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Bibliophiles of the internet, my name is Adriana
and today I'm here to talk to you about "The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin.
I first read "The Fifth Season" in December of last year and it completely rocked my world.
I just re-read this to get ready for the sequel, which I can already tell you is so fricken good.
This story is about a world called the Stillness, which is experiencing its latest and most dire season.
A season is like an apocalyptic period of time when the world is experiencing
massive shortages, starvation, bouts of disease, and even death.
Basically, everyone is at the mercy of nature as the planet is destroyed and remade,
but the plant itself usually stays intact.
However, this time they may not be so fortunate.
There are also people known as orogenes, who have the ability to sense the movements of the Earth
and to manipulate the earth and rock using only their will and raw energy.
In its official capacity, orogeny is used to do things like quell earthquakes and minor shakes
to keep the Stillness stable and so that seasons can be avoided for as long as possible.
But orogeny is also connected to an orogene's emotions, and it can be used to disrupt
and destroy the Earth as well.
Because of that, orogenes are viewed as extremely volatile, dangerous, undesirable, and in need of controlling,
which is why so many people look down on them and why so many orogenes try to hide what they are.
What's more, if an orogene is discovered, and if they display enough raw power and control,
they will be tracked down by Guardians and forcibly taken to this academy called The Fulcrum.
At the Fulcrum, Guardians teach young orogenes "discipline" and control,
so that they can use their orogeny safely,
but more importantly so that they can eventually use their abilities for the benefit of the Stillness.
The story cycles through several points of view, but it really begins with a woman, an orogene, named Essun,
whose youngest child, Uche, has just been murdered by his father,
most likely because he started to display signs of orogeny.
Essun discovers Uche's body, and learns that her husband, Jija, has fled their home
and taken her only remaining child with him.
So amidst the confusion of a new season beginning, Essun also leaves their home,
determined to find her daughter and protect her at all costs.
"The Fifth Season" is a story about systematic oppression.
Oppression is not a side effect of the plot,
it's not this bonus social commentary that's tacked on through lofty metaphors and whatnot.
Systematic oppression is the WHOLE story.
Everything in this society is aimed towards keeping orogenes facedown in the mud,
and it begins with their very histories, their mythologies, their belief systems.
This stories explores how those who survive and those who have the power
are the ones who shape history to fit whatever narrative they want.
In the Stillness, there's something called stonelore, which is basically seen as the law or as the bible,
and there are these verses that are incomplete or obscured, but that seem to paint orogenes
as dangers to mankind,
and as animals that need to be controlled and broken.
This ideology is so common and so pervasive, it's taught to every child in every school.
So this idea that orogenes are inherently lesser—that they're not quite right, or whole, or human—
is inescapable, because the internalization of that message
begins before children can even fully parse through those concepts.
The acceptance of their own "inferiority" is practically built into their very development.
And it's not uncommon for young orogenes to live in constant fear of being killed for what they are.
If orogenes display signs of becoming "feral," if they present an imminent "danger" to the population,
or if they seem to lose control over their abilities for even a second,
it's perfectly acceptable to kill them.
Everyone knows it, and some of the characters in the story are slowly coming to realize
that this system only works because so many people, including themselves,
are already compliant with the idea that orogenes are expendable.
According to the histories, it's always been this way. It always WILL be this way.
That is a POWERFUL deterrent. That is something that's almost impossible to extract from yourself
once its been internalized.
Everyone in the Stillness has come to accept it. They willingly turn a blind eye to it.
And that's part of the story: the horror of realizing
you've accepted your own death before it even happens,
that somewhere along the line you were taught to accept the unacceptable.
And Guardians make sure to exert this fear over their orogenic charges at every turn,
and they make sure that orogenes never forget that they are only alive because no one has killed them yet.
One of the most chilling passages happens when one of the characters, Damaya,
tries to resist her Guardian, and he says to her:
"Never say no to me. Orogenes have no right to say no."
"I am your Guardian. I will break every bone in your hand,"
"every bone in your body, if I deem it necessary to make the world safe from you."
This is elementary.
This is what all orogenic children grow up knowing to be a universal truth.
And I'm really hoping this is starting to sound familiar, because it's really not that far off.
And what's more, generally speaking, orogenes are taught to aspire towards the Fulcrum,
where they're essentially trained to do whatever they're told, and they're taught to LIKE it.
Even the most resentful orogene is taught to rely on the system of the Fulcrum,
to believe that their worth is tied to their success in this system—
that if they just learn control, if they earn their place, if they climb up in the ranks,
they will finally receive the respect they deserve,
that they will finally be seen as worthy.
Orogenes are conditioned from day one to crave acceptance and success
as defined by someone else's standards.
Just being an orogene and being who they are is not enough.
And the crazy thing is, even if orogenes are far-removed from this system, and the Fulcrum itself,
they will STILL measure their own self-worth against it. That's how much power it has.
But the truth is, orogenes are only allowed to succeed so much.
Even with experience, even after taking on a ton of government jobs, even as they excel through the ranks,
they are still treated as lesser.
They're called derogatory names, they're treated with disrespect and fear, they're still killed,
and they're forced to breed with one another in order to bring even more young orogenes into this system.
That's the thing: everyone is more than willing to accept an orogene's WORK,
to use their abilities and benefit off of their orogeny.
But orogenes are only seen for what they can do, and never acknowledged for who they are.
That difference spans chasms, and planets, and generations.
It's deeply ingrained in a system that's built to perpetuate itself.
This is a society that was created to ensure that orogenes know their place, know not to look beyond it,
so that they stay ignorant and so that they can't even imagine a world where it's NOT this way.
Where the idea of spaces that were created for them and with them in mind are an impossibility.
The challenge of breaking that mindset apart, of undoing that deep emotional and mental damage,
is what this story is all about.
It's about what happens when you decide not to look the other way.
If you don't know what it's like to live every day looking over your shoulder;
if you don't know what it feels like to be forcefed ideologies, images,
and every shred of consumable media that perpetuates the idea that you are lesser;
if you have never internalized that message and fought against the urge to hate yourself or question yourself;
if you have never fantasized about what it must feel like to "be normal';
if you don't have to worry about the fact that if you were die in the street today,
it would be rationalized away by the idea that "it would have happened at some point anyway."
then you live a damn good life, and you need this book.
It's for everyone. It's for people who can't even begin to imagine what I just described,
and it's for people like me, who have to deal with the weight of that sitting on their shoulders every damn day.
"The Fifth Season" is validating, it's empowering, it's terrifying, it's incredible.
It's a story about having the strength to reclaim that which has been forcibly taken from you,
about having the strength to embrace your power and be content with yourself,
about having the strength to admit that you are afraid every day,
but you are MORE afraid of becoming yet another victim of a system that doesn't work.
And I want to make it abundantly clear: that's just the BEGINNING.
That's just scratching the surface. Because if that's all this book was,
It would be yet another simple story about oppression and subsequent rebellion, but it's NOT.
N.K. Jemisin obfuscates that at every turn, she complicates it so many times over
and forces you to confront the fact that merely acknowledging that something is wrong is the easy part.
It's what unfolds afterwards that's truly extraordinary and unforgettable.
Anyways, I could talk about "The Fifth Season" for hours on end,
but I think it's obvious that I gave this book five stars, and it will always be five stars.
So those are some of my thoughts on "The Fifth Season."
If you have anything to add to the conversation of if you have any thoughts on this book,
please feel free to share them with me in the comments down below.
But that is everything I had for this review/discussion today.
Thank you so much, as always, for watching this video. I really hope that you enjoyed it,
and I will catch YOU on the flip-side of the page.
Bye!
[♫ snazzy end screen music ♫]