Year One
Author - Nora Roberts
Publisher - hachette, Rs 699
Hope in the middle of a collapsing world, portrayed through creative reworking of classic themes and through a series of gripping and thought-provoking subplots — this novel is a rewarding read, writes RONICA WAHI
light against dark — a centuries-old theme — is explored with great inventiveness and narrative skill by Nora Roberts, the hugely popular American novelist, in her novel Year One. With a hunting expedition leading to the wiping out of billions across the world — what the book calls “the Doom”, presented through the pages is both a bone-chilling tale of horror and a fascinating account of survival against unimaginable odds.
As people fall to a deadly virus, the very baseness of human nature comes to surface, starkly glaring and seeking to wipe out the flimsy hopes that survivors other than these ghastly ones cling to; yet cling to hope people do. Some people are immune to the virus, while some find themselves endowed with magical capacities. Those with magical abilities are chased by the remaining authorities and others, as many, in leaning to the side of the dark, turn the “gift” against other survivors, thus adding to the tragedy, to the astounding death count, and making survival for those who remain far more challenging. Roberts, in presenting how — as the character Arlys Reid believes, “no matter what the circumstances”, idiots remain idiots — some exploit the situation to clinch power or one of its imagined, skewed forms for themselves, she reflects a studied understanding of human weaknesses, failings, ills, and latent or terrifying desires.
The many subplots effectively indicate how so many, from so many different walks of life and with such widely different attitudes and perspectives are affected, forcefully drilling the horror of the sweep of the tragedy across the known world. What binds the subplots and their respective key players together is the Doom and what follows it, and Roberts seamlessly blends the many experiences into the larger narrative. Different facets of the dark are unfolded in the lives of different characters, showcasing through many ways how the dark can lurk in unexpected quarters and even in trusted individuals. Yet, as infrastructure fails, as the “centre can’t hold”, and as uncertainty looms large in every direction, hope lives — clearly gaining strength from helpfulness and kindness of many of the survivors, the “light” shines through.
Roberts takes her reader closely into the lives of some of the characters, sharing little, intimate details about them, and this very familiarity and close following of the journeys of these characters heighten the sense of felt poignancy as tragedies strike them. The hope that the characters cling to tightly is transplanted within the heart of the reader. As premonitions dot the narrative, the reader ardently hopes that the suggested is averted by miracle, by the power possessed by the good among the magical people. A prayer is, as if, torn from the reader as these words, though laced with hope for the future, are read:
“Power demands sacrifice to reach its terrible balance. It calls for blood and tears, and still it feeds on love and joy. You, son of the Tuatha de Danann, have lived before, will live again. You, sire of the Savior, sire of The One, embrace the moments and hold them dear, as moments are fleeting and finite. But life and light, the power of what will come, the legacy within, are infinite.” (p. 337)
Though the life as it is existed became — in lana Bingham’s musings — a “fairy tale” (p. 316) in the world of the novel, the narrative does have what one could call breather moments. Despite the tragedies and the haunting fears, life goes on and new purposes are found. People relax, laugh, and enjoy when they can. For instance, throughout her ordeals, the adorable Fred keeps her cheerful optimism alive, and as soon as she finds a safe haven, puts flowers in vases and seeks to spread happiness around — her wearing of dangling earrings with multicoloured beads is an endearing detail, and a reminder of her youthfulness, an assertion of life.
It is in the birth of babies that the assertion of life comes through most prominently. Certain scene descriptions really tug at the heart — such as of a mother in labour lamenting that the day was not as she had once envisioned and how bereft will be the world of the new babies, with no surviving family member except the mother herself. It is with light, promise, and potential that the newborns in the text are associated. The reader is not only invited to absorb but also forced to evaluate the tussles between light and dark; the reader has to and must contemplate over the concerns or remarks that surface in the text. The perceptive reader, for instance, must pause to think when Max Fallon says, “Why with so much dark has so much light bloomedIJ Or is that the reason itselfIJ” (p.242)
love stories blossoming — which the reader has certainly kept hope alive for — is another assertion of life. As adaptability and survival instincts become strong, making the best of the available is sought. Roberts makes a powerful comment on threats to survival, while as powerfully stressing on the need for survival, — threats that come from within and without, and she displays an acute sense about instincts, surely derived from careful meditation of the world around her. Max asserts “You don’t have to intend to do harm to cause it.” (p.242), heightening the sense of uncertainty and dread.
As the world collapses and a new reality takes shape, hope continues to be the driving force. It is the first year of the turn of events — Year One, as the title says — and ahead is a path replete with uncertainty and again, hope. The book, as a whole, leaves the reader both restless and reassured, and it is in this that the impact of it lies. It raises questions, forces introspection, and in a way, drills with a greater force the value of life and of community. For its ingenuity in its treatment of the theme, its mulling over existence, its impactful characters, and its storytelling, the book is a sheer treat.