These days I seem to have copious amounts of time on my hands, so I have had the luxury of delving into one of my favorite books: 'The Wanting Seed' by Anthony Burgess. Burgess is probably best known for his literary work 'A Clockwork Orange', but this current read to something that definitely runs along similar lines.
He seems to have an ongoing theme in many of his books: I futuristic look and people and society, and how it may one day be manipulated and controlled. Not much different from the tales written by aldus Huxley and George Orwell, but with a bit more of a satirical flair.
The story centers around our main character, Tristam Foxe, who, by no fault of his own, feels torn between the world that now exists (regimented, rationed and godless) and the world that cannot help but exist in his ever-human heart and mind.
Society has become too large, too free, so population has been reduced and homosexuality is considered the norm - encouraged even. To get ahead, one must steer clear of family values and families, for that matter. Food ( or a not-quite-reasonable facsimile thereof) is rationed sparingly and to speak of this God character is all it really takes to get you thrown behind bars - indefinitely.
What amazes me about stories like this is that, like it or not, we have found ourselves existing in a world not too far from the ones warned about in these early works by such authors. Is it so far fetched to forsee a police state in our near future? A world where we are told not only what to think, but when, where, and for how long?
Still, Burgess, in his usual way, takes this somewhat sinister tale and spins it with a satirical wit that makes it not only a pleasure to read, but much easier to digest, and ponder.
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