In the good old days, it used to be novels such as
'A Clockwork Orange' that would spawn a whole host of pop group names, such as
'The Teardrop Explodes'. Now, it would appear that Adam Roberts has done
the reverse...
The novel starts off with the voyage to
'Salt'. The planet is so-named because the main element on the
planet is a preponderance of sodium chloride. Not the most hospitable
environment for a human; but, as someone points out to Petja, if there was
no supply of salt, then all the colonists would die (although the colonists'
recycling process seems to cover all their needs). Petja is the opening
narrator of the novel. He belongs to a community of anarchists called the
'Alsists'. Adam Roberts openly acknowledges that there is an element of
intertextuality involved in the novel, referring to Ursula Le Guin's 'The
Dispossessed', Nabokov's 'Bend Sinister', and the poems of Robert
Browning. I'm no expert on Robert Browning, so I can't exactly see his
influence, but the themes suggested by Le Guin and Nabokov seem clear.
There are various other religious groups making the same journey, all strung
out like pearls attached to a comet (an inevitably risky form of transport,
especially considering the cabin fever inside the various ships, but a speedy
one at that).
One of the Alsists commits suicide and threatens the
whole mission. This causes concern in the Senaar ship, who bid to avoid a
repeat performance. They ask the Alsists to send a delegate to discuss
the issue, and Petja is sent. Not that Petja is any kind of leader: like
all the Alsists, he's against any form of hierarchy. Thus begins the
troubled relationship between Senaar and the Alsists, which is exacerbated by
the fact that Senaar men have fathered children on the Alsist ship. The
undisciplined Alsists then break ranks by deciding to land on Salt first,
angering the Senaarians further without even realising it. Not that the
Senaarians want to grab the best land for themselves, or anything. The
Senaarians have a patriarchal, hierarchical culture. They're named after
the place in Genesis where the Tower of Babel was built. Babel later
became Babylon, and there is a settlement named 'Babulonis' in the novel,
complete with water flowing uphill, just like the famous Hanging Gardens.
Barlei, the Senaar leader, would have preferred the planet Salt to be called
'Kepesh', after the Hebrew word for 'silver', which most often seems discussed
within the Book of Exodus. Indeed, Barlei later builds a 'Great Dyke',
which he describes as a 'Pharaonic feat', without any hint of
hypocrisy. It's debatable as to whether the Alsists or the Senaar are
representative of 'The Chosen People', and it's Petja who seems most like
Moses, despite Barlei's use of language from the Book of Exodus. When the
debate is held on how the future Senaar should be built, there is the
suggestion that it should be constructed in the shape of 'The Eagle of St.
John', which may be a sign of freemasonry in Senaarian society.
The leader Barlei deposes is called Tyrian, which suggests the biblical city
of Tyre, which was in the Babylonian region. One of the Senaarians who has
fathered Alsist children is called Beltane: perhaps by referring to the Pagan
May Day, Adam Roberts intends to remind us of modern anarchists who now wander
forth and protest on May 1?
The anarchists are well drawn by Roberts, and he is
quite topical in including them. Le Guin's 'The Dispossessed', critical
of the anarchist utopia, was published just as the last bout of popular
anarchism ended. Roberts' dystopia is just as biting. All those
scenes where Alsists threatens to punch one another's lights out does reflect
how an anarchist society would settle disputes (or so I've read). This
contrasts with Petja's use of force, which is violently opposed by some members
of the Alsists later on (although Alsist society has been more or less smashed
by then). Although they have talked their way onto a religious exodus,
only a minority of Alsists have faith in a divine being. Most of them
reject religion as just another hierarchical structure. This
probably explains why some of them are so found of the atheist Roman
philosopher Lucretius, together with his ideas on the 'free movement' of
atoms. Thus it's quite a spiritual novel, in tune with recent fictions
like John Meaney's 'Paradox' or Mary Doria Russell's 'The Sparrow'.
Adam Roberts also claims that 'Salt' is
intertextually related to Frank Herbert's 'Dune', but I couldn't really see
much of a similarity, except that both worlds obviously have dunes. There
are rather more factions involved in Frank Herbert's epic. There is no
feudal empire or choam company (no minerals worthwhile exploiting), no fabulous
sandworms, no mentats, and no Bene Gesserit here. One of the
disappointments of 'Salt' is that it doesn't really throw up any of the gender
issues embodied in anarchism. Okay, so Senaarian women are obliged to do
their duty by staying at home, and Rhoda Titus has the most irritatingly girly
middle name ('Blossom'), and Barlei misogynistically calls Alsist women 'Maenads'
whilst viewing Alsist society as matriarchal. Maybe it's a fault of
characterisation, but all the narrators seem a little bland and lifeless.
None of them seem to have worthwhile aspirations, but then I suppose they are
living in a dystopia. At times, it does seem at times as though
'Salt' has far more in common with 'The English Patient' than 'Dune'...
For instance, there are dunes in 'The English
Patient' also. A bit of a tenuous link, I'll admit. But what about
this? If you look at the movie soundtrack listing to 'The English Patient' by
Gabriel Yared, you might be able to guess what music Adam Roberts was listening
to when he first started writing 'Salt', and why the Alsists all seem to have
Hungarian names. First off, there's a settlement called Yared, Pteja
seems to have got his surname from the Song "Szerelem" (meaning
"Love" in Hungarian), Marta Cserepes is possibly related to
Marta 'Sebestyen' (name of the mountains in 'Salt'), or maybe Karoly Cserepes,
who arranged the song 'Szerelem'. Is it "As Far as Florence" or
'New Florence', 'Convento' or "Convento di Sant' Anna"? Hamar,
Sipos, and Csooris also seem to belong to the Hungarian band 'Musikas', featured
in 'The English Patient'. Swapsies Herodotus for Lucretius? Compare
with pages 18 and 63 of 'Salt' and weep. I reckon that Adam Roberts should utlise Gabriel
Yared's soundtrack for 'Betty Blue' next time - I've always thought that 'Zorg'
would be a great name for an alien!
authortrek rating: 8/10.
Kevin Patrick Mahoney
Please visit our Adam Roberts page.
Here are some links which provide cultural context
for the novel:
Halite
(Sodium Chloride) - goes into more depth concerning the mineral
The
Gathering Place: An Illustrated History of Salt Lake City - a possible
inspiration for the struggle of the Alsists. Whilst not anarchists, the
Mormons wanted independence from the United States and were compelled to give
up this struggle
Genesis XI -
this excerpt mentions Senaar, the place where the Tower of Babel was build, a
hierarchical rigidist project if ever there was one, which is probably why
Roberts used the name
The Land of
Shinar - explains that Senaar and the Tower of Babel eventually became
Babylon. Salt has a "Babulonis" settlement
The
Jovian System - in more depth
Study
Guide for Ursula Le Guin: The Dispossessed - goes into great
depth about the anarchism and feminism in the novel
Robert
Browning - a bio
Kepesh -
Barlei wanted to use this word to describe the planet eventually known as
'Salt'. Kepesh seems to be usually referred to in the context of the Book
of Exodus
The
English Patient by Gabriel Yared - this review of the movie's
soundtrack possibly reveals what music Adam Roberts was listening to when he
first started off writing 'Salt'. First off, there's a settlement called
Yared, Pteja seems to have got his surname from the Song
"Szerelem" (meaning "Love" in Hungarian), Marta
Cserepes is possibly related to Marta 'Sebestyen' (name of the mountains
in 'Salt'), or maybe Karoly Cserepes, who arranged the song Szerelem. Is
it "As Far as Florence" or 'New Florence', 'Convento' or
"Convento di Sant' Anna"? Hamar, Sipos, and Csooris also seem
to belong to the Hungarian band 'Musikas', featured
in The English Patient. Swapsies Herodotus for Lucretius? Compare
with pages 18 and 63 of 'Salt' and weep.
Understanding the Coriolis
Force
St. John the
Evangelist - apparently he's a patron saint of Freemasonry.
Perhaps this is why a citizen suggests that Senaar should be built like the
Eagle of St. John
Positive
Atheism's Big List of Quotations - Lucretius wanted to free people
from the tyranny of religious superstitions. However, there are some in
the Alsists who do have a religious faith
What is the
Magnetosphere? - an explanation
A
Beginner's Guide to Earth's Magnetosphere
We are
Stardust - perhaps - says Nasa
What is
Anarchism? - an explanation
What does Anarchism
stand for? - discusses the role of terrorism, and gives some
explanation why the method employed by Petja is not approved of by all the
Alsists. Anarchism does allow for some strident debate within the
Commune, which explains all those scenes where fellow Alsists threaten to punch
Petja's lights out
What types of
Anarchism are There? - discusses feminism and atheism. Some of
the Alsists are religious, as indeed are a minority of anarchists
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