Anna is fourteen years old and a
‘surplus’ in the year 2140. Longevity drugs have enabled people to
defer old age and death indefinitely but as a consequence it is
forbidden to have children. For those that break this rule the
penalties are severe and their children are taken to Surplus Halls by
the much feared “Catchers”. Anna hates her parents for being so
irresponsible and believes herself to be worthless, a drain on the
world’s resources which need to be preserved for ‘legals’. The only
role for a surplus is to serve the legals as house slaves and at Grange
Hall they learn the necessary skills of laundry, cooking and
subservience. Anna accepts the cruel injustice of life at Grange Hall
with unquestioning obedience until one day a new arrival, Peter, turns
up and challenges everything she thought she knew.
Gemma
Malley has created a bleak and dystopian future in The Declaration.
Grange Hall and it’s vile House Matron, Mrs Pincent, are creations
worthy of Dickens but the themes of this book are both timeless and
contemporary. A society which chooses to ignore human rights, the use
of torture and issues of slavery are all covered here but in an
accessible and engaging way. The book also raises issues about the
demonization of young people in our society and forces us to consider
questions of the shifting demographics within an aging population. One
minor criticism is that, other than a couple of references to energy
shortages and climate change, 2140 doesn’t seem that different to 2009,
this seems odd if, for example, you consider the contrast between
modern day life and life in the late 19th century. This may, of course,
be intentional on the author’s part, with one result of longevity being
no youth and no new ideas leading to an increasingly stale society.
This is a disturbing novel with a shocking ending and will stay with
you long after you close the book. I imagine most readers will be keen
to see what happens next in the sequel “The Resistance”.
4/5
Guest Reviewer:
Charlotte Revely Programme Director National School of Government