Review

“The Separation” by Christopher Priest is a retelling of the Second World War, yet also a reimagining of what could’ve been. It’s based on two identical twin brothers, though they might be identical in physical appearance they are not identical in world-view. The book retells what would happen if each separate brother had influenced the war individually and almost by accident. One brother’s story is, to my knowledge, a retelling of actual history. However, the other brother offers an alternative. This in turn can make the book a little difficult to read if you are not well-versed in the actual World War. It does however serve as a very effective way to portray the differences between the two alternate worlds.

Christopher Priest provides two equally compelling stories and somehow he manages to show just how large a difference relying on a single advisor can make. What I find quite interesting is his use of a duality to portray what would happen if one small thing is changed. Obviously, it is fictional, but both alternative stories are equally believable. Though, it is a retelling of the World War, the books also provides distinct arguments against always glorifying the victors. Wars always hav antagonists on both sides.

“The Separation” is probably one of the least science fiction books I have read, while still being science fiction. To be fair it is best compared to “All Quiet on the Western Front” or perhaps “Schindler’s List”. The science fiction part is purely on the speculation on whether aggression or pacifism is the best approach in terms of war. Nobody tells a story based on duality quite as well as Christopher Priest, though it could be argued that Ursula K. Le Guin has considered similar concepts in The Hainish Cycle, specifically “The Word for World is Forest”.

Score: 7/10

I do like Christopher Priest as a writer, though this is not my favourite book of his. I doubt that many writers would’ve been able to pull of the accomplishment of actually writing this book. Keeping this book comprehensible is a very impressive feat as I imagine it would be nearly impossible to have the two worlds blend together. Only as strong a writer as Christopher Priest could pull it off with this level of historical accuracy. The relatively low score is mainly due to my own expectation of having a higher degree of fiction, that being said it is an excellent book.

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