A.S. King: "Glory O'Brien's History of the Future"

Title: Glory O'Brien's History of the Future [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: A.S. King [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary with a Twist
Year: 2014
Age: 14+
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: Visionary novel that managed to anticipated the 45th U.S. Presidency climate. Quirky, deliciously caustic lead.
Cons: The premise is very far-out. But more notably, there should be no place for "sluts" in a self-professed feminist book.
WARNING! Suicide is often mentioned or discussed. There's talk of sex, though the actual thing remains offscreen. A gruesome picture is described in detail.
Will appeal to: Those who can go along with weird premises. Those who like honest characters with a dry sense of humour. Those who are worried about the current state of the world.

Blurb: Graduating from high school is a time of limitless possibilities - but not for Glory, who has no plan for what's next. Her mother committed suicide when Glory was only four years old, and she's never stopped wondering if she will eventually go the same way...until a transformative night when she begins to experience an astonishing new power to see a person's infinite past and future. From ancient ancestors to many generations forward, Glory is bombarded with visions - and what she sees ahead of her is terrifying: A tyrannical new leader raises an army. Women's rights disappear. A violent second civil war breaks out. And young girls vanish daily, sold off or interned in camps. Glory makes it her mission to record everything she sees, hoping her notes will somehow make a difference. She may not see a future for herself, but she'll do anything to make sure this one doesn't come to pass. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: I'm sure that, had I read this one a few years ago (when I was less woke), I would have given it 4 full stars at least. Because I can relate to Glory, up to a point - the point where you feel like an outcast, but kind of enjoy the feeling because you secretly think you're better than most people. I used to be a closeted adolescent with zero friends, which turned me into a very much closeted middle-aged woman with almost zero friends. But here's the thing - I can still relate to Glory, only in a much less judgmental way. So here's the story of how I didn't gave this book 4 stars.

LET'S GET REAL

If not for that certain thing I've already addressed in the Cons section (and on which I'm going to comment more extensively in the next paragraph), Glory would be a relatable character - because, even if you're nothing like her, there's something liberating in a teen who takes no shit from the world and is able to see its faults AND to comment on them with a sharp, if dry, humour. Also, she's looking for answers about her mother's suicide and how it affected her life, and she doesn't know what to do about her future (which most teens, and even adults, don't either - except, most of the times, they go through the motions). And...as much as the author underlines her faults, Glory's friend Ellie is a well fleshed out character too, and if we can't actually relate to her (or we try to convince ourselves we can't), there's a lot of truth, but no actual malice, in her being oblivious to other people's (namely, Glory's) issues, or her inability to see the bigger picture - like about women's rights and feminism ("It's over. We got what we needed. We don't have to fight anymore."). Also, the "friends by necessity" dynamic is well explored in the novel, and much more nuanced that you would probably expect. [...]

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE S-WORD

Now, I have to make an introductory remark before I address my issue with this novel. I don't believe in casual sex. This, of course, goes both for men and women. And I totally get Glory when she points at the objectification of women by way of commercials and ads, and I get that she rebels to it completely avoiding certain products or behaviours. But this is a slippery slope, because who gets to say what's the right way to be a woman? Like, if I put make-up on my face, it's not because I'm dolling myself up for men. There are things I care about because they define ME - not because society expects me to embrace them. There are lots of other things I avoid (in true Glory style, I'll admit), and I used to think I was a better person (woman), for that, but I can see now that I was arrogant and patronising. I'm honest - I'm still struggling with those things. Maybe I always will. But at least I can see now that I'm not the one who gets to decide what's right and what's wrong and to give labels accordingly. So, though I don't believe in casual sex, and I think first times (and second, and third) are important (again, BOTH FOR WOMEN AND MEN), and though I can see that Ellie's taste in men is poor at best and she's far from empowered by her sexual experiences, I can't condone Glory's calling her a slut in her own head. At least twice (thrice?). In a supposed feminist book, too. There are toxic women, as there are toxic men. You get to call them on their behaviour. But the s-word should NEVER EVER be used by any woman around another representative of the female species. It's just not cool anymore. (Hey, attempt at humour here. When was it ever?).

...AND TAKE ACTION

As far as the magical realism/visions of the future go, some other reviewers have commented that they both are a bit extreme. Now, the part where the girls are drinking the bat's ashes is definitely weird, but it did intrigue me far more than it grossed me out - of course, or I wouldn't have read this book in the first place 😉. As a plot device, it's as good as any, at least if you go for the weird and the unexpected (which I do). And the future Glory sees is, indeed, extreme, but a lot less far-fetched than one could have thought before the U.S. elected their 45th President. In my Goodreads pre-review for this book, I joked that the author herself must have drunk a petrified bat, because who could have seen such a disaster coming for real, even in 2014? Of course, King seems to only take into account white women here (there's not a single POC in the whole book), and one might argue that in the future she paints, black ones would probably get the even shorter end of the stick. But in the nightmare Glory sees, there not seems to be any stick left around at all. And as far-fetched as you may think King's patriarchal AND dictatorial future is, remember - it always starts with the little things. So, as a reminder of that and a call to action, with all its faults, this book delivers 🙂.

For quotes from this book click here.
For more Contemporary/Contemporary with a Twist books click here.