Emily May's Reviews > Divergent

Okay, okay, I completely understand why people could really like this and also why people could find it a huge disappointment. As for the latter... well, this was one of the most highly anticipated works of dystopian fiction to be released this year and the fact of the matter is that it just really doesn't work as a dystopia. Or, at least, what seems to be the general definition of a dystopia.

I can highlight the problem really well by referring to a conversation I had with my mum when she saw the book lying on the table.

mum: ooh, what's this book about?

me: I haven't started it yet but it's supposed to be a dystopia.

mum: [blank look] ??????

me: you know, like The Handmaid's Tale or 1984? Basically, it's where the author imagines a hypothetical world that's usually set in the future and takes a relevent political or social issue or issues and creates a fictional society that could possibly be what might happen if humanity was to follow a certain idea or movement or perhaps even carry on behaving the way they are. For example, failing to improve the world's environmental problems.

[okay, that was a load of B.S. and I never talk so lah-di-dah with my mother, but the ideas were all the same]

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Anyway, the point is that Divergent has no political or social relevance and the fictional society is just not going to happen in a million years. If it was marketed as a fantasy, then perhaps you have something here. The world that the author has dreamt up is fantastical and too unrealistic for a truly good dystopian novel, the idea that there would be five factions who all believe the world's problems are down to one main issue that differs depending on which faction you consult is ludicrous... I mean, if only there were just five different opinions of what's wrong with the world.

And again with the bizarre: Dauntless. This is the faction that is in the limelight here and it has to be the most stupid of the lot.

1) They think the world's problems can be solved by combating cowardice. That isn't even remotely believable.

2) They think that the way to prove their bravery is to jump off trains and beat each other up and almost get themselves killed for the sake of proving that they're not afraid to get themselves killed. Stupid, stupid, stupid. What's the point?

This isn't dystopia, it means nothing, it sends no message, it won't ever happen.



Alright, here it is: I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!!

I know, I'm ashamed, I'm a traitor to real dystopian fiction everywhere. But I found the story so addictive, the characters so interesting and I was even completely won over by the intricate mysteries beneath this godawful stupid society that would never happen. I cared what happened to Tris and I cared whether her and Four would get it on and I cared what would happen if the factions went to war. I was hooked on this crap and I simply cannot deny it!

I think they should have just said it was a fantasy and it would have all been alright. I could forgive the stupid pretend world because in a fantasy pretty much anything goes.

I know... I don't get it. I was reading this book and people were jumping off trains and punching each other in the face as part of pointless activities and I was thinking "damn, that's stupid" whilst my next thought was "gosh, I wonder what's gonna happen next". I had to read on. I still have to read on because somehow whatever happens in Insurgent has suddenly become very important to me.

I even liked the love story. Not that I don't like love stories normally but I usually give any dystopia or science fiction a hard time for having to squeeze a romance in there to make the book complete. But I was there with it. I liked both characters, I wanted it to work out. It's weird because Tris actually becomes increasingly hard and selfish as the novel moves on... but strangely that's an important part of her coming to understand that you cannot live selflessly in a competitive world and that, though others matter, sometimes you do have to put yourself first. I really liked the changes and development of her character.

So, there you have it. It's a shitty excuse for a dystopia but I found it an extremely enjoyable read.