Patricia Forde

The List by Patricia Forde, published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky - a fabulously imagined middle grade fantasy novel.
Set in a future where climate change and global warming have culminated in a great "Melting", leaving only the city of Ark as the last habitable place on Earth. Ruled by John Noa who fiercely guards language and considers it the root of all of mankinds problems. The List is the story of Letta, a wordsmith, whose job it is to create the lists of words that are allowed to be show more spoken by the people of Ark. When Marlo enters the wordsmith shop one day, he sets off a chain reaction of events that will change Letta's perception of the ideal society in which she believes she lives.
I grabbed The List on a whim, seeing it on the shelf at the library. I love fantasy novels so was pretty sure I would love this one. To be honest I almost abandoned it at the beginning. When the characters are speaking "List" I found it off putting and broken and wasn't sure I would be able to keep going with the halting words. I continued on and quickly realized the broken sentences and halting speech was a device used by the author to make the reader uncomfortable, to make us question the actions of the leaders of Ark, and to open our eyes to the power and beauty of words and language. I believe The List is a timely book, in a time when words are being used to cause hate, to confuse, and to deflect, it is worth examining what makes us rich and what separates us from the other creatures of the world. Language, art, music, creativity are some of what makes our lives colourful. Without these things, there would be nothing to force accountability from leaders, to speak opinions and truths, and to show love.
The List is a fantastic middle grade novel, promotional material indicates ages 10 and up. show less

In the city of Ark, speech is constrained to five hundred sanctioned words. Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world.
On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark’s citizens of their power of show more speech, she realizes that it’s up to her to save not only words, but culture itself. show less

***This book was reviewed for Sourcebooks- Jabberwocky via Netgalley

*Words are… tears of the sun, given shape.
Words are… Awen manifest; fruit of the soul.
Words are… arbitrary symbols of communication.

Patricia Forde’s The List is a clarion call for the future, echoing the lessons of Fahrenheit 451 and Equilibrium. Set in a post-apocalyptic future where the polar ice caps have melted, flooding the land and killing thousands, one man has built a false utopia. John Noa, founder of show more Ark, created a city where surviving inhabitants live in peace with the environment. On the surface,everything seems to run smoothly, but dark currents run beneath. To maintain his utopia, Noa has restricted language to a List of a mere 500 words.

It is Noa's belief that language is not a thing of great beauty that sets humanity apart, but rather our deepest evil that clouds the mind and separates humans from harmony with the natural world. The only people accorded the privilege of full language are Noa, his close advisors, the wordsmith, and the wordsmith's apprentice. Certain jobs are allowed the use of specialist words amongst themselves.

It is Benjamin and Letta's job to scribe out the List words for students and specialist words for apprentices, and to go out into the world to collect and catalogue words. When an injured young man stumbles into the wordsmith's shop when Benjamin is out on a word hunt, Letta takes him in and cares for him. This single act of kindness will forever change her life, and the very future of Ark itself.

First, I have to say I adore the cover! It's simple and elegant; a minimalist testimony to the language of List itself. With The List, Forde has woven an enduring tale about the value of language and communication. It is a tale of ethic and civic responsibility. It is humanity who hastened the Melting, and this scenario is a portent of our future, if we are not careful. It is a morality tale. For Noa, the ends justify the means. He has a sincere desire to preserve and protect, but it has clouded his mind and opened the way for drastic measures. Many of his attempts at eradicating language are horrifyingly tragic. It is a tale of censorship. By attempting to eliminate language, Noa has declared free thinking, imagination, and creative works of song, art, poetry and more as sacrilege, and labels those that embrace them Desecrators. But humans are wired for creativity. Deprived, the mind withers and dies.

Favourite quote: “Music comes in all colours, Letta, just as we do. Before I knew the word 'Creator’, I called us colour-catchers, the musicians, the painters, the dancers. That's what we try to do, catch the colours in our own hearts and share that with other people.” ~Leyla to Letta

*’Words are…’ by J Aislynn d’Merricksson, Jonas Merricksson, and Winter Dolan

📚📚📚📚📚 A must read for fans of dystopic and post-apocalyptic fiction. show less

Really enjoyed this book. We're introduced to Letta, the apprentice wordsmith in what in many ways feels like a sort of religious commune because of the tight control and the biblical references. John Noa, their leader, has led a small band of faithful followers to safe refuge in his “ark” after worldwide disaster, in part brought on by human greed but fear and the aftermath of the devastation have caused good intentions to go too far.

Letta is assigned to give out boxes of words from show more the short list of those still allowed to be spoken, and in the house she lives in, is taught those that are now banned. But when trouble comes to her door, she can no longer ignore the forces of dissent brewing inside and outside the compound's walls.

In addition to the worldbuilding, I particularly enjoyed how the author contrasts the bleakness of a society that has been forbidden to use most spoken and written word with such gorgeous prose. The language of “List” is stilted and at times, almost a little annoying to have to interpret, and rich impressions of Letta’s view of the landscape become that much more meaningful.

There were some story arcs that seemed to be left intentionally unanswered, most likely for a future novel.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author.

I received an advanced copy of this text via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less