StrayMonica Hesse
Hot Key Books 2013
In Lona’s world Foster Care is a thing of the past. Seen as an archaic social construct that
often put vulnerable children at risk, it has been replaced by a curious
process known only as the Julian Path.
Pathers like Lona spend 23 hours per day plugged into a virtual simulation
of the life of Julian – a perfectly average, happy child whose parents Life
Captured his every moment in order to create a childhood of pleasant memories
for children left without parents of their own. Lona has been on the Path since babyhood, experiencing life primarily as
Julian. Even in the hour a day devoted
to calisthenics, Pathers talk in a curious Path speak, referring to themselves as
We and Us. Never as Me or I. They share everything, every memory, every
feeling that Julian experiences is their reality. At eighteen, they are transferred to a
different facility and this is what happens to Pather Fenn, two years before
Lona. Fenn and Lona are almost friends
even as they are almost each other, different people with the same identity and
she feels a loss when he leaves, a loss that hasn't quite left her the day that
his face appears inserted into her Path, instructing her to run…
Lona is a unique character in that she has a duel
personality. She is herself, but she’s
also Julian. She has memories as Lona but more of Julian. When she ends up Off Path her character
develops in a way that is utterly fascinating.
She becomes herself but that self is constantly informed by her
childhood – or Julian’s childhood, rather.
As her story progresses, a strong, stubborn young woman appears and her
interactions with those around her demonstrate a kind heart somewhat stifled by
the naivety of someone who has never truly lived in the real world. She is mature yet oddly childlike and her
story is utterly original.
Fenn, by the time readers meet him properly has a
personality that has developed somewhat more than Lona’s. Yet not in an entirely good way. The kind, gentle boy that Lona knew has grown
into a somewhat embittered young man who is trying and not always succeeding to make his way in a world that he doesn't entirely understand. With Fenn, comes
Genevieve who is again extremely well drawn.
She dislikes Lona on sight yet is never unlikable herself, despite her
snide comments and insecurities. In many
ways, she’s the most interesting character of all having never been On Path and
yet (unlike, as we see, the majority of society) never viewing Pathers as
anything other than individuals. There
are other characters that flit in and out and one in particular who is totally
compelling but to talk about them would give too much away suffice to say that
they complete an already curious line up.
The story line of Stray
could so easily have become a convoluted mess what with the Path and the non-Path
and the implications of both but it is testament to Monica Hesse’s mad skills
that it is never hard to follow. She skilfully
riffs on the idea of identity and its genesis and what it means to share your
memories with many – in a way Stray
is an incredibly clever analysis of a hive mind. Particularly accomplished is the Path speak
with its curious use of collective pronouns is often creepy but when Lona and
Fenn use it in private conversations it is also hauntingly beautiful and the
comfort that it engenders in all Pathers is inherent to the story line.
Stray is,
unbelievably, the debut novel of Monica Hesse and is thus far one of the
strongest titles of 2013. It’s not
always easy to find a truly original premise these days and while Stray touches on similar issues to, say,
The Truman Show (and, as the press
release mentions Being John Malkovich) it is never anything other that its own
exceptional story. It’s sets both Hesse
and relatively new imprint Hot Key apart as ones to watch and is highly
recommended by The Mountains of Instead.
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