Hopeland

For me, this book felt like an experience more than it felt like reading a book. I don't think it will be for everybody, but if you like to get lost in a world - or just lost in thought - this is a winner.

I spent the first 100 pages wondering when the story would start. It seemed like stuff was just happening, one thing after another, as if there was no real story or plot. However, the writing and imagination was so compelling that I never considered giving up on it for even a moment. Eventually, I realized the lack of a traditional plot arc was intentional. Rather, tiny pieces of story line up one after the other, creating a beautiful tale set in a world that seems like our own, only not quite.

I read a fair bit of climate fiction, and I think some might characterize this book in that way, but I don't think that's correct. Most of it does take place in the near-future, and since climate change is a thing that's happening, it will be present in any near-future story, but what this is really about is community. How do we create a community, and what does that mean? Also, how do we interact with other communities and cultures when the world and human nature inevitably lead us to all mix together in unpredictable ways?

As the title suggests, I would consider this to be a very uplifting book. It doesn't avoid the myriad issues happening in the world at all; corruption, climate emergencies, identity issues and more all show up in the book just as they do in life. But it focuses on how changes can happen, communities can come together, people can survive tragedy and come out stronger, people can make good choices. It promotes the value of the long view, and asks "What if we really asked ourselves what the next thousand years will be like?"

It's not preachy though. The central community is an invented "religious group"/modern hippy cult that doesn't really resemble any modern community, so by viewing how this group moves through the world, the book examines community, relationships and culture through an entirely unique lens, rather than trying to imitate a specific culture's view. I found that approach pretty ingenious.

There's 120ish small chapters, and each little chapter was like candy for the brain. The chapter that describes the Music is probably going to be one of my all-time favourite pieces of literature.

It's in a linear order, following two main characters and a couple side characters, so it's a pretty standard story in that sense, but - like real life - you never quite know where it's going or what the characters are going to do next. In that way, it may not appeal to people who like classic story arcs, but for lovers of setting, character and prose, it's fantastic.

There's the tiniest sprinkle of the fantastic in there as well, but it is so sparing and well integrated, that the "fantasy" can basically be written off as a detailed description of dreams or superstition, much like the idea that god(s) are watching people.

And yes, I'd totally join Hopeland... Maybe. Or maybe I just want to be named after a star.