The Transition by Luke Kennard

The Transition

Luke Kennard

The subject matter of this novel is entirely different to The Handmaid's Tale. However reading both novels certainly gave me a bilious feeling in the pit of my stomach. What is 'out there' watching us? How will our lives turn out? Are we controlled? Let me be like Karl - a chancer in life whose world is turned upside down by The Transition but who is determined to bring it down and expose it for what it really is! An unusual and quirky read.

Extract
'What are these?'
'We want you both to read a newspaper,' said Stu. He sat on the end of the bed and Janna sat down against the wall.
'We've got you subscriptions,' said Jana. 'To The Guardian and The Telegraph. Every day.'
'Every day?'
'You get up an hour early and you read them both, quickly, cover to cover, then swap. Get into the habit. It's like keeping an allotment.'
'I've tried to read newspapers,' said Karl, rubbing his left eye. 'It doesn't feel like they're for me.'
'And that's the problem,' said Stu. 'You need to be an active participant in society. We got the paper editions because the symbolism is important - you could just read it all on your tablets, but I want you to think about your parents, and how serious they seemed when they were behind newspapers.'
Parallels
  • Cain by Luke Kennard
  • The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood