Voices

“Freedom is a lion let loose, the sun rising: you cannot stop it here or there. Give liberty to have liberty! Set free to be set free!” p 290

                Voices was a powerful tale, of a fictional people experiencing a very real fight. The enslavement and military occupation of Ansul provides many connections to a real refugee experience, and allows for an interesting examination from a distance. To begin with there is a lack of communication and knowledge of the “other” that makes any hope at relationships between the groups impossible, an issue that often occurs in reality. There are a lot of hurt emotions from the fighting of the past, and the outcomes of fighting and rape. Mesmer for example, has a father who was an Ald and a mother who was from Ansul. It is within these complex ideas of identity that the lack of knowledge of differing believes can cause significant problems and forms of oppression.            

One such instance, deals with the cultural/religious differences and misunderstandings between the people. The Alds believe in a monotheistic religion, that directly confronts and labels the Ansul gods as demons. In a fair opposition, the Ansul people label the Ald’s and their beliefs as invalid. This reminded me of the hybrid religious beliefs of Mai’s family in Tangled Threads, and in a way I think that is what the elder Ald Lord somewhat desired, through his wishes to hear the stories from the Maker. If the barriers would have been broken, he would have been able to understand that books were not evil, that he could learn from the people of Ansul and they could from him. Instead, because of the lack of communication (and many more issues such as slavery), there is a hatred and fear of the other.

                Critically, this book brings up an interesting view of the experience of an occupied people. Thinking through a post-colonial lens, it is interesting to read the first person narration of Mesmer. She is very frank and blunt about her beliefs, and hates the Alds as much as she perceives them to hate her people. However, there is a growth within her and within the city, as they reach a peaceful accord. But it remains a valid and very honest narration of her feelings.

                The themes of this book for me, were that of peaceful revolutions, of forming/framing governments, and of the power of knowledge (or the power of censure). These difficult and complex ideas, along with the difficulty of remembering all these fictional races and lands, makes it a challenging read that would work well in a high school classroom. I see it fitting in well as a comparative text to a refugee experience, as it does give the perspective of what it is like to live in fear and being unable to practice cultural norms and values. It would also work great with a post-colonial lens, seeing the occupation and its affects.