This book contains a group of essays written by novelists who see themselves as carrying on the work of George Orwell. As the editor Christopher Moore says in his foreword “We are novelists but we also share a vision that writers should use their passion, talents and experience to address political issues—issues that, it turns out, differ little from those of Orwell’s day. In plain words we draw on some of the great Orwellian themes of our time: the economic collapse in America and Europe, a trend for capitalism and totalitarian elites to find common ground, anti-rational/anti-science populists who use religion to push back the Enlightenment, the growing inequality among citizens of all countries and the rise of new technological means of control, surveillance and destruction as Ministries of Truth roam the Internet on behalf of many governments in a way that Orwell could never have foreseen.”
Some of the essays are more successful than others. I thought some of the best were: Joe—2012 by Mike Lawson (envisioning how J. Edgar Hoover would have used current technology), The Boulevard of Dreams and Riches by John Lantigua (about Southern Boulevard in Palm Beach that starts with Donald Trump’s 120 room mansion and ends with Belle Glade, a poor black neighbourhood), Jai Yen by Colin Cotterill (about trying to get permission to start a school for Burmese refugee children in Thailand) and Transformation by Barbara Nadel (about transgendered people in Turkey). I don’t think any of these essays will be as enduring as Orwell’s 1984 or Animal Farm but they do show the state of the world in 2012. Orwell probably would have recognized many of the situations. Not all of the essays are doom and gloom. Moore’s own essay, Killing Fields Justice: A Witness to History, shows how the architects of the Khmer Rouge genocide are finally brought to justice in Cambodia.
While reading this book I was reminded of another book I read recently, Dark Age Ahead by Jane Jacobs. She analyzed a number of social issues that were indicative of society losing touch with our fundamental rights and duties. I think George Orwell would have found Jane Jacobs to be a kindred spirit. Since they are now both deceased we will have to count on writers such as the ones who wrote these essays to remind us of our need to question and analyze what our leaders tell us. ( )