You’ll either love this or hate this! No one can dispute the fact that Thomson’s prose is lyrical and truly mesmerizing but unless you can understand and are prepared to believe a United Kingdom that is split into four countries divided by walls and wire you may struggle with the plot. The story of one man (at the beginning, a boy) forms the main thread throughout as he travels through these divided countries and meets incredibly diverse cultures and thought-provoking ideas. I found it very compelling.
It is winter, somewhere in the United Kingdom, and an eight-year-old boy is removed from his home and family in the middle of the night. He learns that he is the victim of an extraordinary experiment. In an attempt to reform society, the government has divided the population into four groups, each representing a different personality type. The land, too, has been divided into quarters. Borders have been established, reinforced by concrete walls, armed guards and rolls of razor wire. Plunged headlong into this brave new world, the boy tries to make the best of things, unaware that ahead of him lies a truly explosive moment, a revelation that will challenge everything he believes in and will, in the end, put his very life in jeopardy ...
