A Hundred Years from Now
The term extraordinary can apply to many things. The definition of extraordinary is an object that is very unusual and deserving attention (Encarta 1). Nancy Farmers book The House of the Scorpion deserves to be called extraordinary because it spins a masterful literary web that will not set you free until you finish the last page with a satisfied sigh. Because of the moralistic issues she cunningly weaves into the book, the excellent literary language, and her cautionary take on the future, Farmer will never disappoint her readers as she spins her dispute between right and wrong.
There is a thin line between good and evil. Farmer delves into morally wrong issues, and brings our twisted inventions to the light. She poses questions of right and wrong of topics discussed today. Is it ethical to clone human beings? Is a human suffering, even though they are not aware of it? Farmer brings our worst fears into view and dissects them one by one. Even though we clearly see some things as bad and others as good Farmer gives a second opinion on these issues and makes us rethink our answers. Her take on right and wrong is exemplified by El Patron and Matt. One is clearly right, and the other wrong. But the reader cannot but feel that El Patron was to be sympathized with, such as when he pitifully repeats the tale of his dead brothers and sisters. Matt on the other hand at some times was to be despised at, such when he forced Maria to kiss him. Readers will be kept to the edge of their seat as she presents questions and answers and while at the same time causing ourselves to delve deeply into our hearts and find what we believe in. Readers will not be able to put down this book because of the thoughtful questions it provokes.
Another one of the reasons why readers are recommended this book is Farmers literary style. While the plot is the bare bones of the story, the meat is what really makes the book worth reading. Her characters are the veins that give the book life as they flow richly from the pages. You can hear Celia and Maria laughing with Matt while Tam Lin indulgently watches on. You can practically feel the love between them as Tam Lin befriends the lonely despised clone, as Maria bypasses prejudices to love him, as Celia bravely defies El Patron by poisoning Matts heart. She cleverly describes her tale of a futuristic landscape in sweeping imagery, so real you can join in Matts horror when he finds out what eejits really are. Farmer has effectively enthralled readers because of the life she breathes into the book, transforming a set of simple bones into an extraordinary literary tale by infusing it with flesh, blood and a heart. The heart is what keeps people reading, and convinces people to read them; it is the heart that pumps the blood through the veins and lends animation to the bones. Farmer captures the workings of a heart and imbues it into her book making it a worthwhile read.
Farmer keeps a firm grip on reality while presenting a real and shocking view on our world a hundred years into the future. She looks at arguments that plague our world now and imagine what will happen hundreds of years later. Some authors may see science fiction as a way out of reality, because literally anything can happen in the future. Farmer, however, gives plausible views of what could happen to us in our civilization if things continue as they do now. What she foresees is economic disaster, whales dying and whole oceans choked with pollution. She sees a life where everybody is running away from their life because reality is too harsh to face. She sees countries crippled because of drugs, mindless slaves working in the poppy fields. She sees everybody unable to face the truth because sometimes the truth is too hard to bear. She has given us an entirely possible future, where everyone we know can be an eejit, every child we know could be starving because nothing is equal. This book will give readers a new view on what our world could become. Farmer presents cautionary tale of what could happen if it is too late to open our eyes and enslave millions of people to a miserable existence.
Nancy Farmers work in The House of the Scorpion has entertained millions of readers because of the questions she cunningly weaves into the plot, the beautiful literary imagery, and the setting, which takes place a hundred years into the future. Her futuristic setting lends a sense of horror to the book as everything is dead or struggling to live. She has captured readers with her excellent plot which she fleshes out with believable characters. She has given the book a heart and thus it will capture generations of people because of the qualities she has written it with.
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