Divergent

I've always had an eclectic taste in books since I was young, partly due to a burning curiosity as well as the ability to read a good sized novel in two hours. Since I've started this blog I've finished reading, the entire Harry Potter series from I think halfway through the Prisoner of Azakaban and both Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth. 

Like I needed a picture. Its a literary asking you what colour the sky is

I wanted to re-read the series, since the last time I had was just before HP and the Deathly Hallows was released when I was doing my last? exams in year 12. I read them off a bootleg PDF where someone had taken slightly blurred pictures of all the pages. It was supposed to be a celebration of the last HP movie being released, but I ran into trouble. It initially took me two weeks to get through the Philosopher's Stone, purely due to the fact that I keep getting teary whilst reading it. I kept finding myself whispering things to my kindle including:


"DON'T LET THE MUGGLES KEEP YOU DOWN HARRY, YOU'RE THE CHOSEN ONE."
"YOU'RE A WIZARD HARRY."
"MY FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS."
"I shouldn't have told you that."
"Think my name's funny do you, I know who you are, hand me down robes and red hair. You must be a Weasley."


This entire exchange had me in tears:
"Professor McGonagall: Albus, do you really think it safe, leaving him with these people? I've watched them all day. They're the worst sort of Muggles imaginable. They really are... 
Dumbledore: The only family he has. 
Professor McGonagall: This boy will be famous. There won't be a child in our world who doesn't know his name. 
Dumbledore: Exactly. He's far better off growing up away from all of that. Until he is ready. "

Not to mention the entire bit on the Mirror of Erised. I was a mess on the train. This was all just during the first book, I won't go through the other six because I'm pretty sure everyone's read/seen the series. 

Divergent on the other hand, was recommended to me bya very good friend of mine, she writes very interesting things over at her blog, well written musings and thought provoking essays about life, motorsports and international politics compared to my psychotic raving and blurry food pictures. Maybe you should drop by for a visit when you want your world view to be shaken?

Anyway, she knows my penchant for post apocalyptic books, grim futuristic novels and dystopian works so she recommended this to me shortly after the Hunger Games craze hit the world. I finally got to reading it due to my massive backlog and I regret not reading it earlier.

Divergent is about a Chicago, many years into the future where society has broken down due to some catastrophe that is never specifically mentioned in either book. What we do know is that the disaster was man made and as a result, the remaining society was split up into five factions, all of whom pursued their faction's creeds and had a niche role in the new world.

Amity, the yellow and red, for people who thought a lack of kindness, fighting and wars ended the world. Their members encourage peace above everything else. They act as the cities arts community and neutral faction. They are rivals with Candour, as their tendency to tell white lies to preserve peace is against Candour's manifesto.

Abnegation, the grey, blaming selfishness for the disaster. They abandoned selfishness, and encouraged their members to be humble, emotionally centred and considerate towards all others. Things like luxurious clothing, gossiping, teasing and rich foods are frowned on in their world. They are commonly found helping others even in everyday life, Abnegation take the stairs so others can take the life, give up their seats, always have food for the factionless and help out in any way they can. Abnegation  is the central governing body as their selflessness means they are less prone to corruption and can impartially make decisions for others. They have a massive rivalry towards Erudite, as the Erudite faction now seek knowledge for greeds sake and ruthlessly spread propaganda stating that Abnegation care for themselves first and foremost.

Candour. the black and white, blamed lies and a lack of honesty for the world ending. Honesty is the greatest thing in their eyes, and their members are often brutally honest to the expense of other's feelings. A Candour would rather be insulted and be told things honestly, then to be lied to. They see the world in black and white as per their colours, the truth and the lie, there is no shade of grey as the truth is everything. They serve as society's leaders in law due to their honesty. As mentioned earlier, they have a rivalry with Amity.

Dauntless, all black, piercings and tattoos, blamed humanity's cowardice for the end of the world. Bravery, facing their fears and fighting towards peace are the ideals of this group. They serve as the fighters of the new world, protecting the other factions from the factionless and other unknown dangers. They train daily to improve their physical ability and face their fears in realistic stimulations. Tattoos and piercings are commonly seen in their members and are used often to represent conquered fears and regrets amongst them. Despite being a war like factions, they are strongly neutral and get along well with most others, especially Candour and maybe not Amity, due to their rash nature.

Erudite, the blue, for those who blamed a lack of knowledge to the world's end. They are intelligent, inquisitive and want to know about anything and everything. They work as researchers and the educated professions of the city. Their desire for knowledge has been known to corrupt and this is why their fierce rivalry lives with Abnegation. 

Despite what I've written, Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite are the big three factions in this book. On reaching their 16th birthday, members of all factions are tested to see where they would be best suited for for the rest of their life. Most children remain with the family and friends in their original home faction but its not uncommon for a change too. 

The main character Beatrice aka Tris, is originally an Abnegation member, who finds out she is Divergent in her trials, equally split between Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless. She refuses Abnegation, as even after 16 years, she continue to struggle with the concept of selflessness, Erudite due to her faction's intense rivalry and chooses to go to Dauntless. The book details her change in factions and more.

I thought the book was very interesting. Its decently written, but has some shoddy storyline and world building errors that don't really make sense, or haven't been revealed yet. I did like the thoughts on the nature of bravery though, in the book, Candour and Dauntless are often connected due to honesty and bravery being close in nature. Abnegation to Dauntless is a rare mix though, with only two members having ever been converted this way, but isn't selflessness similar to bravery? If you forget your own self for the sake of others, isn't that brave as well? 

Ah well, I'm looking forward to the third book in any case. 

Also, Four is hot.