Post #6: The City of Ember
Post number six is for Jeanne DuPrau's The City of Ember. I'd learned about this book thanks to my working for 2+ years in the bookstore, and bought it because it looked interesting and the Children's Lead said she enjoyed it. It sat on my shelf for a long while, though, until I finally picked it up a few days ago, and read right through it. Part of my desire to finally read it (since it wasn't on my To-Read List for 2008) is because the film is coming out soon, and I wanted to read the book prior to seeing the movie. A lot of people I've talked to didn't like the book, but I actually did. I thought it was cleverly crafted and I adored the main character - so much so that I'm anxiously awaiting my paycheck so that I can get the sequel. :-P
As is the usual with these posts, what follows is a brief writeup of my thoughts regarding City of Ember. It will contain spoilers, so if you want to remain spoiler-free it'd be best to make use of your back button. :)
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I was only vaguely aware of what exactly this book was about when I picked it up and started reading. It was a Mark Twain Award Nominee a few years ago (and won), so the kids where I work were vaguely familiar with it, and it spends a lot of time checked out, which usually means it's got to be pretty decent because the majority of our students don't do a whole lot of reading. From the very beginning of this story I felt myself drawn in to the world that DuPrau had created - a city underground (although the citizens don't know this) where everything is provided for them and day and night are dictated by time - day starts when the floodlights turn on, and night starts when they go off. You can see from the get-go, though, that things in Ember are wearing down: there aren't as many things available to buy, some types of food are becoming scarce, clothes and furniture are wearing out and being patched as best as possible. There's hardly any paper left, and colored pencils are something out of Lina's dreams. And worst of all for Ember: the lights are flickering.
The book has a brief prologue which shows us the mysterious builders, who designed Ember. They've set up some instructions, which are to pass from one mayor to the other, and are kept safe in a time-locked box. The box is set to open in 220 years, but, in typical fashion, gets lost, and the knowledge of the box is lost as well.
It's the year 241 (give or take), and Lina and her classmates are receiving their job assignments (and let me just say that the idea of going to work at the age of twelve is simply mind-boggling). Lina originally draws Pipeworker, but Doon, who has the coveted Messenger job, asks her to switch. Lina is ecstatic and rushes home to tell her granny, who she lives with after her parents both died, and her little sister Poppy. Doon believes that there's something horribly wrong with Ember and is hoping that, by being a Pipeworker, he'll get access to the generator, which keeps Ember's lights going.
Lina loves her job, but right from the beginning she senses something not right and she realizes that Doon was correct - Ember is failing. Doon gets a look at the generator and realizes that it's falling apart, and there isn't a thing anyone can do about it because no one actually knows how it works, because the knowledge of electricity has gotten lost through time. Lina is descended from one of Ember's mayors - the mayor, in fact, who took the secret box out of its hiding place and lost it. Lina's Granny, whose health is failing, goes on a mad search for a "lost item" - which turns out to be this secret box. Lina finds the Instructions, but they're missing words and letters because Poppy got hold of them and ate them. She does her best to glue the pieces of paper together, and shows various people what she found. Doon takes an avid interest in the Instructions, and thus begins the adventure.
I really liked the tension of this book - I could feel Doon and Lina's uncertainty and fear through the pages. They both have realized that Ember is dying, and are trying desperately to find a way to help. What they obviously don't realize is that they were never supposed to be in Ember for that long - they are at least 21 years overdue to leave, which is why the food and other resources are running out, and why the generator is failing. They're also fighting against a mayor who is dirty; he and his guards (and some of the storeroom employees) are taking more than they should be - even items that are supposedly gone completely - and stockpiling them or using them for themselves. They realize that the only way to "save" Ember is to decipher these mysterious Instructions. Lina shows the Instructions to Clary, who worked with her father in the greenhouses, and realizes that they aren't Instructions for saving Ember but Instructions for Egress - exit. Once this is realized the book really got moving, and was very enjoyable imo.
I loved how Doon and Lina put the clues together, and I loved how they uncovered the secrets of Ember's mayor. I loved the thought the Builders put in to the exit plan, but was struck with how much knowledge was lost in those 241 years the people were in Ember. They have very limited knowledge of fire - candles are an unknown - and they have no "moveable light", so cannot explore the Unknown Regions. And yet, this Exit Plan hinges on their ability to figure out candles and matches, which luckily Doon and Lina manage. Another thing they know hardly anything about is water, and they certainly never went into the river that ran through the Pipeworks - in fact, several people over the years had died because they fell in the water.
The day of the Singing was the most exciting part of the book, because you could really feel that Lina and Doon were on the run and hiding. I loved the songs, and the emotions they evoked in Lina, and I loved that she was able to get her sister, although I wish she could have taken Mrs. Murdo along to. The boat ride down the river, and the flickering candles, and the journal Poppy found on the shores, and the plaque welcoming the "Refugees of Ember" and Lina and Doon's reaction to the moon and the stars, and the sun. It was interesting to see things we're already familiar with through the eyes of someone who isn't - the birds, the bugs, the fox - they were all utterly fascinating to Lina.
And then you had their reaction to seeing Ember far below them and realizing that they were underground the entire time - I cannot even imagine what was going through their minds at that realization. But I'm glad Mrs. Murdo was the one to pick up Lina and Doon's letter with the instructions and the note about where they were, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
I also am interested in seeing how they're going to adapt this to the big screen. Hopefully it will be an entertaining film.
