Shameless Reader

Delirium by Lauren Oliver takes the reader to a world where love is a disease. At the age of eighteen young men and women are taken to undergo surgery so as to prevent themselves from succumbing to this sickness and their lives systematically planned afterwards. Husbands are assigned based on perceived compatibility and from there on, lives are lived and there is peace among the citizens. 

It’s an ambitious concept and an intriguing one at that. Oliver prefaces each chapter with quotes from book that tells the horrors of love; its ability to make you sick and feverish, how it consumes you until you are nothing but a shell of your former self. The book is a warning against getting too close to anyone of the opposite sex before you have your operation.

The narrator of the story, Lena, falls in love with a young man after her surgery has been postponed. She later finds out that this young man is an Invalid – a term given to those above eighteen who live outside the borders of the controlled state and who have not taken the cure. Their love blossoms and the two take numerous risks to enjoy their months together before Lena’s second chance at surgery occurs.

However, while impressive in its originality, the book falls short in everything else. It’s a slow moving tale that is easy to follow and easy to guess. After a certain point there are no major surprises left in the story, the reader simply waits for the characters to catch up with what we all know will happen.

The novel ends with a cliff-hanger, ensuring that those who enjoyed the story will be back to know the fate of Lena and her love.

Delirium is the first novel in the trilogy.

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you were separated based on personal traits and philosophies on life? This is what Veronica Roth wants you to imagine in her dystopian novel, Divergent. At sixteen years old you are taken and ‘tested’ to see which of the five factions you belong in. The factions are Dauntless, for the fearless; Candor, for the honest; Abnegation for those who always put others first; Erudite for the intelligent and Amity for the peaceful.

The protagonist of the story, Beatrice, later on Tris, is tested, however an error appears on her results and she is warned not to mention it. Tris then abandons the faction of her birth, Abnegation, and joins the Dauntless clan. The act causes a slight rift within her family and also between other opposing factions as her leaving is used as a means of an attack against her faction’s beliefs.

What was especially interesting to me in this story was that Tris continually struggled with the idea of who she is. It’s an ever present theme in literature on a whole - self discovery - and I think Roth created a unique way of examining it. The idea that one particular character trait or outlook on life is the sum total of your being continuously warred with Tris. She constantly questioned if she joined the correct faction as she routinely displayed traits that were aligned to the other groups. It’s a memorable introspection on growth and the ability to accept yourself as more than a one dimensional member of the mass, but rather, a unique individual – fully fledged in their own right – who has the ability to be different.

If you had to pick one of the aforementioned traits to ascribe to for the rest of your life could you be able to? Could you forever be fearless? Could you forever be honest? It’s a daunting reality that quickly moves to a head as the power struggles between the factions become more contentious.

It’s an easy read with a fast placed plot that will undoubtedly leave you curious as to what’s next for Tris and the world she occupies.

Divergent is the first novel in the trilogy.