Customer Reviews

The Maerlande Chronicles

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This is in fact the same book (same translation, even) as the one published under the title, "In the Mothers' Land." Don't go buying this one thinking it's a sequel or another work in the same world, the way I did. :->

That said, it's lovely detailed anthropological future-society speculative fiction, with well-drawn characters, a genre I generally enjoy. Something in the way the story is told reminds me of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," though the subject matter is far less dark. It gets deeply into gender speculations, and many portions are told through letters and diaries written by the characters.

This is the same novel as IN THE MOTHERS' LAND, published under a different name. One of my favorite reads of the year.

We follow a five-year old girl, Lisbei, as she grows up in a ward for children. More than half of the children born succumb to the Malady (an incurable, untreatable disease that comes on suddenly, and leads to a coma and death within weeks), that children under the age of 7 aren't even considered people. They are reared together in garderies, in a blissful ignorant existence. We follow Lisbei as she slowly explores the world around her, and we begin to recognize it as our own, more than a thousand years in the future.

Civilization reached a technological peak, and entered the Decline. Dramatic climate and ecological shifts transformed the physical landscape. Most of the land is a toxic waste. Bethaly, where Lisbei lives, is a city-state somewhere in what used to be Europe. Not only the physical land, but also humanity has been transformed. Only a few boys are born for every hundred girls. The social order has settled into a religious, matriarchal, pacific motley of independent city-states.

Lisbei is driven by a thirst for knowledge and exploration, and the delight of the book is slowly uncovering the shape of the world she lives in, the history, the birth of the religious movement 300 hundred years ago. The society depicted is a very interesting and realistic one.

The book starts slow, not the least because you have no idea where you are or the context, and because of many new terms. For example, children under 7 years old are called "mostas" for "almost person." "Reds" are people in their fertile period, "Greens" are those who haven't reached puberty, and "Blues" are sterile. It would have been easier if I knew this going in. Also, Elisabeth Vonarburg does something fantastic with language that creates a very immersive experience.

It was a very worthwhile read. After finishing, I ran over to the computer to see if there's more books set in that world, and apparently, The Silent City is a prequel. I had no idea while reading "The Maerlande Chronicles," it felt like a standalone. Slow Engines of Time is a collection of stories set in the same world.

i recently re-read the maerlande chronicles (also known as in the mothers' land), and was once again taken aback with how complex, well-written, and real the story seems. you believe by the end of the book that in some place or time, this story could absolutely be reality.

it is a very dense book, but that only enhances the reality of Ms. Vonarburg's writing. i am going to try and read it in the original French, since other translated books always lost a certain feel; i am sure this book has a different on in French. it will take me awhile (assuming i can find a copy), but i believe it would be well worth it.

very short and simplistic synopsis: after a disaster (nuclear war/climate devastation/etc.), disease has made the human race almost exclusively female due to the type of sperm men produce, and many men and women are sterile. the european and part of the asian continent (from the names of the languages and countries/states) has developed into a stable society of strongholds/cities within a few countries/states. the emotional relationships are almost exclusively lesbian; there are some bisexuals, and probably a few straight people (not mentioned). many people are sterile; those that are not must go through pregnancies every two years until they are about 35. all women are artificially impregnated except for the queens of the cities. different males are sent throughout all the countries to keep the genetics from becoming too inbred. men are considered second-class, despite being necessary for the society to survive.

lisbei, the main character, is the oldest daughter of the queen of bethely, in the country/state of litali. the Malady - which about half of all children catch - has only a 20% survival rate; many women choose not to attach themselves to their children until after they are too old to catch the Malady. lisbei catches the Malady late, and as a result can perform unusual connections with certain people who also have had the Malady. lisbei is groomed to become the queen - but it is discovered that she is sterile, which prevents it. her younger half-sister tula, who is fertile, becomes the queen instead. lisbei and tula have a falling-out, and lisbei becomes a scholar, leaving bethely to travel and study.

the women spend most of their scientific research on archaeology, expeditions, philosophy, and other pre-industrial sciences, trying to re-discover much of what their old culture lost. the concept of god has been replaced with a woman, elli, who died and rose twice in their scriptures. at the very end, there is an enigmatic chapter that provides some clues as to how the current society was shaped, but also leaves more questions than providing answers.

this is a long read, and there is a lot you need to determine on your own; there is no description of what certain things mean until later in the book. it is like reading about a completely foreign culture with no descriptions to assist you with understanding the meanings of many things. however, that is part of this book's fascination; you are plunged into a foreign culture with no reference points, and you learn as you read.

highly recommended.