time--that would've earned it a 2* review--but I can't get excited enough to recommend it.
July 13, 2021
Malachi, who has no tongue, is recruited by an organisation which is growing in and harvesting organs from prisoners convicted of murder. They sit naked in their cages; he trims their fingernails and toenails. His reward after six months will be a tongue transplant. Of course, he can't talk to them ... but they can to him and he begins to appreciate the horror of the prisoners' plight. But should he help them? His dilemma is exacerbated by flashbacks to the moment he lost his tongue and the terrible survivor guilt he suffers.
Set on a lonely oil rig in the middle of the ocean with a cast of morally-flawed people, both prisoners and their exploiters, this novel is a powerful exploration of ethical issues. But it is also gritty and hard-edged. Malachi's back story is carefully drip-fed so that the reader often has to puzzle out what happened. It is perfectly paced: important turning points happening around the 33%, 48% and 72% marks. The climax had me rushing through the pages; the jeopardy continued to the very end. And the descriptions were wonderful.
Some magical moments:
"The mirror has the skin disease mirrors get in gloomy rooms." (p 2)
"I have seen decapitation. The head disengages as if the spine is nothing. A mere rumour." (p 3)
"The agent's cinnamon breath disguises her predation." (p 5)
"Jesus would never have had to fight off an erection, would he? But perhaps these are carnal truths the censors burnt." (p 205)
"Money is just paper with some ugly president's face on it." (p 206)
"The yellow man lies loosely, like someone cut him from a cross." (p 320)
Thought-provoking and exciting. Brilliant.
Set on a lonely oil rig in the middle of the ocean with a cast of morally-flawed people, both prisoners and their exploiters, this novel is a powerful exploration of ethical issues. But it is also gritty and hard-edged. Malachi's back story is carefully drip-fed so that the reader often has to puzzle out what happened. It is perfectly paced: important turning points happening around the 33%, 48% and 72% marks. The climax had me rushing through the pages; the jeopardy continued to the very end. And the descriptions were wonderful.
Some magical moments:
"The mirror has the skin disease mirrors get in gloomy rooms." (p 2)
"I have seen decapitation. The head disengages as if the spine is nothing. A mere rumour." (p 3)
"The agent's cinnamon breath disguises her predation." (p 5)
"Jesus would never have had to fight off an erection, would he? But perhaps these are carnal truths the censors burnt." (p 205)
"Money is just paper with some ugly president's face on it." (p 206)
"The yellow man lies loosely, like someone cut him from a cross." (p 320)
Thought-provoking and exciting. Brilliant.
October 9, 2019
The Book of Malachi is an extraordinary piece of literary brilliance. Completely unique in its context (although perhaps not too far of a stretch to imagine an organ-farm out to sea being possible, for capitalist gain), yet the main themes of love, empathy and human connection are universal. And that's perhaps what's so surprising about this book that could be a pure depiction of the horrors of the darkest elements of the human race, but instead illuminates the light that exists within us all.
The main character, Malachi, instantly draws the reader in. Funny, coherent, deep thinking. His (voiceless) voice is poetic and engaging. We get to know Malachi well throughout the book, as it is through him that we learn about the other characters, murderers and rapists with their own stories, who he (and we) get to know as fellow humans who have experienced their own hardships and traumas, and don't deserve their fate.
This book is so beautifully written, it's hard to put down. The subject matter and context is hard, but Tracey makes it easy for us to read through her visual descriptions and lilting prose. Stunning!
The main character, Malachi, instantly draws the reader in. Funny, coherent, deep thinking. His (voiceless) voice is poetic and engaging. We get to know Malachi well throughout the book, as it is through him that we learn about the other characters, murderers and rapists with their own stories, who he (and we) get to know as fellow humans who have experienced their own hardships and traumas, and don't deserve their fate.
This book is so beautifully written, it's hard to put down. The subject matter and context is hard, but Tracey makes it easy for us to read through her visual descriptions and lilting prose. Stunning!
March 20, 2021
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Thank you NewSouth Books for this book in exchange for an honest review
The Book of Malachi is centred around a tongueless Malachi who if offered a job as a maintenance office on a rig. Being a mute makes him the perfect candidate for this brand-new job, especially with the promise of his tongue being replaced. Facing one of the worst jobs of grooming naked prisoners before they are sold for body parts, Malachi begins to question why they are here and if they deserve to be there at all?
This is one of those books that you pick up as a light read before you go to bed and next thing you realise that it’s 1am and you have work in a few hours! There is no doubt that this tale was gripping from start to finish and based on such a unique and brutal idea. I loved it!
Bookstagram
Website
Thank you NewSouth Books for this book in exchange for an honest review
The Book of Malachi is centred around a tongueless Malachi who if offered a job as a maintenance office on a rig. Being a mute makes him the perfect candidate for this brand-new job, especially with the promise of his tongue being replaced. Facing one of the worst jobs of grooming naked prisoners before they are sold for body parts, Malachi begins to question why they are here and if they deserve to be there at all?
This is one of those books that you pick up as a light read before you go to bed and next thing you realise that it’s 1am and you have work in a few hours! There is no doubt that this tale was gripping from start to finish and based on such a unique and brutal idea. I loved it!
April 12, 2023
I hate not finishing books, and I rarely do. But this one is in my DNF list. While the premise and Malachi’s back story are interesting(hence the two stars), I wasn’t really hooked on the writing and the pace of the story. There’s a lot of unconventional metaphors used in the story that was altogether distracting and head scratching. The book could easily be 200 pages without the meandering description of Malachi’s thoughts. In this case, I hate to say it, there was too much showing and not a lot of telling. I made it to 160 pages of the book and I just couldn’t go on. We go through Malachi’s day to day experience at the rig and his toe-nail clipping duties, but nothing else really happens and at that point, nothing could really make me want to continue reading. It was like watching someone clip people’s nails, and that was it. I just had other books waiting to be read and this one is just taking too much time for anything to happen.
June 15, 2025
I was quite excited for the premise of this book when I read the description. Organ farming mixed with an emotional attachment because of Malachi not having a tongue sounded like a good horror, gore, thrilling book with maybe a but of body horror. I liked the beginning and I could feel Malachi's anxiety when seeing the captives the first time. But it lost me as soon as it went into detail to describe the people's naked bodies in a way that made me cringe everytime I read it. I did not understand his obsession with bones and him shocking himself everytime he thought of sex or kissing and I did not really want to read about him masturbating to the thought of a naked captive. It took away the whole horror experience that I was expecting and just made me cringe. I did not feel like it fitted the plot of the story. I don't know if I would recommend this as a good read. I don't know if I liked it. I struggled to finish reading it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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