The Divers' Game by Jesse Ball - 4 stars (Subdue)

[Joy D]

The Divers' Game by Jesse Ball - 4* - My Review

This novel is a thought experiment that takes the idea of the privileged (called Pats) and the unprivileged (called Quads) to an extreme. The Quads have been formed by isolating immigrants and those previously in prison. They are now confined into four areas (the quads) where they live separately. They are cruelly marked physically so they can be identified upon sight. All this is told to a class by a teacher in the form of a lengthy lecture, which also serves to inform the reader.

It examines violence, which in this world has become a socially accepted way to treat Quads. Pats can kill Quads that stray outside their allowed boundaries. Children, of course, copy the adults, so children’s games become increasingly violent, as do Rituals and Festivals. It is structured using different individual experiences that take place simultaneously.

Two teens accompany their teacher to a zoo, which contains only one living animal. One of the teens ventures inadvertently into an area she should not have entered. A child becomes the Infanta in a social pageant. Children play a dangerous divers’ game where they attempt to escape their fate. The final word is given in the form of a suicide note from an adult Pat to her husband.

Elements of this novel harken back to historic parallels, especially that of Hitler’s regime (not mentioned by name), such as trains and the use of lethal gas. It is intentionally disconcerting, taking some of our current trends and following to where they could eventually lead. Between the lines, it asks the reader the question: Do we really want such a world – a world where there is little to no compassion for others, and a world where violence rules, a world where our children passively accept such a society since it is all they have ever known?