Stefen’s Bookclub – May

The Fifth Season 
by NK Jemisin

I went back and forth a bit about whether or not to put this one up as a book club book. I think it’s a very good book, and I’m pretty sure there’s an interesting conversation in it, so it certainly meets that criteria. It is the first book of a series though, so the ending is pretty open and it’s quite a bit longer that the books we normally do. But it’s also the winner of the 2016 Hugo Award and we’ve read the past two Hugo winners, so it’s kind of a thing now.

The Fifth Season is a science fiction book, though it feels more like fantasy. It’s set on a world that’s similar to ours, but more dangerous. Tectonic and environmental disasters of massive destructive potential are frequent and the people who live here are brutally pragmatic on matters of survival. We explore this world through the eyes of a young girl named Damaya, an adult woman named Syenite and an elderly woman named Essun. All three are Orogene, possessed of a strange power that allows them to dampen and channel deep earth forces. Valued for their ability to stop or limit earthquakes and the like they are nevertheless viewed with suspicion and fear. The experiences of these three women show the various ways this fear has changed people and society. It’s also the story of the broken world, and as it progresses the characters each find bits of truth that reveal that most of what they believe is a lie.

This book also comes with a warning. While it’s really not much like the sorts of books that get the grimdark label in terms of style, it does have some very bleak moments. It’s a world of zero-sum survival that is awash with fear and prejudice and the book has several confronting moments that some readers could have a strong reaction to. I think there are good narrative reasons for each of them and they are catalysts for profound changes in the characters but some reviewers have found them distressing. There’s a lot to talk about in this book, and a lot of ways to parse the events. I think it’s likely to be quite a varied discussion.