A Dystopian Comedy By Luke Richards
It’s a new era, one where everything – from the calendar to clothing – are standardised. The Supreme Leader is the example to follow, while The Party is the organ responsible for implementing his decisions and preaching. His word is transmitted mainly through The Book, a document telling the tale of one man’s, Winston, victory over his own deviances. Each person is responsible to overcome their deviances, using the Book and other guidelines provided by The Party, but since no man is perfect and there is always room for improvement, there are some figures, known as deviance-guardians, who are responsible to check on the population and keep track of deviant behaviour. DV-8 is one of them.
One day, DV-8 comes across a copy of The Book, and while he is turning the pages, he realises that there is an irregularity: the pages are thicker than they should be, and while he rubs one page in between his fingers, a secret in-print in between the regular text is revealed. It’s the work of The Resistance, a movement aiming to destroy the status quo. His flatmate, a girl called DV-9 who, just like him, is in charge of spotting and reporting any deviancy in the population, turns out to be part of the resistance. This is one of many plot-twists within the story, the most spectacular one right at the end.
‘Dave’s New World’ is a pleasant read, although not the most original. The numerous plot twists are probably the best part of it. The idea behind the book is full of potential, but unfortunately execution falls flat more often than not. We felt it lacked elements of the ‘good, old drama’, the one that creates conflict within a character, who is forced to choose between two contrasting things that are perceived as equal in value. Besides, being a dystopian novel along the lines of of ‘1984’ and ‘Brave New World’, it would have been useful to lead the readers inside the world’s conventions, dynamics, rules, architecture and so on.
However, this is Richards’ debut novel and a commendable effort overall. The narrative is fluent and the prose is clean and expressive, leaving us with high hopes for any future endeavour. Definitely a story that deserves a chance.
‘Dave’s New World’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/4ddYmmT
