Paul di Filippo coined the term ribofunk as the biological analogue to the popular genre steampunk. That is an adequate term to describe Ryman's London of the future, which consists of a pit filled with historical oddities such as wooden houses and faithful theatrical productions while the rest are communities grown of living coral or vast mycelial structures that serve as a food source as well as a housing arrangement. This is the future, one that this reviewer has failed to render in the beauty and awe and the downright banality of one living in this world that Ryman has dreamed up. It is a love story, a mystery, and a story of viruses.When a child is born, she is made sick with viruses. These viruses are not unlike the internet as we know it. They're built in, injected search engines. As a result, children grow up ahead of their time. as a result, creativity is dead, and a rote devotion to exact reproduction of the past, popularly that of theatre. The viruses tell you everything you need to know; you never need to learn anything for yourself. When the children turn ten years old, they are Read: their brain is mapped and stored in the Consensus, a vast organic network of personalities stretching rootlike across the world. The child is placed to a field fitting for her personality, and as one is Read, any "deviant" behavior such as homosexuality, -philias, -phobias, etcetera is removed. The Consensus, the million million souls of recorded children, is involved in every process of humanity's growth; its word is the law.Milena Shibush is different. The only child to be placed, but never Read, she's fallen in love with a human genetically engineered to survive the Antarctica—a polar bear. Rolfa is a musical genius potentially exceeding that of Beethoven, Mozart, and other classical masters. This is only the beginning of this story, which takes us far from the dream of Milena's childhood into her cancerous future, to her death. It is a chorus of viruses which unpack meaning from everything you see, a ride down the Charlie Slide where angels come back from the future of their past. It is a painful romance, of one's love for humanity despite all odds. PS It is interesting to note that Ryman has inserted a multitude of allusions and references to popular culture. I am convinced that a solid third of The Child Gardens is in reference to the relationship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. there are also gags and jokes and wordplay (one of my favorites is Space Opera. Heh, heh, heh!). As always, when approaching a book this dense and inventive, I never know enough, probably could never read enough to know enough, which makes it all the more frustrating. In any case, boys and girls, it is still not a good enough reason to not read this book.
In the future, cancer has been cured, but at the price of the longevity of live. People now only live to their 30s, and as such, have to become adults all the more quickly. Society has invented viruses to replace learning, augment immunity and provide human photosynthesis. The Consesnsus is a collective of intelligence, guiding humanity and removing non-normal conformity. In this, the story follows Milena - a woman who is resistant to viruses and suffers from "bad grammar", but the Collective hasn't corrected her. Milena meets and falls for a genetically engineered woman in the form of Rolpha, an opera loving polar bear.The story follows the discovery, and then production of an operative version of Dante's Divine Comedy. We follow Milena on a very personal journey of love, ambition and determination, where every action she takes as an individual effects the society as a whole - her own Comedy. We fling forwards and backwards in timelines with very little given in terms of narrative markers - this book is a hard read and takes no prisoners. You'll make a huge investment in the characters. Ryman has created a story where you really will care, and that's one of his greatest achievements. There is colossal amounts of detail in the world building, Milena's emotions, and her relationships with those around her. It requires reading in chapters, carefully. Breaking a chapter, or losing concentration, will most likely result in having to start again.There's a certain amount of exhilaration on completing the story. The story comes to a good, positive conclusion, tying up storylines for the other characters. It feels a very neat book, and that I like - I have a distinct unlike for hanging stories. It's also quite a intimidating story, it provides a different viewpoint to Huxley or Wells while clearly borrowing ideas from both. Our future is a safe future, a utopian future, but probably not the utopia you were expecting.Read it. But set the time aside to read it, and have a proper think. And I dare you not to cry.
What do You think about The Child Garden (2005)?
Astonishingly creative, this achingly bittersweet far-future fantasy examines the throbbing, open wounds our memories and regrets can inflict upon us and those we love. Brilliant, deep characterization and some of the most original ideas I've seen put The Child Garden on my shelf between Ian McDonald's Desolation Road and Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach. The Child Garden is a prime example of the best of what can happen when weird fiction fulfills it's potential. Best read slowly and thoughtfully.
—Dan Schuna
I am a voracious reader and a speed reader. There are so many books and so little time. However, I took my time with this book. Reading several chapters, putting it down, walking away to think about what I'd read and then came back to read more. It made me think a lot about what it is to be human. What it means to just be able to have emotions. It was a really thought provoking book for me.It all starts and ends with Milena. She is virus resistant youth who thinks she might be in love with a genetically engineered female polar bear. And it just takes off after that. It is full of love that is unconventional, love that is conventional but entirely too short-lived, and just plain strange and amazing things. Everyone learns through viruses that infect the body. Even animals can learn to talk like humans. Imagine that! But still somehow strange and sad is how short life is in this future. In inventing these viruses that correct everything from illiteracy to sexuality, you're only allowed to be heterosexual unless you're virus resistant like Milena, they've shortened their lives. In the end, I wondered if maybe that's a good thing.I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to those who like sci-fi with some heart to it.
—Sunshine Reddick
The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman is an amazing, amazing book. It is simultaneously a science fictional exploration of a unique and interesting future human society, a deep and true telling of what it is like to live as a closeted queer person in a homophobic society (the loneliness, the struggle to find love, the constant fear and hiding), and a profound, moving and ultimately spiritual meditation on memory and freedom. There were a few rough spots: sometimes the exceptional nature of the protagonist seemed too much so, and the transition from Book One to Book Two was somewhat jarring, as it moved from a familiar linear narrative to jumping around from memory to memory. At first and for a while, this held my interest but I felt that it went on too long before the thread of the first, central narrative was picked up again. After that happened, the switching back and forth worked again, as it felt cohesive and there was once again a sense that we were going somewhere. And what a destination the end was! I would strongly recommend this book.
—Willow
