Dystopian novels are all the rage, but for every Nineteen Eighty-Four or The Handmaid’s Tale, there are countless second-rate imitations – worlds of as little substance as a flimsy theatrical stage set with eager grips on hand ready to shout “Strike the show” and move in for disassembly. So, too, the disconcerting experience of being plunged headfirst into an uncanny marriage of the familiar and the alien can so often be the hallmark of the dystopian reading experience; getting one’s bearings becomes the reader’s first and foremost task – reading as an orientating challenge.
For authors to allow their readers to immerse themselves fully in the brave new world of their making without the necessity of elucidatory water wings is a rare talent and one that deserves significant praise.
The acclaimed Korean-American novelist Chang-Rae Lee’s On Such a Full Sea is set in a future America, the land of which is segregated between wealthy “Charter” towns, worker colonies and the wild, dangerous “counties” between them
Lee’s heroine, the 16-year-old Fan, is a tiny, lissom creature who spends her days encased in a black neoprene suit, “a sleek dark seabird knifing through the waters” of the fish tanks of B-Mor, the worker colony once known as Baltimore.
The experience of reading the novel is not dissimilar to Fan’s daily underwater excursions – a smooth, swift slide into the depths of an unknown world, as seamless and undulating as one could wish.
Fan’s ancestors hail from New China, the villagers transported from the uninhabitable wasteland that was eventually all that remained of the once prosperous nation; entire valleys within which everything was “slowly scorching, all the rubber and plastic and alloys, all of what little wood remained, all the rotting food and garbage, the welling pools of human and animal wastes, such that in the end it was as though the people themselves were burning, as if from the inside, exuding this rank, throttled breath that foretold of a tortuous lingering demise”. Fear not, though, this kind of stock dystopian description is few and far between in the novel.
She and the other inhabitants of B-Mor provide the food to feed a polluted and ailing world – the privileged Charter towns, home to the great and the good, receiving the cream of the various crops: the “valuable” fish that Fan nurtures and husbands, and the ripest vegetables harvested by her boyfriend Reg.
But one day, without warning or explanation, Reg goes missing. Why? No one can say, but it seems eminently likely that the rumour that he’s “C-free” – immune to an extremely prevalent and deadly disease – has made him the prey of a pharma-corp. Fan, in the knowledge that she’s carrying her lover’s child, leaves the closely monitored comfort of B-Mor, with its “seasonally perfumed, filtered air and the honey-hued halo lighting and the constantly updated mood-enhancing music”, and sets out to find him.
Her astonishing journey takes her through the lawless, dangerous counties to the sanitised security of a Charter town where she’s sold into a form of slavery – “quartered in a literally hobbling protective custody” with seven other girls, each with “identically altered eyes”, huge discs of doe-like black pools made to resemble those of anime characters, kept liked cosseted pets, their job to sooth and settle their anxious mistress – to a reunion with a long-lost brother and a denouement of shockingly chilling proportions.
Fan’s certainly no Katniss Everdeen – an obvious and easy comparison to draw. Her fate is more perilous, buffeted about by the actions of the characters around her, and her quest blinkeredly personal. Nevertheless, there’s an epic quality to Lee’s novel, from the chorus of “B-Mors” who narrate the tale, to the lyricism and beauty of his writing. The “steady, drenching sorrow” of grief; the description of a dying girl – “Her pupils stretched wide, space black, the whole of her looking as if every drop of her blood were turning to plainest paint”; or a broken man, “not shedding tears but shuddering very finely, as if he were earthen inside and loosely caked and just about to shear”, all unforgettably moving. The world created in On Such a Full Sea is both awesome and terrifying, and Fan’s story completely captivating.
Lucy Scholes is a freelance journalist who lives in London.
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
FIXTURES
All games 6pm UAE on Sunday:
Arsenal v Watford
Burnley v Brighton
Chelsea v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Tottenham
Everton v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Man City v Norwich
Newcastle v Liverpool
Southampton v Sheffield United
West Ham v Aston Villa
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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