I heard about this book when I saw the film adaptation way back in the late 00s. It was a movie aimed at children that looked like a post-apocalyptic cross between The Borrowers and The Wind Singer. The costumes were straight out of The Borrowers and the arbitrary allocation of your future by the state, even against your express wishes, was The Wind Singer. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it didn’t do that well, plus the cast was incredible. So, I thought I’d give the original source book a go when the audiobook was available on Libby.
So if my mishmash of references doesn’t help you, let me talk about the premise more plainly. A group of scientists, engineers and other professionals and intellectuals referred to as ‘The Builders’ have constructed a vast underground city called Ember in anticipation of a vast unnamed disaster. They have given the first Mayor a metal case that their successors will inherit and continue to pass on with instructions for how to leave the city once that disaster has passed in an estimated two centuries. However, during the intervening time the case ends up lost and unremembered.
The story follows two friends Lina Mayfleet and Doon Barrow who live in Ember about 240 years after the foundation of the city. They graduate school and are allocated their jobs for life by the Mayor. Lina is made a ‘Pipeworks Labourer’ and Doon a ‘Messenger’, both jobs that they each hate, leading to a secret swap between them.
In the course of the story, the two friends discover the increased dilapidation of the city, shortage of rations, as well as corruption among its leadership, that forces them to look for a solution to their increasingly difficult lives. Their curiosity is raised further when Lina’s baby sister finds a metal box in a cluttered room and starts chewing on its contents.
This book, released in 2003, is the first part of The Book of Ember Series by Jeanne DuPrau. I had only known her for this novel, but it turns out she has also published other short stories, essays and non-fiction books. I haven’t read any of the other books in this series, but this book can definitely be read on its own as its story has a clear end state with no immediate cliffhangers, although I may eventually read the next if I find it in the library.
There are many things I liked about this book, including the use of language and how it is supposed to have changed over time. Words fall into disuse over decades and centuries in a different environment, so in this story, words like ‘clouds’ aren’t understood and ‘elephants’ are not described accurately as nobody alive in Ember has ever seen one and all materials that suggest a past life outside the city have been destroyed. One example can be found when Lina is using her most treasured possessions, her colouring pencils. Wouldn’t it be strange, she thought, to have a blue sky? But she liked the way it looked. It would be beautiful - a blue sky. The change in the use of language from our own in a fantasy or sci-fi world is one of my favourite things when reading a new story, especially when it’s an evolution or offshoot of our own, for example in Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. I enjoy when authors have clearly given some thought to it!
The relationship between the two protagonists is fun to follow. Although more time is given to Lina than to Doon, providing her with a bit more solidity, they are both characters we can root for. The relationship between them is believable and their complementary strengths and foibles make them a satisfying pair as they move from acquaintances to real friends.
Ember as the setting is a wonderful canvas for the story to take place upon. The increasingly decrepit and disintegrating city is brought to life by DuPrau and is almost completely believable. It feels very lived in - obviously over-lived in - to the point that everything is jury-rigged with ever-increasing ingenuity to keep it working. This is the best part of the story for me and if I could create a world as lived in and believable as this one in my own stories, I would be very happy.
When I started reading, I was really excited to hear more about the different Builders who created the underground city. I wanted to know more about the efforts that they put into creating a habitable settlement with plans for moving inhabitants in, generations living there and then a plan for leaving. That sounds pretty impressive to me! Instead, this is a children’s novel, so that isn’t the story we got here. It glosses over that kind of complexity and instead, we get the child-eye view of the city and find out how things are not as they should be. It’s a definite choice and it still works, I was just left wanting more.
With it being a children’s novel, there are some issues that stretch plausibility. There are no signs of population control, people who have left to seek life outside Ember, armed coups, written diaries or anything else likely to occur over 300 years of people living in a contained town. Either the government apparatus is excellent at silencing any subversive elements, or the population is remarkably passive. However, if you are looking for an adult book about that, then Wool by Hugh Howey is a good place to start!
Lastly, the way in which the characters made decisions that seemed at odds with common sense to move the plot in direction that it needed to go. Now, I get that I am clearly a cynical 30-something, re-reading this book, but when I read it the first time, I did roll my eyes at it too. Perhaps I was a cynical kid as well? I appreciate that this is a children’s novel, but there are moments that both the children and other adults that should know better, really do stretch believability.
Overall, I think that this is a good book. I can pick at it all day, but that would not be fair, based on the target audience. I guess that is the difference between a children’s novel and a young adult book? I think this is a step below where I am aiming for the story I’m working on, but I’ll definitely be taking that focus on language and setting to make the environment feel realistic and lived in! The premise, setting and characters are enough to easily recommend it to anyone around 10-12 years old.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️★
