The Book Nook

Pioneers in  changing worlds   Sometimes I enjoy contrasting and comparing two books I’m reading around the same time, especially when I plan to feature both in this column. That’s the case today with Tracy Chevalier’s “The Last Runaway” and “Dawn” by Octavia E. Butler.  The differences are clear.  The first is a stand-alone historical novel set in 19th century America with a straight-forward plot while “Dawn” is the first in a chilling science fiction series with a vague beginning that keeps readers off-balance. There are also many similarities.  Both tales put young women in strange surroundings, testing their ability to adapt to loneliness and unpleasant changes.  Both heroines are strong-willed, sometimes to their own detriment.  Each story examines loneliness and the growing pains of changing societies in thought-provoking ways.  And both celebrate our pioneering spirit. In “The Last Runaway” we see America at a time when many changes were occurring.  We start in London in the year 1850, where we meet a young Quaker woman named Honor Bright.  She’s recently been jilted and is embarrassed everyone in her neighborhood is privy to that knowledge.  When her sister plans to relocate to Faithwell, Ohio where her fiancé awaits, Honor seizes the chance to escape. A tragedy puts the sisters in a horrible situation and Honor must depend on the kindness of strangers to help her reach Faithwell.  Once there, she finds a tiny backwoods village inhabited by people who talk and act in ways that are totally foreign to her. She can cope with the differences, the hardships and the loneliness.  What she cannot fathom is the level of racism, and that American Quakers ignore their own faith’s condemnation of slavery.  Honor lives near an Underground Railroad route and wants to help the runaways seeking freedom.  But laws dictate that anyone who helps a slave puts their family at risk of losing everything they own. While she’s able to find some sympathetic ears, most chastise her for even small acts of kindness and explain that slavery is necessary for America’s economy.  As tensions mount in this pre-Civil War era, Honor faces hard decisions that will forever change her life. While reading this book I wished the author hadn’t pushed the topic of slavery so far into the background or set her heroine so firmly into the role of martyr.  This isn’t Chevalier’s best book, but is still worth reading. On the up side, Chevalier grounds each of her nearly dozen books in solid research.  This is the first set in her native country and she has a knack for conveying the sense of time and place.  Her characters are people we recognize and I found some of them to be more interesting than Honor herself.  There’s a fine line between bravery and foolishness which the author nimbly portrays, and that same line is echoed in the next book. “Dawn” removes us from the past and launches us into a time when civilization has all but ended.  This book challenged my skill at providing a spoiler-free review to the point that I’ll just say this: if you enjoy great science fiction or a chilling story, skip the rest of this article and get the book. The story opens with Lilith awakening in an alien room.  This isn’t the first time this has happened and she’s unsure how much time has passed between these “awakenings”.  She also remembers the earth was devastated by nuclear war and mourns the monumental loss.  One respite from her isolation is the disembodied voice from somewhere above that occasionally asks her questions but refuses to answer any  One day the voice speaks again but seems closer.  She discovers an extra-terrestrial has materialized near her, but its appearance repulses her.  His name is Jdahya and belongs to a species called Oankali. She’s introduced to different Oankali and the other species that comprise their society.  Although Lilith cannot comprehend these beings, she recognizes their ability to reward and punish her to gain her cooperation.  She finds ways to resist but cannot gain the upper hand.  She is able to get an answer regarding her future and is both attracted to and shocked by it.  She’s at a loss about how to deal with this information. Like Honor, Lilith is willful and resilient.  These attributes are needed as she considers her role in the future.  The Oankali offer her something she desperately wants, but there’s a massive price to be paid for such a gift.  To say more would truly spoil the enjoyment of discovery that comes with this story. This novel expands on a theme introduced in Butler’s multi-award-winning short story “Bloodchild”, which was an off-world exploration of the complex relationship humans share with each other and with aliens.  Butler uses her stories to explore social topics related to race and sex and to probe moral issues.  Some readers feel she excels at providing non-opinionated exploration of human nature. “Dawn” is the first of Butler’s Xenogenesis series and I’ve been encouraged by several SF fans to continue the series.  For those interested, the titles and publication dates are: “Adulthood Rites” (1988), “Imago” (1989), “Exogenesis (1989), “Lilith’s Brood” (2000) Fans of introspective fiction with robust characters will find getting through cold winter nights easier with these stirring tales.