What do you think?
Rate this book
NewCon Press Novellas (set 1) #4
The Enclave
Set in the world of Anne Charnock’s novel A Calculated Life – shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick and Kitschies Golden Tentacle Awards – The Enclave reveals life at the bottom of the heap in late twenty-first century Britain.
Advances in genetic engineering have created a population free of addictive behaviour. Violent crime is rare. But out in the enclaves it’s survival of the fittest for Lexie – embroiled in a recycling clan and judged unfit for cognitive implants – and Caleb, a young climate migrant working as an illegal, who is eager to prosper and one day find his father.
The Enclave is a standalone novella. A must-read for any fan of the acclaimed novel A Calculated Life.
Paperback and a Limited Edition Signed Hardback from the publisher's website: http://www.newconpress.co.uk
Also available as a Kindle eBook.
One of four NewCon Press novellas in a series including works by Alastair Reynolds, Simon Morden, Anne Charnock and Neil Williamson.
Advances in genetic engineering have created a population free of addictive behaviour. Violent crime is rare. But out in the enclaves it’s survival of the fittest for Lexie – embroiled in a recycling clan and judged unfit for cognitive implants – and Caleb, a young climate migrant working as an illegal, who is eager to prosper and one day find his father.
The Enclave is a standalone novella. A must-read for any fan of the acclaimed novel A Calculated Life.
Paperback and a Limited Edition Signed Hardback from the publisher's website: http://www.newconpress.co.uk
Also available as a Kindle eBook.
One of four NewCon Press novellas in a series including works by Alastair Reynolds, Simon Morden, Anne Charnock and Neil Williamson.
68 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 12, 2017
4 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Anne Charnock
21 books154 followersAnne Charnock's novel DREAMS BEFORE THE START OF TIME is the winner of the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award, and was shortlisted for the BSFA 2017 Best Novel Award. Her latest novel, BRIDGE 108, is written in the same world as her debut novel, A CALCULATED LIFE — a finalist for the 2013 Philip K. Dick and The Kitschies Golden Tentacle Awards.
SLEEPING EMBERS OF AN ORDINARY MIND, her second novel, was named by The Guardian as one of the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2015
Anne Charnock's journalism has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune and Geographical. She was educated at the University of East Anglia, where she studied Environmental Sciences, and at The Manchester School of Art, England where she gained a Masters in Fine Art.
As a foreign correspondent, she travelled widely in Africa, the Middle East and India and spent a year overlanding through Egypt, Sudan and Kenya.
http://www.annecharnock.com
http://www.twitter.com/annecharnock
Author photo by Marzena Pogorzaly
SLEEPING EMBERS OF AN ORDINARY MIND, her second novel, was named by The Guardian as one of the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2015
Anne Charnock's journalism has appeared in New Scientist, The Guardian, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune and Geographical. She was educated at the University of East Anglia, where she studied Environmental Sciences, and at The Manchester School of Art, England where she gained a Masters in Fine Art.
As a foreign correspondent, she travelled widely in Africa, the Middle East and India and spent a year overlanding through Egypt, Sudan and Kenya.
http://www.annecharnock.com
http://www.twitter.com/annecharnock
Author photo by Marzena Pogorzaly
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 26, 2017
Although the book "The Enclave" by Anne Charnock is rather short, it is just long enough to take the reader into her world and then make you hunger for more.
This novella is a stand alone construction. Written in the world of ‘A Calculated Life’, it is a total independent creation featuring new characters and a different view of a much larger world and reveals life at the bottom of the heap in late twenty-first century Britain. The book can be considered a companion piece of this dystopian civilization and shows us just what it takes to survive.
There is no connection to the other books in this novella series, plot wise or character wise, the first two having been written by Alastair Reynolds, Simon Morden. and Charnock's being the best so far in my opinion. The writing style harkens me back to perhaps early Andre Norton books where a young main protagonist tells their story.
Highly enjoyable book and highly recomended.
Marked as Volume 3 of set 1 of Newcon Presses
This hardcover edition of "The Enclave" is copy 58 of 100 copies signed by Anne Charnock.
This book is NCP 113.
This novella is a stand alone construction. Written in the world of ‘A Calculated Life’, it is a total independent creation featuring new characters and a different view of a much larger world and reveals life at the bottom of the heap in late twenty-first century Britain. The book can be considered a companion piece of this dystopian civilization and shows us just what it takes to survive.
There is no connection to the other books in this novella series, plot wise or character wise, the first two having been written by Alastair Reynolds, Simon Morden. and Charnock's being the best so far in my opinion. The writing style harkens me back to perhaps early Andre Norton books where a young main protagonist tells their story.
Highly enjoyable book and highly recomended.
Marked as Volume 3 of set 1 of Newcon Presses
This hardcover edition of "The Enclave" is copy 58 of 100 copies signed by Anne Charnock.
This book is NCP 113.
April 13, 2017
Strange and dangerous though its world might be, I was fascinated to be back in the technologically advanced, genetically enhanced, climate challenged future Manchester that Anne Charnock first explored in A Calculated Life. In that book the main character is Jayna, a simulant or lab created human who has been completely bio-engineered to have beyond genius level intelligence so she can process huge amounts of data for her employer, but in this novella we get a look at lives on the far other end of the human spectrum.
Caleb and Lexie have both been deemed unworthy for the cognitive implants that most natural born people receive to enhance their abilities. They eke out a living in the Enclave, a violent, gritty slum community far from Manchester’s hub. With a nod to current events, Caleb is a young illegal immigrant who had to flee Spain when climate change rendered his home virtually unlivable. Caleb and Lexie work together, but though they have a stronger bond than normally found in subordinate-boss relationships, the nature of their reality makes it hard for them to trust anyone.
Charnock writes what I think of as science fiction for grownups, stories in which realistic (if often futuristic) characters and thought-filled themes are as important as her high tension plots. While The Enclave isn’t exactly a sequel to A Calculated Life, those who’ve read the first book will recognize Jayna and her coworker Dave in a brief encounter they have with the characters in this novella. Even Dave’s bees make an appearance.
One thing left to explore in this world is the lives of the elite--the natural born (not lab created) humans who have been equipped with cognitive implants. They have best jobs and the nicest homes, but I wonder how life in this tenuous world would feel to one of them.
I received a complimentary copy of The Enclave from the author, with no obligation to write a review. Review opinions are mine.
Caleb and Lexie have both been deemed unworthy for the cognitive implants that most natural born people receive to enhance their abilities. They eke out a living in the Enclave, a violent, gritty slum community far from Manchester’s hub. With a nod to current events, Caleb is a young illegal immigrant who had to flee Spain when climate change rendered his home virtually unlivable. Caleb and Lexie work together, but though they have a stronger bond than normally found in subordinate-boss relationships, the nature of their reality makes it hard for them to trust anyone.
Charnock writes what I think of as science fiction for grownups, stories in which realistic (if often futuristic) characters and thought-filled themes are as important as her high tension plots. While The Enclave isn’t exactly a sequel to A Calculated Life, those who’ve read the first book will recognize Jayna and her coworker Dave in a brief encounter they have with the characters in this novella. Even Dave’s bees make an appearance.
One thing left to explore in this world is the lives of the elite--the natural born (not lab created) humans who have been equipped with cognitive implants. They have best jobs and the nicest homes, but I wonder how life in this tenuous world would feel to one of them.
I received a complimentary copy of The Enclave from the author, with no obligation to write a review. Review opinions are mine.
March 19, 2017
There just isn’t anyone else writing like Anne Charnock. Her exquisitely-crafted short novels are like super-distilled iced vodka, clear, compulsive and with a kick that comes later. You also don’t need much to get off your head.
In this one, part of a series of four novellas by different authors published by NewCon Press, we revisit the subtly strange but familiar world of the author’s first novel, ‘A Calculated Life’. In an altered, futuristic Manchester, specially bred geniuses and upgraded humans run things, while on the outskirts the enclaves supply labour and foodstuffs. The enclaves exist via an odd combination of hand-me-down Heath Robinson tech and a barter economic/social structure that just about works despite bordering on the medieval.
New boy Caleb, a 12-year-old immigrant fleeing complete societal breakdown in Spain, has trekked across Europe with his mother. We don’t meet the mother; she vanished either due to a nervous breakdown or because she has been trafficked - probably both. Caleb speaks excellent English, but has no papers. He has also not been injected with the regular state-administered inoculations, which have eradicated crime but unfortunately at the cost of defiance and, by implication, free will.
He is taken in by Ma Lexie, an attractive young woman who runs a business creating fashion items from recycled clothes. The inventive Caleb is quickly promoted and eventually taken off the building roof where he lives and works to visit the market. But can Lexie trust him?
A lesser writer would have written the whole novella from Caleb’s point of view, as he is more obviously sympathetic; however, the middle third of the story is narrated by Lexie. We learn that she is a middle-class widow who fell in love with a man from the enclave, whose family run the local recycling operation. Caleb isn’t the first boy Lexie has taken in; others have been absorbed into the family business, much to Lexie’s despair. She wants to trust Caleb, but as her husband’s bullying relatives begin to assert their influence, the strain builds and Lexie slaps Caleb. She immediately regrets it, but the damage is done. By now, we desperately want the clever, spirited Caleb and the mournful, caring Lexie to stay together; however, when we switch back to Caleb’s narration there are surprises in store…
Subtle characterisation draws you in completely, with Caleb in particular a great creation. His reasoning is that of a damaged but capable boy, equal parts vulnerable and ruthless. He reflects the odd world around him, which is a very English sort of quasi-dystopia. There is compassion and cooperation, but the twin threats of gang violence and unwelcome state intervention are never far.
Anne Charnock has perfected the sudden, startling ending, leaving the reader raw and slightly confused in a satisfying, particularly science-fictional way. This short book, perhaps even more than the lovely ‘Sleeping Embers of an Ordinary Mind’, left me wanting more; a novel perhaps, although that is probably missing the point of a story that is primarily about barely comprehensible personal loss. Ultimately, ‘The Enclave’ is excellent, very adult writing from an author who knows how to deliver what we want without us realising it.
In this one, part of a series of four novellas by different authors published by NewCon Press, we revisit the subtly strange but familiar world of the author’s first novel, ‘A Calculated Life’. In an altered, futuristic Manchester, specially bred geniuses and upgraded humans run things, while on the outskirts the enclaves supply labour and foodstuffs. The enclaves exist via an odd combination of hand-me-down Heath Robinson tech and a barter economic/social structure that just about works despite bordering on the medieval.
New boy Caleb, a 12-year-old immigrant fleeing complete societal breakdown in Spain, has trekked across Europe with his mother. We don’t meet the mother; she vanished either due to a nervous breakdown or because she has been trafficked - probably both. Caleb speaks excellent English, but has no papers. He has also not been injected with the regular state-administered inoculations, which have eradicated crime but unfortunately at the cost of defiance and, by implication, free will.
He is taken in by Ma Lexie, an attractive young woman who runs a business creating fashion items from recycled clothes. The inventive Caleb is quickly promoted and eventually taken off the building roof where he lives and works to visit the market. But can Lexie trust him?
A lesser writer would have written the whole novella from Caleb’s point of view, as he is more obviously sympathetic; however, the middle third of the story is narrated by Lexie. We learn that she is a middle-class widow who fell in love with a man from the enclave, whose family run the local recycling operation. Caleb isn’t the first boy Lexie has taken in; others have been absorbed into the family business, much to Lexie’s despair. She wants to trust Caleb, but as her husband’s bullying relatives begin to assert their influence, the strain builds and Lexie slaps Caleb. She immediately regrets it, but the damage is done. By now, we desperately want the clever, spirited Caleb and the mournful, caring Lexie to stay together; however, when we switch back to Caleb’s narration there are surprises in store…
Subtle characterisation draws you in completely, with Caleb in particular a great creation. His reasoning is that of a damaged but capable boy, equal parts vulnerable and ruthless. He reflects the odd world around him, which is a very English sort of quasi-dystopia. There is compassion and cooperation, but the twin threats of gang violence and unwelcome state intervention are never far.
Anne Charnock has perfected the sudden, startling ending, leaving the reader raw and slightly confused in a satisfying, particularly science-fictional way. This short book, perhaps even more than the lovely ‘Sleeping Embers of an Ordinary Mind’, left me wanting more; a novel perhaps, although that is probably missing the point of a story that is primarily about barely comprehensible personal loss. Ultimately, ‘The Enclave’ is excellent, very adult writing from an author who knows how to deliver what we want without us realising it.
March 11, 2018
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2977240.html
A very nicely done, sad story about migration, exploitation and growing up in a flawed near future England. A story for our times.
A very nicely done, sad story about migration, exploitation and growing up in a flawed near future England. A story for our times.
April 14, 2021
This is the last of the latest NewCon Press novella series and I will admit one I least connected with - possibly because this is a story written in the same universe as another of Anne Charnocks stories. Maybe I should have read that book first to familiarise myself with that world before I immersed myself with this story.
However it has some beautifully envisioned scenes - from the the locations to the personal interactions and even the state of society and what it had all become. This is a rich world (although a rather bleak one) which I felt that novella did not really do justice to - and maybe that is where I struggled as I felt that I was only skimming the surface of this world.
However it has some beautifully envisioned scenes - from the the locations to the personal interactions and even the state of society and what it had all become. This is a rich world (although a rather bleak one) which I felt that novella did not really do justice to - and maybe that is where I struggled as I felt that I was only skimming the surface of this world.
April 12, 2017
This short science fiction novella tell us the story of Caleb, a twelve years old boy who left Spain and is now living and working illegally in England, nearly as an slave, in a small textile business. After gaining the trust of his boss, he will be forced to take several crucial decisions for the future of his live. When I read it, I didn’t know it was set in the world of Anne Charnock’s previous novel, so I thought that maybe this was the first of a series of novellas following the adventures of Caleb, as there were plenty of details about this fictional world (the implants, inoculations…) that are merely hinted at. In spite of that, this is a standalone novella that can be perfectly enjoyed without having read the novel.
The story was interesting enough, in part thanks to the three parts structure that enriches the story with an adult point of view (instead of just Caleb’s) and adds an extra amount of information that places the reader in an advantageous position in relation to Caleb, and allows him to better judge the boy’s decisions, but I found a bit hard to believe that a child so young would act and reason in such a mature way. In any case, although I don’t think it’s an outstanding work, this story about decisions, about freedom and taking back the control of your life, was definitely worth the hour I spent reading it.
The story was interesting enough, in part thanks to the three parts structure that enriches the story with an adult point of view (instead of just Caleb’s) and adds an extra amount of information that places the reader in an advantageous position in relation to Caleb, and allows him to better judge the boy’s decisions, but I found a bit hard to believe that a child so young would act and reason in such a mature way. In any case, although I don’t think it’s an outstanding work, this story about decisions, about freedom and taking back the control of your life, was definitely worth the hour I spent reading it.
March 23, 2017
Anne's return to the world of "A Calculated Life" introduces two new compelling voices in the form of a young adult climate refugee and his overseer. It's a tautly told tale with her trademark economy deftly conjuring up a believable picture of a grimly recognisable near-future Britain. The characters are no less well drawn than their host country and similarly trying to make the best of their situations while managing a numbing sense of loss.
Don't worry if you haven't read Anne's previous work, this is a highly accessible and standalone entry point.
Don't worry if you haven't read Anne's previous work, this is a highly accessible and standalone entry point.
December 6, 2025
Great world- and character-building, but I remain somewhat unconvinced about the story. I'd have liked the stakes raised at the end of the second act driving Caleb to do what he does, and greater drama in the final pages, some sort of near-miss with disaster before finally reaching his goal (and a better goal that given here, at that). It's all a bit perfunctory.
Oh, and what's the cover about? Beehives? And the pair are clearly not Caleb and Odette, not from the descriptions in the book, plus they're never on a roof together. And what's on his back: it looks like the cover for a spare tyre on an SUV. Presumably an artwork NewCon had in a digital drawer.
Oh, and what's the cover about? Beehives? And the pair are clearly not Caleb and Odette, not from the descriptions in the book, plus they're never on a roof together. And what's on his back: it looks like the cover for a spare tyre on an SUV. Presumably an artwork NewCon had in a digital drawer.
April 22, 2020
A minor story in a very interesting setting. Five star background, maybe 1.5 stars for the story itself.
May 8, 2017
4.5/5 stars
The Enclave by Anne Charnock is an excellent short story (Too short! I wanted more). Charnock builds a highly detailed picture of a not-too-distant future world which intersects advances in bioengineering and technology (eg. neural implants) with human complexity (refugees, poverty, human trafficking, refusal to assimilate, etc). It's a not too rosy picture of the future, and entirely plausible. The characters are well-developed and you can't help liking them, or at least sympathizing with their lack of choices. I found myself caring for the characters and the story stayed with me long after I finished it.
Summary: Highly recommended to readers of dystopian fiction (eg Wind Up Girl by Bacigalupi).
Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book via LibraryThing in exchange for a fair review.
The Enclave by Anne Charnock is an excellent short story (Too short! I wanted more). Charnock builds a highly detailed picture of a not-too-distant future world which intersects advances in bioengineering and technology (eg. neural implants) with human complexity (refugees, poverty, human trafficking, refusal to assimilate, etc). It's a not too rosy picture of the future, and entirely plausible. The characters are well-developed and you can't help liking them, or at least sympathizing with their lack of choices. I found myself caring for the characters and the story stayed with me long after I finished it.
Summary: Highly recommended to readers of dystopian fiction (eg Wind Up Girl by Bacigalupi).
Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book via LibraryThing in exchange for a fair review.
April 18, 2017
[I received this book via LibraryThing Early Reviewers]
I have to admit that I had some trouble when I started reading this novelette (roughly 70 pages). Maybe my command of English language was not that good, but I did not understand what was happening. Slowly the plot became clearer, and besides a short lapse of understanding at the beginning of the second section, when the talking protagonist changed, I quickly ran through the pages till the end.
The setting of the book, which I understand to be part of a series, is something that many of us fear will happen in the future: brain implants for the "best" people who will live in the main cities, satellite cities (like the enclave which gives the title to this book) where people work in recycling and feeding the rich, and migrants, like the main character Caleb, who desperately try to become part of the main city. All of this is just hinted in the book, since this is not the main interest for Anne Charnock. There's some text which seems a bit patronizing to me, but in general the book is worth reading.
I have to admit that I had some trouble when I started reading this novelette (roughly 70 pages). Maybe my command of English language was not that good, but I did not understand what was happening. Slowly the plot became clearer, and besides a short lapse of understanding at the beginning of the second section, when the talking protagonist changed, I quickly ran through the pages till the end.
The setting of the book, which I understand to be part of a series, is something that many of us fear will happen in the future: brain implants for the "best" people who will live in the main cities, satellite cities (like the enclave which gives the title to this book) where people work in recycling and feeding the rich, and migrants, like the main character Caleb, who desperately try to become part of the main city. All of this is just hinted in the book, since this is not the main interest for Anne Charnock. There's some text which seems a bit patronizing to me, but in general the book is worth reading.
March 28, 2017
Anne Charnock returns to the world she wrote about in A Calculated Life, but it's not connected with that story in any way other than setting. This is a story about Caleb--a climate change refugee--and life in an enclave.
Caleb was traveling with his mother to find his father who had gone on ahead of them. They got separated one night, and Caleb was forced to travel with other refugees to find a "reception center" and, hopefully, his father. Instead, Caleb winds up in an enclave.
If you haven't read A Calculated Life, then here's your background (I'm copying this from my ACL review): "Late 21st Century England. Life isn't glamorous, nor is it horrific. It's a dystopia, where government and corporations control a pacified populace. The population has been divided into augmented professionals, who live in wonderful neighborhoods with all the trappings of upper middle class life we see today, and organics, who are crowded together in enclaves outside the city. The enclaves aren't filthy hellholes, but rather subsidized housing where their residents make use of everything to scrape up extra money to take the edge off of their spartan existence."
The story has quite a Dickensian feel to it. The enclave may as well be 19th century London, complete with gangs discretely fighting over the scraps. Caleb is a bit of an innocent waif caught up in it all. He earns his keep by taking recycled materials and making "new" products for his overseer (Ma Lexie) to sell at the flea market. There are other kids that work and live at the flat with him, taken under Ma Lexie's wing to work in her private sweatshop. Caleb spends a lot of time on the roof where he can see Odette, a girl who tends a rooftop tourist garden for her overseer. They exchange notes back and forth by throwing bottles from one roof to the next as neither one of them really gets to leave their buildings.
In the middle third of the book, we get a POV switch to Ma Lexie. Charnock really makes the most of this section. Through Ma Lexie's inner dialogue, we get to see how she views her life in the enclave and how Caleb fits into it. It's terribly revealing about how ignorant Ma Lexie is about her motivations and use of power.
The sci-fi elements are slight, which makes the story accessible to a larger audience. Remove a couple of elements and this story could easily be read as a contemporary fiction. It isn't hard to imagine that the Syrian refugees in Europe are having similar experiences. I think Dickens, with his penchant for an undercurrent of social commentary in his work, would approve.
Caleb was traveling with his mother to find his father who had gone on ahead of them. They got separated one night, and Caleb was forced to travel with other refugees to find a "reception center" and, hopefully, his father. Instead, Caleb winds up in an enclave.
If you haven't read A Calculated Life, then here's your background (I'm copying this from my ACL review): "Late 21st Century England. Life isn't glamorous, nor is it horrific. It's a dystopia, where government and corporations control a pacified populace. The population has been divided into augmented professionals, who live in wonderful neighborhoods with all the trappings of upper middle class life we see today, and organics, who are crowded together in enclaves outside the city. The enclaves aren't filthy hellholes, but rather subsidized housing where their residents make use of everything to scrape up extra money to take the edge off of their spartan existence."
The story has quite a Dickensian feel to it. The enclave may as well be 19th century London, complete with gangs discretely fighting over the scraps. Caleb is a bit of an innocent waif caught up in it all. He earns his keep by taking recycled materials and making "new" products for his overseer (Ma Lexie) to sell at the flea market. There are other kids that work and live at the flat with him, taken under Ma Lexie's wing to work in her private sweatshop. Caleb spends a lot of time on the roof where he can see Odette, a girl who tends a rooftop tourist garden for her overseer. They exchange notes back and forth by throwing bottles from one roof to the next as neither one of them really gets to leave their buildings.
In the middle third of the book, we get a POV switch to Ma Lexie. Charnock really makes the most of this section. Through Ma Lexie's inner dialogue, we get to see how she views her life in the enclave and how Caleb fits into it. It's terribly revealing about how ignorant Ma Lexie is about her motivations and use of power.
The sci-fi elements are slight, which makes the story accessible to a larger audience. Remove a couple of elements and this story could easily be read as a contemporary fiction. It isn't hard to imagine that the Syrian refugees in Europe are having similar experiences. I think Dickens, with his penchant for an undercurrent of social commentary in his work, would approve.
April 8, 2017
From the reviews above it is clear that Anne Charnock as a strong reader base and that her earlier work "A Calculated Life" was well received. I have not read her earlier work and "The Enclave" is my first introduction the world of "A Calculated Life". The challenge to any writer seeking to bring new readers into an established world is to make the entry as painless as possible, engaging the new reader while not boring the old. Charnock does this well distributing descriptions of the world through the novella and filling in the pieces of this new society deftly.
The greater issue is the development of the main character Caleb who undergoes a remarkable personal transformation over a fairly brief period of time, all while he is 12 years old. It stretched credulity that such a transformation could be affected so quickly at this age. With Caleb as narrator it seemed also that the book was reading as YA fiction.
As confusing was a narrative shift in the middle of the work to Lexie in the middle of the work. While this was useful to provide an adult's perspective of this world of Charnock's the shift also created a second story line that was unresolved at the end of the work.
My thanks to LibraryThing for a review copy.
The greater issue is the development of the main character Caleb who undergoes a remarkable personal transformation over a fairly brief period of time, all while he is 12 years old. It stretched credulity that such a transformation could be affected so quickly at this age. With Caleb as narrator it seemed also that the book was reading as YA fiction.
As confusing was a narrative shift in the middle of the work to Lexie in the middle of the work. While this was useful to provide an adult's perspective of this world of Charnock's the shift also created a second story line that was unresolved at the end of the work.
My thanks to LibraryThing for a review copy.
April 16, 2017
"The Enclave" is a thought provoking novella set in a future Great Britain where populations are inoculated to prevent addiction and those who qualify are able to obtain brain implants to enhance their mental capacities and, thereby, improve their economic status. However, those who live in the Enclave, a community just outside of Manchester, are struggling near the bottom of the economic spectrum. The story is told through the perspective of two characters: Caleb, a 12 year old climate change refugee whose family was forced to leave their home in Spain, and Lexie, a 30 year old widow connected with a family that runs the local recycling business. Mama Lexie runs a clothing business from the roof of her apartment building where she employs Caleb and two other illegal refugee children. It was interesting how the story juxtaposed the perspectives of these two individuals struggling to survive in this rather grim world. Ms. Charnock has the unique ability to subtly evoke a future world with engaging characters. One that could possibly become reality. There are parallels to the plight of the many refugees presently seeking asylum in these turbulent times. A short but very satisfying read.
April 17, 2017
Wow! I'd suggest this for anyone who...
1)enjoys multiple character perspectives
2) interested in how a child refugee sees the world around him/ her
3) appreciates quality speculative fiction
As usual for Anne Charnock, the writing is clean, dialogue is real, and the ending broke my heart.
1)enjoys multiple character perspectives
2) interested in how a child refugee sees the world around him/ her
3) appreciates quality speculative fiction
As usual for Anne Charnock, the writing is clean, dialogue is real, and the ending broke my heart.
April 20, 2017
It was good to be back in Charnock's A Calculated Life's universe; the split narrative is hugely enjoyable. Charnock explores survival in two forms: Ma Lexie's day-to-day hustle, and Caleb's on-the-road as an illegal immigrant. Indulgently essential reading for A Calculated Life fans.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews