Celeste Ng’s Dystopia Is Uncomfortably Close to Reality

On one other stage, “Our Lacking Hearts” is a meditation on the generally unintentional energy of phrases. Why are Mr. Gardner’s library cabinets so empty? As a result of college students should not have entry to books that “may expose them to harmful concepts.” This isn’t dystopian fiction however precise truth, as rancorous college curriculum conferences and protests throughout the USA have proved. The Florida Parental Rights Invoice, signed by Governor DeSantis in March of this yr, is mainly a free go to textual content censorship.

When a Black woman is shot lifeless at an anti-PACT rally, the phrase “Our Lacking Hearts” — emblazoned on the signal she was carrying; she’d learn Margaret’s poem — turns into a rallying cry. Chook’s mom had no intention of reaching fame or infamy due to that line; it was from a poem about — of all issues — pomegranates. Rodney King (“Can’t all of us simply get alongside?”) and George Floyd (“I can’t breathe”) weren’t deliberately phrasemaking both. King’s line was an informal plea for peace and Floyd solely needed to get the cop off his neck earlier than he died. But these strains resonate. Governments are proper to worry phrases. They’ll change hearts and topple tyrannies. By the identical token, they’ll enhance the chokeholds of some tyrants: witch hunt, pretend information, I relaxation my case.

I received’t give away the sumptuous conclusion of Ng’s e book; suffice it to say, the climax offers with the facility of phrases, the facility of tales and the persistence of reminiscence. It’s inconceivable to not be moved by Margaret Miu’s braveness, or to applaud her craftiness. Is her ultimate phrase to the world a form of propaganda? Sure, however generally it’s important to struggle fireplace with fireplace.

There are peculiar lapses that have to be famous. Covid-19 doesn’t exist in “Our Lacking Hearts,” though there could be little doubt that the pandemic has given rise to darkish conspiracies having to do with China, the place Covid first appeared. Donald Trump and others have been completely satisfied to name it the China Flu. Ng likewise ignores social media — there’s a single glancing point out close to the top of the e book — though few improvements in human historical past have carried out extra to focus and amplify racist tropes. Actually, social media encourages massive numbers of individuals to intentionally flip away from the reality.

Ng succeeds regardless of these occasional blind spots, partly as a result of her outrage is contained and targeted, and largely as a result of she is commonly captivated by the very phrases she is utilizing. Chook’s father’s oldest behavior, we’re informed, is “taking phrases aside like outdated clocks to indicate the gears nonetheless ticking inside.” The gears on this story for probably the most half mesh very effectively. And Chook is a courageous and plausible character, who provides us a relatable portal right into a world that appears extra like our personal every single day.

Stephen King’s newest novel is “Fairy Story.”

OUR MISSING HEARTS, by Celeste Ng | 352 pp. | Penguin Press | $29