Flaxroots Productions
  • Home
  • Non-fiction
  • Fiction
  • Plays
  • Other Works
  • Professional
  • Blog
  • FlaxFlower
  • Review index
  • Contact
  • BMCWC

Novel merits close attention

22/7/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Melt
by Jeff Murray


This is a novel that works well at different levels and one that merits close attention, particularly as it has as its core theme the greatest current threat to humanity’s survival.
    At one level it is a simple but harrowing tale, set in the near future, of a young Pacific Island woman whose homeland is being overcome by rising sea levels. She has been charged with advocating for her people, twenty thousand of them, in dealings with the New Zealand government over negotiations for resettlement here. 
    Her story unfolds in a wider world beset by troubles caused by climate change. A hundred million refugees from its effects are desperately seeking a place to re-settle.   Three major northern hemisphere powers – The United States, China and India – are manoeuvring for advantage in Antarctica, where the ice is gradually retreating and old agreements restricting the exploitation of resources are being abandoned. 
    These great powers are all looking to establish close and dominant relationships with southern hemisphere countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa, so that they can establish large-scale bases in readiness for exploiting the great southern continent as the thaw makes it increasingly habitable and its resources more readily exploitable. Meanwhile, most of Europe is turning inwards, Russia is concentrating on establishing its dominance in the Arctic regions, and the United Kingdom has aligned itself with India.
    Against this background the author gives us a kaleidoscope of motives operating amongst the various interests involved. There is greed and envy, fanaticism and arrogance, and an occasional glimpse of altruism. There is also subterfuge, and there are friendships that might not be friendships at all. Yet these features are related in a way that is not in the least hysterical. Indeed, it all seems almost mundanely inevitable, as so much that is described is little more than a continuation of what we see happening today.
    The big issues emerge out of the narrative; out of the journeys of the young woman protagonist as she meets with New Zealand politicians, sails with eco-activists as they attempt to disrupt Japanese whaling ships, and finally travels to Antarctica to see for herself what is happening there and to discover whether it is perhaps here that her people can find a new home for themselves. The biggest issue of all is the conflict between the necessity for whole-hearted co-operation if humanity is to have a future at all, and geo-political rivalries, competing systems, and selfish ambitions.
    The Antarctic itself can be seen as an emerging new world in the broadest sense – a last chance for humanity to redeem itself and establish a society that respects all of its kind and all its fellow earth dwellers and the earth itself. Indeed, there is much in this novel that can be interpreted as being allegorical. 
    Yet no definitive solutions to the problems raised are offered. In this sense, the novel is not polemical. In essence, it is a tragedy concerning a young woman doing what she can or feels she must do to allow her threatened people a future; a tragedy acted out against forces, both natural and human, that are far beyond her power to control.
    This is an important book and one that provokes thought and a sense of urgency. The world it depicts could well be just around the corner. It is an intensely disturbing novel that even raises doubts as to whether or not humankind are worth saving at all; but it is also an engrossing read.

Review by Tony Chapelle
Title: Melt
Author: Jeff Murray
Publisher: Mary Egan Publishing
ISBN: 9780473470531
RRP: $35.00
Available: print:www.jeffmurraybooks.com; http://www.unitybooksonline.co.nz/nz-fiction/nz-fiction/Melt
ebook:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S46BW9W

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    FlaxFlower Reviews

    Reviews on this page are of New Zealand books – that is, written by Kiwi authors.   
    They are written by independent reviewers not known to the authors.

    Join the posting list
    If you'd like to receive an email when a new book review is posted, please respond via the CONTACT function above.

    If you are a Kiwi author
    and would like your book reviewed send an email via this site and you’ll be sent further details. Give details of genre, length, short description, and formats available – print, ebook (Kindle, Kobo etc). You will need to provide one book free to the reviewer.

    If you’d like to be a reviewer
    send an email via this site giving details of your experience/expertise what genres interest you, and the formats you will consider – print, ebook (Kindle, Kobo etc). If possible, include a URL of one of your published reviews.
       Offer only if you take the task seriously and are certain you will deliver the review.
    ​

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.