Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Young Adult book - Dystopia - Adventure
Year: 2011
Country: USA
Plot
Beatrice Prior lives in Chicago in a dystopian world where society is divided into five factions. Erudite are the researchers, the scientists, the doctors, they ard the most intelligent people. Amity are the farmers, they are the most peaceful. Dauntless, the brave, are the police; Abnegation, the selfless, take care of the poor and rule the city, while Candor, the honest, are the judges. Each faction has its leaders, values, neighborhoods and citizens who stay in their faction during their whole life. Some people aren't in any faction, they are factionless, poor and rejected. Every year, all sixteen-year-old boys and girls must have a test which determines their their faction, based on their personality. Tris is an Abnegation leader's daughter. She is sixteen and when she has the test, she is told to be Divergent, that is to say she is all the factions at the same time, and that the police hounds Divergents. She must be careful. She chooses to be Dauntless because their passionate and free life has always appealed to her. But before she can become a Dauntless, she has to pass some other tests, learn how to fight, and live during monthes in a very hard competition atmosphere, while Erudite are stiring up a plot against Abnegation to rule the town. Will she be able to become an Dauntless without anybody discovers she is a Divergent ? Will she manage to thwart Erudite's plot ? Read the book and you will know !
My opinion
First of all, I find the plot quite good, even though I personnally think that dividing society into personnality-based factions is a bad idea: nobody on earth can fit into a predefined personnality. Each person is unique and this is what makes this world's richnesss. And I didn't understood why leaders hounded Divergents: they are so powerful, why don't they use them ? To my mind, the dystopia is not really logic. And something bothered me: at a certain point in the storyline, she comes into a building. She is said to wear a skirt. But when she comes out, she is wearing jeans ? Maybe I seem pernickety, but I still don't understand.
Nevertheless, the story is compelling and the characters are quite endearing. I really couldn't stop reading ! There is not too much action, there is also a bit of psychology in this novel. The romance between Beatrice and Four, her trainer, is clumsily, but still touchingly told.
There comes the most important point, to my mind: the style. And the style is not good. This book is not what I call litterature. Litterature involves a certain kind of suggestion power, stylistic devices, beautiful sentences. I personnally think that Beauty, and I wrote it with a capital letter, is the most important. I read because I am particularly sensitive to the beauty of writing. And the writing is not beautiful in this book. This is why, if, by reading you are searching shudder, if you like captivating adventure novels, read it. It is a good adventure novel. But if, like me, writing is what matters to you, avoid this book. It would be a waste of time. After all, each reader has his favorite kind of books. Thank goodness !
To conclude
3,5/5, rather good
Don't hold it against me if I criticized the number one bestseller... I tried to give honestly my opinion about this novel. I also read Insurgent and saw the Divergent movie. I will try to write an article about both because there is a lot to say.
Anyway, I miss litterature's immortal classics, now that I am not on holiday anymore, this is why I have planned to read Sentimental Education by Flaubert.Please don't forget to leave a comment down below, let me know if you agree or not.
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