3 out of 4 stars
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The Message, by Yan Vana, is an intriguing mix of science fiction, drama, and social commentary.
The novel is centered around an inquiry that was conducted regarding the terrible decline of the conditions in the Retha Protected Reserve. As the story unfolds, the reader is drawn into both the progress of the inquiry and the personal backstory of the main character, Mitzo. The novel switches between transcripts of the inquiry, written communications between characters, and the personal reflections of Mitzo.
Mitzo is preparing to retire as the leader of her organization when her plans are derailed by a message she receives from an acquaintance from her past, Avsa. Early in her career, Mitzo was the inspector sent to the Retha Reserve to determine if it should be given a Protected Status. Avsa was her guide during that inspection, and the original warden of the reserve. The Retha Preserve is now in trouble, and as a last resort Avsa has reached out to Mitzo for help. The story of Mitzo’s time with Avsa at Retha all those years ago, and their reconnection after all these years, provides an underlying drama throughout the novel.
Intermingled with her reminiscing, Mitzo reviews the transcripts from the Inquiry that was conducted regarding Retha. The inquiry was conducted to evaluate what has occurred in Retha, how and why it occurred, and what should be done to address the problems. The Retha Reserve had been a beautiful ecological marvel. However, due to budget cutbacks the Conservation Directorate could not continue to oversee all of its Reserves, and had to contract out the administration of the more remote reserves, including Retha. Since then, the Retha Reserve has been terribly damaged by deforestation, pollution, and extinction of many species.
As would be expected with any such situation, the inquiry is full of bureaucracy, arguing, finger pointing, and excuses. This helps to keep the reader engaged in the progress of the inquiry, because otherwise reading transcripts of the inquiry could be tedious. The frequent interspersion of the developing story of Mitzo and Avsa also helps to keep the inquiry narrative from becoming too dull. The inquiry transcripts do get somewhat repetitive after awhile, particularly in the cataloging of all the damage that has occurred in the Retha Preserve, however a certain amount of this is appropriate in order to illustrate the point the author is trying to make.
The Message is definitely a thought-provoking book that makes the reader reflect upon the values held by our current society and the role of humans on our planet. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in contemplating these kinds of ideas.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars, because I think it is engaging and worthwhile to read, but has a few aspects that make it good, not great, in the end. I think the author was very clever in the way the character’s story is interwoven with the presentation of the inquiry. However, I think there are a number of aspects of Mitzo and Avsa’s personal story that could have been developed further. I also think the author presented some very important and persuasive information regarding the consequences of the current path humans are following, but I felt that the solution reached in the book was a bit simplistic and not well supported.
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The Message
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