Siberia by Ann Halam
01/04/2005 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
pub: Orion. 233 page hardback. Price: £ 8.99(UK). ISBN: 1-84255-129-9. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk
Many people think they can write children's fiction. All you have to do is cut
down on the descriptions, take out the sex and gore and use simpler language.
The readers the stories are aimed at are not convinced. To write for children
requires a special talent. To be able to write convincingly for both adults
and children is even more difficult. Many successful children's writers are
unable to make the leap into adult fiction. A few can. Roald Dahl wrote excellent
adult short stories and enjoyable children's fiction.
Joan Aiken was another. Her 'Haunting Of Lamb House' is a superb novel but
some will best remember her for books like 'The Wolves Of Willoby Chase'. C.S.
Lewis doesn't always make the transition well. The Narnia books have a strong
following despite their religious undertones, but novels such as 'Out Of The
Silent Planet' are heavy going. Alan Garner's books, though written nominally
for children, are equally enjoyed by adults. Ann Halam has two writing careers.
Under this name she writes excellent books for young people and as Gwyneth Jones
she is the award-winning author of such complex, delightful books as 'Divine
Endurance' and 'Bold As Love'.
'Siberia' has all the ingredients that make it not only a superb children's
book, but also highly enjoyable for the adult reader. This is a future world
in which climate change has been drastic. Inside the domed cities it is warm
and life is comfortable. For those who are forced to live outside, the winters
are harsh and the summers short. Most of the animals are dead, only the very
robust adaptable creatures such as gulls, rats and cockroaches survive. The
diversity of plant life has also been drastically reduced. This is a world in
serious trouble and is sketched in just enough details for the intelligent reader
to fill in the gaps.
The story begins when Rosita is four. She and her mother are exiled to a settlement
and her mother is set the task of making nails, with a daily quota to fulfil.
Her mother was a scientists before she was expelled from the city. As she grows
up, Rosita is let into a secret. Her mother has managed to smuggle out the genetic
seeds of the missing animals. Rosita is taught to care for them and is told
that if anything happens to her mother, she is to take this treasure north to
'the city where the sun always shines'.
By the age of fourteen, Rosita has inadvertently betrayed her mother, by letting
it slip that her mother taught her about science and been expelled from school
for being drunk. She has also become an expert thief. Realising that she is
being targeted as the authorities think she has something of value, Rosita,
who now calls herself Sloe, sets out across the snow to find the haven her mother
told her of. She is brave and resourceful and gains help from growing some of
the animal 'seeds' her mother left behind in her care.
On the surface, this is an exciting, fast-paced story perfect for the intended
age group - the young teenage market. It also contains important messages which
will be picked up by the more intelligent reader. This is the kind of world
we could be heading for if we allow the politicians and unthinking people carry
on in their current directions. Only those like Rosita/Sloe who are brave enough
to take action stand a chance of preserving the world's bio-diversity. Adults
have made a mess of it and it is up to the young to put it right.
The Siberia of the title is not the place at the far east end of Russia, although
the setting resembles it greatly. It is more of a coldness and desolation in
the collective soul of mankind. A paucity of caring and emotion that the current,
high-tech society is cultivating. It is the danger that awaits us all if we
do not wake up and take notice soon. This book should be read by as many people
as possible.
Pauline Morgan 
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