by Barbara Casey | Aug 23, 2015 | Book Reviews, Fiction
Life in Hugh Howey’s “silo” world
Generations ago, the world suffered an upheaval of some kind. Everything about the “old world” has been forgotten, the memories obliterated. Your current world in an underground silo is all that exists… as far as you know.
If you were born and lived your whole life in the lower third – the down deep – between floors 97-144, you’re likely a farmer, mechanic or supply employee. You may not ever have made the climb to the top to look outside the very few sensor windows existing above ground.
Workers in the “mids” – levels 49-96 – are in charge of the smaller hydroponic gardens and animal farms. Like the families below here, a trip to the top of the silo might happen once every few years.
The upper levels contain the mayor, the sheriff, medical facilities and the information technology department. IT looms large in the life and lie of the silo.
Because there is no way to safely expand the silo, marriages and births are “won” through a lottery system. The land outside is known to be toxic… and is only seen through the aboveground sensor windows at the very top, on level one.
How a novelette became a trilogy
This silo world came to life in 2011, when Hugh Howey self-published a Kindle novelette that he called “Wool.” (The link goes to the free Kindle edition of the novelette.)
Wool was so popular with Amazon Kindle readers that Howey was urged (by his fans) to write more about the people who inhabited the multi-level silo which encompassed the entirety of their lives. The original 58-page novelette became a 5-part “Wool Omnibus” which is what I’m reviewing here. It’s Part 1 of the “Silo Saga,” and was followed by Shift and Dust to complete the trilogy.
Parallels with Thom Hartmann’s The Crash of 2016?
If you read my review of Thom Hartmann’s book “The Crash of 2016,” you’ll likely see come of the parallels occurring in our own world – right now. And that’s what makes this dystopian fiction book worth drawing to your attention. It’s a great read for sure, but it’s also a brilliant reminder to not take everything we’re fed at face value.
Wool is about political control, worker subjugation, reinventing history, hubris… and courage.
It’s about Sheriff Holston, who finally understood some of the truth – and wanted out… even though he knew it meant forfeiting his life. The powers-that-be decided that he’d become too dangerous and consigned him to certain death outside the silo, “cleaning” the sensors through which they caught glimpses of the outside, toxic world.
Cleaning, of course, was the euphemism for capital punishment, a way to keep the inhabitants fearful of rocking the status quo. There was no jail time, not judge and jury. Just “cleaning.” The tools used for scrubbing the windows were wool pads, hence the name of the novel.
The cleansing of toxic gunk on the window sensors was cause for celebration for those left inside – safe for now – as long as they didn’t think too much. With each cleaning, they were afforded a clearer glimpse of the outside world they had never experienced and would not, unless they actually expressed an interest in doing so. Or broke some other rule.
Verbally longing for freedom meant certain death
As the novel unfolds, the ugly truth behind this certainty stirs something in both the inhabitants of the silo… and in the readers who can’t help rooting for the underdogs underground.
The deaths of a “good” mayor and decent deputy sheriff make waves… a little. The subsequent elevation of Juliette Nichols from the down deeps of Mechanical to Sheriff up-top was not what the unseen powers had in mind and so she earned a quick demotion to “cleaner.” Questioning the rules was not allowed. Too much chance of instigating an uprising.
I’ve glossed over a few key elements, because they are what make the book fascinating reading. Does Juliette stop to clean the sensors, like all the other cleaners before her? Does she make it to safety, unlike all the other cleaners before her? Are there more silos out there? And what the heck is IT’s role in all this?
Characters you can identify with
You’ve got to read to book to know what happens… to get a glimpse of the real villains in the story; to see who step up to become heroes; to watch individuals consider the costs of thinking for themselves, of overturning all they have been taught to believe.
Books like Wool make me wonder when and if I’ll ever step up and take a stand for something that I think is right. If I’ll be able to write about it without concern for the consequences.
It worries me that I identify with people stuck underground in a silo.
I’d love to hear what you gleaned from the Wool story. Was it an interesting read, a mild ah-ha or a boot to the rear? Or all three? Thanks.
by Barbara Casey | Aug 23, 2015 | Book Reviews, Fiction
I read The Hunger Games trilogy from two perspectives: that of senior citizen… and also a 1960s hippie. I was impressed on both counts.
Reading The Hunger Games
I may be a senior citizen now, but I’m also a counterculture hippie-type person from the 60s. So I read and then reviewed The Hunger Games trilogy from two perspectives. Old fogey me and rebel hippie me. Quite a head trip, I can tell you. In other words, these aren’t your ordinary cookie cutter-type book reviews.
One viewpoint says, “Why rock the boat? I’m on social security, for heaven’s sake!” The other side of me doesn’t like what I see happening in society today… any more than I did in the sixties.
Did The Hunger Games books awaken that? Or did I choose to read the trilogy because of that?
And another thing… I usually get my books from the library. I actually purchased ALL 3 books in this series, because I couldn’t wait for the library to catch up with my reading.
Something’s afoot.
My Review of The Hunger Games – Book 1 of the Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Why this book got me thinking…
The Hunger Games begins a little slowly, actually. So slowly, that I had to ask my son if it picked up some once I got into it. “It’s a good book, Mom,” he assured me so I kept reading. And found my head twisting round and round with the bizarre turns of events that kept showing up.
The books could be classified as Science Fiction or Fantasy, and I wonder if author Suzanne Collins is a bit of a mystic herself. Like J. K. Rowling, whose Harry Potter books books hit a chord with kids and adults alike… Collins portrays circumstances and characters that we all recognize… or that we live within. The controlling, centralized institutions, the hard-scrabbling general population, the very young who recognize injustice when they see it and, thankfully, haven’t yet made themselves “put a lid on it” as their elders have done.
The Game of Thrones series is also heading in the same direction, where the youngsters are the courageous ones who are willing to risk, well… anything… to make things right again, while the adults are hanging on for dear life to whatever they have left.
Okay, three series that have made me think – Potter, Thrones and Hunger Games. The fact that all three of these book series have been made into popular films says something. The fact that all three series were best-sellers for months on end says more. People are resonating with the stories in them.
And maybe taking hope.
A prophetic view of our future?
I wondered if the books were written as reminders not to cave in to lemming mentality… even though it’s easier. When we go along with things – even though they don’t feel right to us – a piece of our integrity gets chewed off. Do young adults have enough experience yet to know this? They are the intended audience for The Hunger Games, after all.
The books also drive home a couple of other points: when we ignore the suffering of others and hide behind our shutters, we lose a bit of our humanity. And when we let ourselves be walked all over by our governments and public institutions, there goes our freedom out the door… in fiction and in real life.
Katniss Everdeen, the young heroine of The Hunger Games hasn’t yet had the training to stifle her sense of what’s right. Luckily, she’s a plucky thing and paid attention when her dad taught her to use a bow and arrow. She’s responsible for feeding her family most of the time, even as a young teenager. She has learned a few survival tricks that serve her well at the Hunger Games, where it’s every person for himself until you’re the last one standing… literally.
The Hunger Games are just that – annual events with untrained, unwilling “gladiators”… who are forced to participate in a cruel tradition meant to keep the general population under control. At the same time the games provide bloodthirsty entertainment for the privileged classes of the Capitol… the seat of power of Panem, a geographic area previously known as North America. Each of the twelve districts of Panem is required to send one male and one female “tribute” to the Games, where they will need to fight tooth, nail, claw and hammer to stay alive. Their ordeals are unimaginable. Their courage unbelievable.
The Hunger Games got me thinking… and remembering. The marches for peace and civil rights. The non-violent methods of Martin Luther King, Jr. The counterculture thinking of the 1960s. And I wondered what happened that so much of it has slipped away in the name of… what? Security? Or maybe lack of energy from the aging process?
Where did our – MY – rebellious spirit go?
Reading The Hunger Games brought some of that back to me.
This old fogey is starting to remember. And so, it seems are a few others. “Occupying” is not a new idea at all. Many of us remember taking part in “Sit-ins” way back when.
On the other hand, maybe the fascination with “young adult rebellion” books is just a cyclical thing, where younger generations have to push against the status quo regardless of the reasons why.
I don’t know… but it seems that the books are hitting home with the older generations, too. Or perhaps Suzanne Collins is just a great adventure writer and once the story’s over, we go on to other things.
We’ll see.
Catching Fire – Book 2 of The HungerGames Trilogy
Catching Fire starts up where Book 1 left off. Katniss and her Hunger Games partner, Peeta Mellark, are back in their District – Number 12 – thinking to live the good life… for the rest of their lives.
Well, whatever’s left of their lives, at any rate.
Katniss is well aware that she is in disfavor with the powers-that-be in the Capitol and that they will stop at nothing to destroy her. But even she couldn’t have imagined what they had in store for her.
If you have not read the books yet, I ain’t givin’ away the plot, sorry. But your jaw will drop and your heart might flutter some when you see the lengths to which the status quo will go to when threatened.
Catching Fire – even more than The Hunger Games – stirred the rebellious spirit within me, as I witnessed (in my mind) the courage of people with nothing left to lose. There’s always a straw that breaks the camel’s back, whether it’s a tax on tea or making people face the severest horrors imaginable – twice.
So rebellion spreads in the districts, fueled largely by the intransigence of young Katniss, whose actions in Book 1’s Hunger Games have triggered an uprising she hadn’t intended.
The ending of Catching Fire caught me by surprise.
When I reflected back a bit, I remembered little snippets that gave tiny clues as to what was going on beneath the surface, but, because the books are written from Katniss’ perspective and understanding of events, I didn’t figure things out any better than she did.
And Katniss, having been left out of the secret loop on purpose, is ticked, royally.
And on that note, the second book ends. Our young rebel is rebelling against the rebels.
And now it’s on to Book 3 Mockingjay to see where it all leads.
You must read Mockingjay to complete the series… but it hurts
On Amazon.com, the book Mockingjay has much lower ratings than the first two books in the series. There are a couple of reasons for this. After the long build-up in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the climax in Mockingjay winds the series downward with outcomes that most of us wish hadn’t happened.
The agonies suffered by Peeta and Kinnick, for example… two stalwarts we’d grown to respect and maybe love. The loss of so much life in the name of revenge. Katniss knew her rebellious actions might cause trouble for a lot of people, including her family, but even she wasn’t prepared for what happened in the final assaults on the Capitol.
The second reason I think the reviews were less enthusiastic for Mockingjay is the many pages devoted to Katniss’ inner anguish and introspection. In the first two books, she is larger than life – the type of heroine you’d see in an action movie. In the third book, Katniss turns inward much more. She second-guesses her motives, loses hope and becomes depressed to the point of stupor.
Spunk gone, guilt rampant
Katniss’s final act of rebellion is one that should have ended her life. It didn’t, but the Katniss we got to know is gone forever. And readers didn’t seem to like that one bit.
The epilogue seemed like a throwaway to most readers, myself included. Those two pages more or less stripped the life out of the story at the end. On the other hand, we didn’t have to live through two sets of Hunger Games and, from Katniss’ perspective, perhaps safe and normal felt more like “life” than facing death minute-to-minute as the girl who kept “catching fire.”
For me, Mockingjay was the most gut-wrenching of the three books in the Hunger Games trilogy. It asserts Suzanne Collins’ anti-war message the strongest. So I’d give Mockingjay higher marks than most readers, because the author reflects my thinking so well in this.
I hope you’ll leave your comments about the series below. Am I off the mark… or on?
Closing thoughts…
As each new movie in The Hunger Games trilogy comes to theaters and then to DVD, interest in the series is renewed. If you have not read the books yet… or held off, like I did, thinking they were about violence without reason, I hope my reviews have encouraged you to view the books in a new light.
I originally wrote these reviews in 2012, the year I finally read the books. This article appeared first on Squidoo, then Hubpages and has now migrated where it belongs – on BarbaraCasey.com.
by Barbara Casey | Aug 23, 2015 | Book Reviews, Self-Improvement
The book Zen Driving taught me to enjoy driving a car again
Zen Driving by K. T. Berger is a remarkable book that can change your driving habits, your attitude toward other drivers on the road and, maybe even, your life.
The authors are two brothers Kevin, a freelance journalist, and Todd, a California psychotherapist. Between them, they have put together one of the best “lessons in life” books that I have ever read.
I came across this thought-provoking book around 20 years ago, when my daily commute was on one of Pinellas County’s most highly-congested roads. From my perspective, Ulmerton Road was populated daily by thousands of cut-throat drivers hell-bent on getting to work on time. And I was one of those urgent, anxious drivers.
You know the saying, “you get back what you give”? Well, I was giving out cranky, me-first vibes and found myself surrounded by more of the same. Sound familiar?
Me? A Buddha Behind the Wheel?
I had recently started taking classes in metaphysics and spirituality and one of my classmates recommended this book Zen Driving, whose subtitle is the intriguing “Be a Buddha behind the wheel of your automobile.”
By the end of 176 pages of uplifting encouragement and gently inserted Zen lessons, I changed my attitude toward driving almost overnight. I especially altered the way I felt about the other drivers who shared the road with me. From middle-finger salutes to “Bless you, have a good day.” No kidding.
How many books have you read that can do that? That can alter deep-seated attitudes and behaviors so easily and quickly.
Zen Driving isn’t an instruction book about driving, either. It’s a gentle, flowing lesson about Zen Buddhism and how to apply Zen principles in everyday aspects of your life. The example the authors chose to use is driving, but the spillover effect is huge.
There’s a very thoughtful chapter called “The Beginning Driver” which points out some of the problems in classic Driver’s Education courses. If you’re planning to coach your teenagers in the art and craft of driving, this book will give you some food for thought, especially when it comes to the fear-based agendas that are presented by state officials, insurance companies and… us parents.
The Road-Car-Driver Ecosystem
The main premise of Zen Driving is that when we get behind the wheel of our automobile, we become one with a road-car-driver ecosystem, where the flow of traffic should occur like a “large, choreographed dance.” According to Zen Buddhism, everything is one interconnected flow that is constantly changing. And that should translate over to freeway driving, as well.
The authors emphasize that driving can be an enjoyable, rather than fearful experience. Relaxing, not gut-wrenching. They explain how awareness of other drivers and circumstances comes through a practice called “Moving Meditation,” where we observe without critiquing (even if a driver cuts you off)… “Bless you!”
By staying in the here and now, by not dwelling on yesterday’s anxieties or anticipated fears, we can learn to achieve a 360-degree awareness of what’s around us in every moment. That is how we flow in concert with the traffic and stay alert to those who momentarily lose their sense of being part of the whole.
After I read this book so many years ago, I was able to relax more about the half-hour drive to work. When I stopped competing with other drivers and saw them as friendly, helpful co-owners of the driving universe, I noticed that people let me in if I needed to change a lane quickly. Or they smiled at me at a traffic light. Tailgaters disappeared.
Nowadays, if I fall out of my “serene driving vortex,” for whatever reason, I can get back into it more quickly than I used to. I’m not quite to the point where I feel my car around me “as if I’m wearing it” but driving is no longer the chore it once was… or just a way to get from point A to point B. It’s become part of the dance of life, not a means to an end.
Your Car As Sacred Space
What about you? Does sitting behind the wheel put you in a sacred space? Or have you become (or do you know) an aggravated driver who has “fallen from grace with the highways?”
Just the act of reading this book raises vibration. The gentle humor, the fun way with words, the amazingly pithy subheadings (“One Drives as One Lives”) blend into a flowing journey of enlightenment about something we all take for granted.
All we need to do is remember that Zen Driving can’t be taught or learned in a classroom or book, even a book with this particular title. So read the book and then take yourself off onto the open road with an open mind. The rest of it you already know how to do.
