The continuation of #dystopianfeb (one of my favorite times of the reading year) book discussions with Lenore is upon us! Yesterday I had the opportunity to host the author of today’s book discussion Pure.  If you didn’t have the opportunity to read it I encourage you to skip back a post and check it out.  Also, let me remind you to read the first half of our discussion at Presenting Lenore.

Title: Pure [indie bound] [amazon]
Author: Julianna Baggott [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Format: Paperback (ARC)
Source: Publisher (via BEA)
Parental Advisory: violence, criminal activity, death
Teachable Moments: survival, individuality

Mutations

Michelle:
This was, by far, the best part of the story for me.  Though there were plausibility issues (I mean, come on…a boy with live birds fused to his back) it was easily overlooked.  The fantastical elements of the different fusions and the resentment it created for the Pures was a fundamental element of the story.  A creative way to incorporate the class divide, encourage loyalty to  their “kind” and enhance the conflict that was already there.  Also, it was just interesting to see what Baggot put together.

Lenore:
Some of the plausibility issues were explained away by a secret plot to merge nuclear bombs with nanotechnology – and I certainly appreciated the effort of Baggot’s part to offer up some sort of explanation.  I agree that the creativity that went into the mutations was inspiring (“groupies”, “dusts” “El Capitan” with his brother fused to his back), but I can imagine that the mutations – which make the “wrecks” outside the dome essentially like circus freaks – will make some readers uncomfortable.  I did want to mention too, that I found the race angle thought-provoking as well – when you compare our two main characters: Pressia who is not only fused with a doll’s head, but also mixed race vs Partridge who is “pure” and white.

Michelle:
No question that some will feel uncomfortable with this element of the story.  Most specifically with the special forces from the dome.  The combination of the mutations and the violent tendencies creates a very dark and difficult vibe to work through.  You make an interesting point about the race angle, it seems to have gotten a bit lost in the middle of all the other things going on don’t you think?

Lenore:
I’m not sure the race angle was meant to be a major factor – I just really fixated on it in light of what we come to find out about Partridge’s mother and her double life and the fact that the “pure” part of her life made it in the dome while the other didn’t.  The special forces part didn’t bother me as much as some of the more severe mutations (i.e. children attached to mothers).

Pacing/Length

Michelle:
Pure is an incredibly dense book.  One that took me a good long time to get into.  It’s one that requires a great deal of attention to detail.  As a reader who is not a huge fan of lengthy prose Pure definitely put me outside of my comfort zone.  It definitely could have been pared down some given the overall simplicity of the plot.

Lenore:
This density you speak of may hamper PURE’s ability to really crossover to the teen audience.  I’ve seen many readers mistakenly think PURE is YA, but it’s being published by an adult imprint (at an adult hardcover price too). I’d say it’s a “literary adult dystopian” – something more in the direction of Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD – rather than a readily accessible YA dystopian like THE HUNGER GAMES.  I personally was not at all bothered by the pacing or length. I was fully invested the whole book through.

Michelle:
Which is interesting because I have been wondering who the “right” audience is for this book as well.  As you say, it feels too adult to target the majority of teens and despite these literary allusions it’s still feels a bit more out there than the typical adult reader may lean.  Well, except for genre fiction lovers perhaps. That might be it’s truest audience with bits of others here and there.

Lenore:
It’s very much genre fiction, but I think adventurous readers who keep an open mind will find lots to love here. It has style merged with substance: an unusual premise with a high-stakes plot and deeper explorations of what it means to be human.

Even though I’m not entirely sure where I fall on Pure I do know it was an intriguing read with plenty of interesting elements to keep readers enthralled. If you are a fan of dystopian/post-apocalyptic fare with quirky characters then this one is a good fit for you.