Legend by Marie Lu
Day is a wanted criminal. On the run,
Day spends most of his time thinking of schemes to bug the Republic,
while keeping his true identity secret. Never far from his thoughts
though is his family, who struggle under an oppressive regime. When
his youngest brother contracts a new deadly plague, Day desperately
breaks into a hospital in order to find a cure, but instead winds up
with more than he bargained for. Believing her brother to have been
murdered by Day, June chases him down, scenting him out as she has
been taught. Yet, Day is not what she expected and the questions he
asks, about their society and their lives create a world that June is
unsure of.
I have had a fascination with North
Korea for a long time, especially in regards to the people who live
in a continual state of lies and brainwashing. And don't mistake
brainwashing for something as simple as trying to teach children your
own agenda. This is an entire society that literally functions off
lies. From education to God to how the outside world is, this kind of
society exists in a bubble. Having read countless interviews with the
people who leave such a world behind, they often have a very
difficult time adjusting to life outside. In South Korea, North
Koreans are seen as burdensome, often needing government assistance
when it comes to education, employment, health care, and mental
health care. Of course, what would you be like if you discovered that
the president of your country really isn't a god, that your “enemy”
countries are actually friendly, that there are rich and poor, that
you do not have to rat out your neighbor or live in fear, that no one
will send you to a labor camp simply because you did not cry loud
enough at a state funeral.
This is the world of Legend. As with a
few books I have read lately, chiefly You'll Like it Here (Everybody
Does) and Divergent, this is an area of fascination. World's cut off
from society and unaware of the outside world. A world that, from the
reader's point of view, is so obviously unhinged. The difference for
me was that in You'll Like it Here (Everybody Does), the characters
were simply bystanders to this strange place. In Divergent, the
characters were a part, but were too reactionary and did not see a
reason for change, believing their way of life to be perfect.
Legend's characters were instigators. Even June, who believes her
world to be rosier than reality, is still a character who seeks
out truth, if only to satisfy her own curiosity. Day knows there is a
better life to be had outside of the Republic, but refuses to join
the Patriots for reasons that I imagine would be pointed out in book
2, Prodigy.
This isn't to say that there aren't a
few problems with the book, but honestly, after having just finished
the angst ridden Insurgent, the world building alone made this books
ten times better for me. True, Day and June have almost
indistinguishable characterization and abilities, but I think I
would rather that than the lovesick Tris any day. Besides, at least
the characters in Legend know there is an outside world even if
what they have been taught about it is a lie. The Divergent Tris, for
all her supposed curiosity, never once even considered a world
outside her doors. Weird.
I do have some expectations for book 2, first and foremost being expansive world building that was sorely lacking in this rather small volume, but rest assured, I will be reading that second book. Very soon.
