by Edyth Bulbring (Tafelberg)
Before you roll your eyes at what you may consider to be yet another YA Dystopia read, you can be reassured that The Mark by Edyth Bulbring isn’t cast in the same mould as The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, as so many recent releases have been. Instead, the work has a grittier, more scratchy-behind-the-eyes feel that one would expect with George Orwell’s 1984.
Ettie, also known as Juliet Seven, isn’t the special girl with the super abilities who is going to save the world and overthrow the evil ruling elite. She’s no one. She’s a drudge, a young woman fated to work in a menial job. Her Mark, which she desperately tries to remove throughout, means she’s trapped in the roles cast for her by others.
We discover a world that is, as Bulbring puts it, “Post-Conflagration”. What exactly went wrong, we don’t find out.
Humanity and nearly all the life on the planet (apart from flies) have been driven to the edge of extinction.
The Machine is all that keeps mankind going, regulating a rigid caste system in which only a few are lucky enough to number among the Elite.
The sun is no longer a life-giving source of light, and any who do not play by the rules in this harsh world are deemed Savage and cut off from society.
When not training for her future in service of the Elite, Ettie is also part of a criminal underground that scams the “Posh”, and she makes no excuses for behaviour, nor does she possess many redeeming qualities.
Though she’s clearly not a nice person – and some of her nasty comments are true gems – her devotion to her friend and companion Kitty, for whom she will go to the ends of the earth to protect, shines through; and also her love of literature that transports her to magical worlds so vastly different from the reality in which she is immersed.
The main theme throughout the story is that of escape and not being satisfied with a pre-ordained lot. Ettie’s attempts to break free from an oppressive system lead her through many unpredictable twists and turns; as soon as I thought I knew which direction Bulbring was going to take readers, she confounded my expectations.
The Mark is a fast-paced, gritty and uncomfortable read and Bulbring maintains a cracking pace, blending elements of SF dystopia with nuances of magical realism.
Pick this one up if you’re looking for something slightly different.