By Jesse Ball; Ecco, September 2019
I think I’m officially over books set in dystopian futures. I know that, considering the state of the world, this type of book is becoming less fictional and more prophetic, but I think that may be exactly why they are feeling so unappealing. Everyone I know is completely aware of where world events are heading; who really wants to read about it? It was with great trepidation, then, that I picked up Jesse Ball’s new book, The Divers’ Game, a book that the publisher’s blurb describes as “a thinly veiled description of our society, an extreme case that demonstrates a truth: we must change or our world will collapse.” Sounds like fun, right?
Ball’s book is separated into three sections, all esoteric, disparate scenes set in an unequal world where nothing is resolved and people find new, horrible ways to kill and be killed. In this new society, all immigrants and prisoners are stripped of any rights, and then tattooed and mutilated so all can immediately identify their status; their children and any future progeny also share this fate. These individuals can be killed on sight for any or no reason, and are only allowed to defend themselves in specific quadrants set aside for them—hence their nickname, “quads.” “Pats” (short for patriots, which are what citizens are called), are equipped with gasses to kill quads, as well as gas masks to protect themselves and which only they can possess. The parallels to present-day realities could not be more evident, but what surprises is the feel of this new world Ball creates. If it’s possible to mix revolutionary France with the Venus depicted in Ray Bradbury’s short story All Summer in a Day, then Ball has achieved it, with all of the wild frenzy, bleakness, and social misalignment the combo implies, unlikely as the pairing might be.
If Ball was going for a cautionary tale, he’s slightly missed the mark; while the book is heavy with atmosphere, giving you a feeling of foreboding and human nature gone horribly wrong, the stories are at best vignettes—a glimpse of xenophobia, a fleeting moment of violence. For subject matter so heavy, The Divers’ Game feels more like capsules of smoke than anything substantial.
