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Pure
Wе know уου аrе here, ουr brothers аnd sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers thе Detonations οr much аbουt life during thе Before. In hеr sleeping cabinet behind thе rubble οf аn ancient barbershop everywhere ѕhе lives wіth hеr grandfather, ѕhе thinks аbουt whаt іѕ lost-hοw thе world wеnt frοm amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers аnd mothers . . . tο ash аnd dust, scars, permanent burns, аnd fused, hυrt bodies. And now, аt аn age whеn everyone іѕ required tο turn themselves
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Weird, Wonderful, Wild,
This one’s going to stay with me for a very long time. I already know this because the images from Pure by Julianna Baggott are seared into my mind–wildly disturbing, absorbing, imaginative, freakish. This is a dystopian unlike most others out here, and I’m hooked.
Pure is the tale of nearly sixteen year ancient Pressia, who has lived for the nine years since the world ending/changing Detonations with her grandfather in a small barbershop in what’s left of America. Those who survived the Detonations were fused to whatever they happened to be touching at the moment the bright set alight exploded, so Pressia’s aptly hand is now the head of the baby doll she was holding and her grandfather has a small fan stuck in his throat. The two have been foraging for their lives, knowing that when Pressia turns sixteen, the dreaded OSR soldiers will be coming for her (for whatever purpose they deem). It is this knowledge that leads Pressia to Bradwell, a fellow survivor with birds really living in his back, and ultimately to El Capitan, an OSR officer whose younger brother has fused to him. Meanwhile, here are a select few who have survived unscathed–Pure–in the Dome; Partridge, son of one of the leaders, feels certain his mother survived the Detonations outside the Dome and he becomes determined to find her, even if it means leave-taking his sanctuary. All of these lives meet, combine, and impact one another throughout the most vivid landscape and public I’ve read about in reasonably a even as.
Pure is not lacking its faults; its present tense writing annoys and the improbability of public fusing to items as varied as animals, metal, plastic, and land kept nagging me. Still, if you place aside the illogic, this is a tale whose font are truly the stars. Pressia is a flawed heroine whose loyalty ties her to public and places that may not be the best, but she is a determined, tortured soul. Partridge’s escape and his focus on finding his family leads to layers of backstory being exposed, and even as most of it is predictable, it’s still exciting and fresh. El Capitan and Helmud are going to haunt me for a long time, with their mutual body being both burden and sacrifice. In fact, here’s not one character anywhere to be found whom I will be able to forget: Illia, the wife covered in a full body skin stocking, the Dust which lies in wait to capture unsuspecting humans for consumption, the Excellent Mother who demands a tall sacrifice from the Pure Partridge. All so vividly writtenly that my mind’s eye has them literally fused inside my head.
This is a unique tale and one I can recommend to those who like dystopias, but don’t go into it thinking here is going to be a huge romance or an simple path. By the time this trilogy is done, I wouldn’t be bowled over to see Pressia and her friends as leaders of the Dome or as dead legacies. It could certainly go either way, but I know it’s going to be fascinating. This one’s really a strong 4.5 stars, manifest down only because of the really unnecessary use of present-tense. I’m going to be waiting nervously for the next in the series.
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|kind of a bummer,
Do you ever forget, even as wading through the books populating the YA shelves, how to tell the difference between a dystopian and apocalyptic novel? Well, PURE combines the two in an illustrative way. Most of the world is post-apocalyptic, an endless harsh environment populated by mutants everywhere survival is only for the fittest. Rising from the ashy obscurity is the Dome, inside of which a technologically advanced, oppressive government has established a joyless dystopia.
Here are two main POV font. Pressia is a young woman who barely remembers life before the Detonations ruined everything. She’s scarred, with a doll’s head fused to her hand, but she’s a survivor. Partridge grew up spoiled and naive in the Dome. I’d say the book starts when Partridge decides he’s going to escape, but that doesn’t happen in anticipation of about 30% of the way through the book. Baggot spends a lot of time setting up the tale and conflict (too long, in my opinion).
PURE is excellent but not entertaining. Everything about it is done well. The font, the worldbuilding, the conflict. It’s also dark, grim, and joyless. After jumping from Pressia’s strained relationship with her grandfather to Partridge’s strained relationship with his father, from descriptions of desperate public running from death squads to miserable schoolroom scenes of propaganda presented as education I just…stopped wanting to turn the pages.
I hoped that once Pressia and Partridge tied up, the pace would pick up and their rapport might carry me along – but I must have known better. Pressia and Partridge aren’t quick friends. They’re uneasy allies. They use one another, and their conversations are as painful to read as every other human interaction in the book.
PURE is a lot more like 1984 or BRAVE NEW WORLD than, say, THE HUNGER GAMES or UGLIES. Which might be compliment, except that I’m not sure it has anything new to say.
PURE wasn’t to my taste but I have a long description of disliking books that are depressing from beginning to end. If it sounds excellent to you, by all means give it a try.
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