Literary Exploration discussion

Final thoughts on Divergent

A lot of people, places, and things to keep track of with this book. Made it feel a little tedious at times. It took me 4 reading sessions to get through it and that is a lot for me. I believe it took this long because the book was very information heavy. The story and writing were pretty good. However, I doubt I continue with the series it just wasn't keeping my interest that well. I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

This is the first time I read a book for Literary Exploration. I was a bit disappointed with the book you guys picked, cause lately all young adult books that I've been reading make me roll my eyes. So I thought I was not going to like this book, I was wrong! I really enjoyed it, although the formula of this book is not original, it was entertaining. Loved the ideas of factions, which reminded me of the cast system in India. Extremely easy to read and very fast paced.
I gave 4 stars of rating.

I may be in the minority on this one, but I did not enjoy this book. I thought the writing was weak, the narrator utterly disagreeable, the plot unbelievable, and the romance completely gag-worthy. I am sorry to say because I had high hopes for the novel.

One thing that interested me as I listened to the audiobook was the role religion played in the society. Roth doesn't explicitly describe any specifically religious rites or traditions, but Triss comes from a religious family; her father prays for food and whatnot, and he teaches his children to not see the differences between the religious and the non-religious in their faction (Perhaps it's relevant to consider here that the faction here is Abnegation, the most "Christlike" of all the factions). Later in the novel, Triss wakes up in the hospital and reads "fear god alone" painted on the wall. Jeanine, the master villain in the story, says most Divergent are "weak-willed, God-fearing nobodies from Abnegation." And finally, Triss alludes to her baptism towards the end of the story.

For me it was difficult to see how any contemporary construction of God or religion could exist in this dystopian society, but as I thought about it, I began to wonder if this is some kind of anti-intellectual message, the kind not uncommon in right-wing American Christianity. Science and technology are viewed as evils. I don't know what there is to this theory, but I wondered if anyone had any thoughts...

Don't give up on the series! I too did not enjoy Divergent, but each book is better than the previous one. The writing improves as did my interest in Tris and her world.

Think of it like Star Wars - if George Lucas had started with episode 1, the franchise would never have happened.

Tory wrote: "Don't give up on the series! I too did not enjoy Divergent, but each book is better than the previous one. The writing improves as did my interest in Tris and her world.

Think of it like Star Wars..."

I would agree that Insurgent is better than Divergent, but I have to say that I pretty much hated Allegiant. It simply wasn't up to par with the other two. A serious disappointment to me as an ending for this trilogy.

I absolutely hated this book. I was trying really hard to not be too critical of it, but I just found everything about this book absolutely absurd. The world building was non-existent, the characters cliched and one-dimensional and the writing awkward. I couldn't care at all for the characters, it wasn't even a proper dystopia. Even taking into account Michael's response to my "first impressions" post, I can't see that the author has any real understanding of human nature. And the romance - urgh!!! Absolutely terrible. So awkward.

I didn't think much of the book either but allow me to play devils advocate here and ask a question.

Are the majority of the characters one-dimensional by design? I was wondering this myself, everyone has to go through a cookie cutter so they fit neatly into the five factions and are expected to act and think in the same way.

This doesn't really help with the divergent who in theory should be more rounded and three-dimensional characters but they felt one-dimensional as well.

I'm about 300 pages in, but couldn't wait to vent a little.

Yeah, I'm not really liking this book. I read all The Hunger Games books and really enjoyed them and the way they were set up, but Divergent just seems to lack any depth (we are given almost zero back story as to why this society is the way it is...I know that might be in book 2 or 3 but still..). Also, I just don't get this whole fraternity/initiation thing with Dauntless, trying to be like daredevils jumping out of trains or fighting MMA style to prove what a courageous person you are or to be ranked on a top 10 list...seem silly and pointless, like each character is trying to out due each other with coolness or bravado.

As far as Michael's point and question, I think the characters act a certain way by design, but it really makes for an unrealistic society and story premise. By our very nature, we cannot fit into a nice and tidy little box with a label on it. Even if you are in a Dauntless faction, you still have other characteristics that go against your faction.

And, for the characters, uhhhh...disappointing to say the least. Let's just say that Triss is no Katniss.

This moves very fast, meaning very easy to read and I just kept reading and reading and what do you know - done! And I ended up liking it. I did have to really overlook the 'training' aspect of Dauntless as a para-military group, since that was really a stretch, very much 'let's pretend' but also I'm not the target audience. Glad I read it.

I'm also glad to have read it. I initially found the premise absurd, but I decided the author did it intentionally because she was heading for a bigger picture. It certainly became interesting as an entertainment once I got over thinking such a society would be fatally crippled.

Later, while I also think it included overt religion as the requirements for one group, I think there was a larger statement being made about all of the current cliques and groups in today's society, not just high schools, which all exhibit in reality the usual strict and enforced rules of membership, sometimes under pain of death (politics and theocracies around the world) or shunning (you can get fired from jobs in the USA, for example). If you are a jock, intellectual, gamer, writer, etc. they usually settle into a sort of gangs (organizations, clubs) which enjoy feeling exclusive through hazing and groupthink, and there is a lot of scuffling between groups whether by school-age kids or adults. Each member is expected to support the group, group-think is enforced, and anybody expressing doubts is punished or ostracized.

By the end of the book I not only was feeling very satisfactorily entertained, but I also concluded the author was condemning how good people allow themselves to be overtaken by a tribal conformity that overwhelms common sense, charity, compassion and forgiveness. What appears like building strength and empowerment through cohesive goals is actually a mirage. What it really ends up being is divisive and a fracturing of society, weakening everyone ultimately, wasting people's skills.

I liked the book in the end. It seemed to me a lot better than I originally felt at first.