Geoff Ryman is a brilliant writer from Canada. He created 10 different works, including novels and collections. Plus, he had gained different awards for his works and his second novel, The Child Garden has also gained multiple awards. What makes this novel great? Let’s see what this novel has for you.
– The Child Garden at a Glance
The Child Garden is a science-fiction novel that will take you to the future in the year 2075 where the cure for cancer exists. However, the cure brings out some side-effects which will make the children get older at a speed of light. While it is good news for some teenagers because they can access sites like for online gambling games, but this isn’t exactly good news for some parents.
The children will be forced to live as an adult after a few years after they are born and they cannot survive after they reach the age of 40. It is because of the genetically-engineered viruses that are used to cut the age as short as possible.
However, a girl named Milena Shibush is immune to this kind of virus which makes her hard to have a decent place on earth. Then, she meets Rolfa, a master singer. She immediately falls in love with her, but she needs to be very careful because homosexuality is referred to as ‘bad grammar’ which should be eliminated with the virus and it makes her realize that she is also immune to that kind of virus.
– How Great the Child Garden Is
The novel is loved by lots of readers and it even won the British Science Fiction Association award in 1988 and gained 8th place in the Locus Poll Award. It is because the novel tells about a human revolution and existence. The plot is narrated in non-linear fashion only from one character, Milena, which makes it unique yet hard to understand at the same time.
If you want to read this novel, you need to do the attentive reading to understand the plot and the story well. But, overall, the book is great because it reflects the unique way of Ryman to clearly explain the characters of the novel. He also uses a conventional way to develop the character of Rolfa as other writers will.
The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman is an epitome of a unique novel. The novel doesn’t tell us about ordinary life but beyond it. You will be taken to a different world that plays with human existence. But, you need to read it carefully, because again, it is a unique novel and it requires attentive reading to make the story falls into place.