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TravelBird

Travel and Catalogs

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Are you looking for an affordable getaway? Our free travel app gives you instant access to the best...

Wire — Private Messenger

Social Networking and Productivity

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Secure, end-to-end encrypted messenger for calls, chat, sharing pics, videos, files, GIFs, sketches...

Callcorder Pro: Record Phone Calls

Business and Utilities

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Callcorder allows you to record incoming & outgoing phone calls on iPhone. Steps to record when you...

ClareR (5721 KP) rated Future Imperfect in Books

Dec 4, 2023

Future Imperfect

Babette Gallard | 2023 | Contemporary, Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Future Imperfect is a terrifyingly plausible version of the future. Climate Change has caused displacement of people across the globe, and everyone is either trying to get home to their own countries, or trying to get to a relatively safe country. The UK is taking a hard line, and those who immigrated to Britain up to two or even three generations before, are being sent back to their ‘country of origin’ - a country that for many is an unknown.

In this atmosphere, Helen and Isha are attempting to return to the UK when their home in Arles is flooded, but as Isha is deemed to be Ugandan (her grandparents came from Uganda as refugees) only Helen can enter. Which for them is unacceptable. So Helen decides she must stay with Isha, and the two of them decide to make for Switzerland and an old friends mountain chalet.

But this is a world where everyone is constantly monitored, and as the weather and climate worsen, so do the actions of the French and Swiss governments. To be caught is to potentially be killed.

Jana, Helen and Isha’s adopted daughter, decides to follow her parents. Unlike them, she is permitted to be in France, so her journey, whilst difficult with her small daughter, is much easier.

AI is needed for every aspect of life in this world, and it’s the ideal way to track those who really don’t want to be tracked. Everything needs to be paid for using this method as well. Fortunately, Helen and Isha meet a terrorist organisation who agree to help them. They’re not the only ones to help the women. It just goes to prove that there are good people everywhere in times of need, they just need to be brave enough to step forward.

There’s a lot to think about in this story and a lot of what happens is already happening to a lesser degree (so far!): floods, fires, famine. The future this novel paints is not a good one.

Oddly, I really enjoyed this, as I do with all of these imperfect future novels. There were parts in the story where I didn’t really want to read on, because I didn’t want bad things to happen to these good people, but I’m so glad I did.
Read with The Pigeonhole.

Kudos

The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens

Gabriel Zucman

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We are well aware of the rise of the 1% as the rapid growth of economic inequality has put the...

Hazel (1853 KP) rated In Picardy's Fields in Books

Nov 27, 2020

In Picardy's Fields

Hannah Byron | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Romance

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Told from two perspectives, In Picardy's Fields is the story of two brave young women during the First World War. Set mostly in France, the two women put gender stereotypes to one side to help the allied soldiers. Baroness Agnès de Saint-Aubin, a young surgeon from Paris, follows her teacher, Dr Alan Bell, to the Château de Dragoncourt on the front lines in Picardy to help her friends, Jacques and Elle de Dragoncourt care for the injured soldiers. Meanwhile, the youngest Dragoncourt child, Madeleine, is determined to escape from her finishing school in Switzerland to play her part in the war effort.

The author, Hannah Byron, accurately describes the devastation and dangers the characters faced both in Paris and at the front. Flowing seamlessly from scene to scene, Byron paints a dark picture of life in wartorn France at the same time as weaving a captivating story. Agnès is a reticent but strong woman, a stark contrast from the stuck-up Madeleine, used to getting her way. Yet both characters develop, forced to face horrifying circumstances. While Agnès becomes more confident, Madeleine uses her head-strong determination to secretly help the allied soldiers, even if it means putting herself in danger.

Whilst the war is the main feature of the novel, the author weaves themes of friendship and romance into the narrative. Although only two people narrate the story, In Picardy's Fields shows the importance of working together and putting aside prejudices. The undercurrent of a developing romance brings a sense of hope that everything will end happily, yet the reader also knows nothing is safe during wartime. With each turn of the page, disaster could befall the characters, which makes for a gripping read.

Hannah Byron admits she is not a medic or war expert, yet she undertook extensive research to make In Picardy's Fields as accurate as possible. She also confesses it is unlikely a female doctor went to the front lines, yet as a work of fiction, this does not matter, especially as Agnès's profession is key to the story.

Authors have written novels about the World Wars ad nauseum to the point that writing an original story seems impossible, but Hannah Byron proves this assumption wrong. In Picardy's Fields feels almost modern in some respects, despite being set in the 1910s, which adds a freshness to the story. These women, these characters are just like you and me, living in a time we could not possibly understand.

In Picardy's Fields is a fantastic debut novel and Hannah Byron is a writer to keep an eye on.