Lead Review
- Book: Vagabonds
- Location: Mars
- Author: Hao Jingfang
Vagabonds is not the sort of novel that we would normally review here on TripFiction. But it came to us highly recommended by the publisher, and – in all honesty – it is just as likely we will be visiting Mars as any earthbound destinations over the coming weeks… Armchair travel to the planets.
The book is set 200 years into the future. Mars had been a colony of Earth, but had broken away in a high tech war of independence 40 years previously. The inhabitants of both planets, although still humans, have developed in very different ways. Earth has grown into an almost caricature of the type of society we see in the West today – completely dominated by capitalism, global media and entertainment corporations, and the profit motive. It is a house of cards with no real foundation. Mars has grown quite differently. It is technologically much more advanced than earth and has a much more structured and apparently altruistic society. Teenagers choose their vocation and move into ‘ateliers’ where they spend the rest of their lives. There is a virtual bank of all all information and research accessible by anyone. Everyone receives a monthly allowance and the profit motive does not exist. In many ways life on Earth can be seen as the way America could go. Life on Mars is perhaps portrayed as an idealised version of where China might be heading.
A small group of Martian teenagers is sent to Earth on a goodwill visit. They return to Mars confused. Earth has been their home for months and they have thrived in the freedom to go about as they please and do whatever they want to do. But Earth is not their true home. And neither, having returned, does Mars feel like home either. They resent the order and discipline that is imposed upon them. They cannot think and act as freely as they would wish. Their minds are stuck in mid space.
The characters are well drawn. There is Eko, a videographer who accompanies a trade mission from Earth to Mars – and becomes obsessed with the Martian idea of creative arts being available free of charge to all citizens without the creators having to compete for profit. He tries, but fails miserably, to promote this idea when he returns to Earth. There is Luoying, a teenager on the mission to Earth and the granddaughter of the Consul of Mars. She is training to be a dancer, but finds it hard to adjust to life back again on Mars. There is her grandfather, Hans, a hero of the war of independence with Earth – and his colleagues from the same era – who are nearing the end of their time in public service. There is the next generation, who are involved in a vigorous debate on the future of life on the planet. Do they stay for ever under the cocooned and protective glass of Mars City, or do they stretch technology to the very limits to create living space in the harsh Martian terrain?
Vagabonds is a very well and intelligently written book that poses many a question about the type of society in which we wish to live. It is excellently translated from the Mandarin by Ken Liu.
We can now but ponder the future – both short and long term.
Please wait...
