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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dystopian Sydney,
By KLL (Perth, Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Black Sheep (Print on Demand (Paperback))
This is not a happy book, but I think it is realistic - not because of the events it portrays but the way it portrays them. For most of the part we see only what Isaao Dazai sees and he creeps to understanding very slowly; the ending is largely unresolved. But - Yo! Dystopian! When was it ever gonna be happy? On the surface 'Black Sheep' is a story about racial segregation, with each city split into three - asian (where most of the action happens), african and caucasian. However in Asian Sydney, caucasians and africans are so remote that they might as well be aliens. Thus segregation occurs on a much finer scale - Asian Tokyo versus Asian Sydney. I think this probably illustrates that people will always look to find differences between each other, no matter how alike they apparently are. In 'Black Sheep' the only people who are truly the same are the 'Assimilated', bleached of all colour and self will.
The government's (and UN's) role in controlling the cities and enforcing the 'No Multiculturalism' rules remains shadowy, but is very reminiscent of George Orwells '1984'. The faceless 'Segregators' are not quite as omniscient the Thought Police, but they are in pursuit of thoughtcrime. It is not apparent if those in real control believe their own propaganda, or if they are using it to forward their own interests. One of the things I noted was that, even in this extreme society, the passage of time showed it becoming even more extreme. Things can always get worse... Isaao Desai, a history teacher, is ambivilent about his home city, Asian Tokyo, and even more so about his adopted city Asian Sydney. He's a pawn in lots of games. The government uses him to test out new entrapment laws, his wife uses him to assuage her own guilt, while Peek uses him to explore the rights of the individual versus the benefit to society. Initially I found Issao a bit whiny and lacking in charm (possibly a little unsympathetic of me). However, ultimately I did care what happened to him and I am left worried that he'll get home ok. In summary: well written and prose flows nicely. It's not as accomplished as 26 Lies/One Truth but, given 26 Lies is the more recent book, that's probably a good thing.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
For a fan of dystopias,
By
This review is from: Black Sheep (Print on Demand (Paperback))
At 333 pages, the .pdf of Black Sheep is an easy read on a computer. Prime Books have chosen a comfortable default font and my only quibble with the layout would be that, at times, there's a lot of blank space to page through.
Set in a dystopian future, Black Sheep chronicles the downfall of narrator Isao Dazai, who is "convicted of being Japanese" in Asian-Sydney. Multiculturialism is now considered a disease for which the only cure is ruthless segregation. We're in Orwellian territory here, with routine surveillance of citizens by cameras, microphones, and powerful masked Segregators, and a history and culture that's tailored to your ethnic origin, which in turn dictates where you can live. The story starts with Isao undergoing a show trial, at which he's not permitted to speak, but soon flashes back to show the reader how he got there. For me, this lengthy flashback was the least effective section. All we really learn about Isao is that he's a maybe rebel without a cause: disaffected without knowing why, and ineffectual without being endearing. It's hard to believe that so much effort and manpower needs to be put in to entrapping him--and even harder to believe that, after he's been explicitly warned these tactics are being used, he doesn't for one moment suspect what's coming. Despite the first-person narrative, we never get below the surface of Isao's character, and he's continually driven by events rather than being pro-active. He drifts through this phase of the novel as he drifts through life, and it's hard to resist skipping ahead to find out what happens to him after his trial. The novel's pace picks up after Isao is Assimilated, becoming a puppet of the state with no will of his own, and controlled by guilt for his 'crime'--the implanted murder of his wife. Although presented with far greater obstacles than in his previous existence, he succeeds in throwing off his conditioning and sets out to uncover the bleak truth about Peek's vision of future Australia. The novel ends poignantly, and not entirely without hope. Peek's writing is tolerable but not stellar, and is plagued by repeated homophone errors--"too" for "to" being perhaps the most egregious. The future world is well imagined, if implausible--who watches all the footage? listens to all the tapes?--and there's excellent irony here and there, but the plot relies on at least one far-fetched coincidence and the characterisations are not strong. Isao's character in particular can't carry the narrative. If you're a fan of dystopias, you'll probably want to add this to your collection; otherwise, it's a suitable read for a train journey or rainy night. [Reviewed by Debbie Moorhouse]
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