Reviews

Menneisyyden kaiku by Einari Aaltonen, Rivers Solomon

Only show reviews with written explanations

laura_corsi's review against another edition

5.0

So good! A wonderful adventure in a dystopian future. Do yourself a favor and check this one out. It is so far from Hunger Games or Divergent as to be laughable. This one feels much more authentic and real.

laura_corsi's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

//
TW: rape, sexual assault, physical assault, racism, ableism, minor instances of homophobia and transphobia, minor descriptions of body dysphoria
//

In a lot of ways this book is the very definition of style over substance. It goes almost nowhere and languishes in vivid prose over logistics or reasonable plot progression.

Most of the book is worldbuilding that vacillates wildly between overly detailed and unbelievably vague. It’s flush with conceptualization, but there are an abundance of unfulfilled ideas. I loved what I was given, however, for every super deep dive into a specific facet there was another more important aspect that was comparatively shallow.

For example, the entire basis of the novel is that there is a giant space ship that mirrors the Atlantic slave trade that existed from the 16th to 19th century. Solomon spends a ton of time getting into the science behind how this ship works. A lot of ruminations on physics and math that totally went over my head. Regardless of my lack of understanding, the information was there for me to consume. By contrast, they rarely explain deeper societal infrastructure past the basic set-up.

How are jobs assigned on any deck? Upper deckers obviously observe a larger measure of comfort. But, are they still similarly restricted by the government in place? What jobs are available? What kind of luxuries are available? Do they have cell phones? Do they have video games? How modern exactly are the upper decks? Aster visits a handful of times, but it’s primarily to visit Theo not to look around. What is the currency? How expensive is anything? Can you buy freedom? It’s implied that you’re a lower decker for life, but each deck above is better than the last in some shape or form so it would be advantageous to move up. If you can’t, why not? That sort of thing is usually decided by the type of person the plantation owner would be. In this case, the fields serve the entire population of the ship. But, like farms still serve us in real life and while there’s government regulation individuals are still allowed to own them as long as they comply. Is that allowed in this world?

Are there upper deckers or middle deckers ie white people who are sympathetic to the plights of the lower deckers? In real life the abolition movement was a pivotal early step towards gaining equal rights for Black people and plenty of white people were a part of it. Am I expected to believe the only one who questions the system is Theo? That seems a bit far-fetched considering some lower deckers do have upper decker/middle decker work similar to how there were house slaves as well as field slaves. Obviously a lot of people still would view them as little more than animals. On the other hand, coming into contact consistently would have to affect some peoples’ perspective in some way.

And related to that the only reason Theo seems to care is because Theo is mixed which like I guess? Like for a lot of people it’s certainly true that if they didn’t have to care they wouldn’t, but my point is more about the broader implication that no white person has any kind of critical thinking whatsoever. Why would each deck be allowed to flourish as an individual ecosystem when such distinctions would make it harder for the brutal police system to oppress them? Plantations were often heavily regulated to keep people in line. There could be differences due to the personality of the owner or the crop being provided, of course, but if there aren’t any individual owners wouldn’t the government want ubiquity? I find it hard to believe there would not be a uniform system of behavior. What are funeral rites like? In this highly technologically advanced society why aren’t there cameras everywhere? Are you allowed to choose romantic partners? Are you involuntarily paired off to reproduce? Is marriage allowed? What are marriage ceremonies like?

All of these above applicable questions are things I could answer about the real life Atlantic slave trade. What’s worse is that because each lower deck has its own customs most of the answers to the above questions would differ to some extent on each one thereby multiplying the scope of this universe to an unquantifiable degree. I spent way too much time wondering how any of this situation could be practical.

I really appreciate how much Solomon centered the Black experiences and viewpoint. They made it clear from the first page that this is about how Black people in the moment are still dealing with the trauma heaped on our ancestors. The system can bury our past, but it cannot leech it from our bones - we carry the weight of that pain everyday regardless of if we choose to acknowledge it or not. Ironically, the act of not acknowledging it actually ensures it will continue on for future generations. Taking place in a far off future and representing a not too distant past, Solomon masterfully exposes how cyclical the mistreatment of Black people is. It is not a coincidence that the development of civilization always requires the oppression of the Black race in some fashion. Even detached from our current notions of social convention, the all new school of thought warped by decades trapped on an idling ship still manages to replicate the sins of the past. That’s not an accident.

The special attention paid to the varied manifestation of mental illness amongst the groups of people was particularly stand-out. Aster is considered odd-mannered, but who wouldn’t be after suffering the brutalities she does on a daily basis? It’s unbelievably sad because Aster is definitely neurodivergent and you can actively see the way that the abuse she perpetually sustains wreaks havoc on her coping mechanisms. Her ability to function at a level comparable to the average lower decker is hindered by her trauma which duh, why wouldn’t it be? It’s a vicious cycle as Aster is denigrated for deviating from the norm making it harder for her to find some kind of equilibrium thereby forcing her to stray further off course as she isn’t able to regain her footing all while everyone continues to judge her as if she isn’t trying the best that she can. She can’t improve because no matter what she does she’ll always be a trapped lower decker. And then that begs the question; if she’s always going to be stuck here, what’s the point in continuing on? It’s a complicated, heady intersection of mental health that Solomon has woven here. Because truly what is there if you know without a shadow of a doubt there really is nothing good waiting for you out there.

It’s something I think about whenever I read a book about slavery because I truly cannot comprehend the amount of fortitude it must have taken to live like that day in day out for the reward to be more days trapped in servitude.

All of that said, the adherence to this singular point of view became limiting over time solely because the plot meanders. If the story was tightly constrained I would have had less of an issue with some ambiguity.

Aster is the narrator for all except two or three chapters. The other few points of view included are unnecessary as they provide very little information that could not have been conveyed in a different way via Aster’s narration. There wasn’t a narrative reason to view these events through their eyes as it meant nothing in the long run to know their inner thoughts. These characters were supposed to be significant to Aster, but we are mostly told that rather than shown evidence of said importance in-text so getting a look in their heads did not make me feel differently about any of the characters when going back to Aster.

And going back to my beef with the construction of the world, this is another example of how it falls short. One, I don’t see the purpose in adding them for such a short amount of time as all outside of one gets only a single chapter to call their own. Two, if these points of view absolutely had to be included there should have been a more even distribution of chapters compared to Aster. That would have the added benefit of allowing for more expansion on the upper deckers as two of the characters have an essential function to upper deckers.

I want to make it clear that I do not believe white people are essential to stories about Black enslavement or are the most important part to us achieving equality. While they did help, at the end of the day every inch we have gained has been hard won through untold sacrifice by Black people. Still, in the confines of this story it does not make sense that the governing body is so indistinct. If Aster is intended to save her people from this amoral world, I need to see all of what she is saving them from. I see the awfulness that she endures everyday, but I want to see the breadth of opportunity too. It also would establish stakes, create a more realistic feeling world, and better highlight the corruption to have the contrast explicitly defined between the classes.

The mystery is really straightforward making the fact that nothing is actually happening for long stretches of time extremely noticeable. At the beginning of the book, Aster is informed that the sovereign - the high ruler over everything - is on his deathbed. This is bad for Aster as his successor is a man who has a clear vendetta against her. This goes nowhere. For most of the book it hangs over Aster that this spectre of a man might soon be in charge and able to make her life as well as everyone else's’ even worse than their current circumstances. His past crimes against her are chilling. But, he does nothing new (as in he’s taken a break for quite some time, I’m not advocating for him to think up new, ‘exciting’ torture methods) to her until the very end at which point it matters very little since it’s now time for Aster to make her book defining move anyways. He’s just vaguely threatening. This undermines any sense of suspense to have a physical embodiment of the despotism at work be so inconsequential. Is it scary that another evil man is about to come to power? Sure. But, what does that mean for Aster? It’s nineteen chapters out of twenty eight before you get an answer.

Up until that moment Aster is mostly futzing around the ship doing her research into Lune’s notes. A lot of this book is dedicated to introspection and flashbacks and lofty contemplation. When the major third act inciting event happens it’s abrupt because the unfolding of the novel in no way has been heading towards that outcome. The conclusion poses more unanswered questions as this is a standalone.

All criticism aside, I genuinely loved this book. I found it wonderfully immersive. It’s discussion of gender identity was super interesting and informative for someone like me who is still learning about the complexity of the spectrum. It gave me a lot to think about and consider in my progress forward. The writing style was so evocative. It somehow managed to be dreamy yet cerebral at the same time. It’s a shaky recommendation. You really have to know yourself well to decide if you’d like this. If you can read the first chapter and be content with that for the next 350 pages then I think you’ll do just fine.