Disclaimer: Spoilers ahead.

Since there will be a movie version of the book in 2014, I think it's time I take up the reading before going for the movie.





At its essence, this is a book about a girl struggling with her balanced and fluid identity. The writer criticizes human tendency to be afraid of anomalies, and the danger of extremities in beliefs.

"The future citizens of Chicago live in a society that is divided into five factions, each one meant to uphold a particular virtue of humanity: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intelligent). On a given day each year, all sixteen-year-olds take an aptitude test that will tell them which faction they are best suited for, after which they must decide whether to remain with their family or transfer to a new faction. [ref link]"

Beatrice Prior discovered her divergent identity when she did the aptitude test. Tori Wu, a member of Dauntless faction, was in charge of her test. Tori remarked that Beatrice must never tell anyone about her being a divergent, for doing so will get her murdered.

There is one significant reason why being a divergent is dangerous, apart from the fact that they are different. I will leave that plot device out, as an incentive for you to read the book.

Now, let's take a look at "extremities in beliefs".

Suppose you are in a situation where taking a step forward, towards you goal in a minefield, might get you killed. If you are a member of Dauntless, you have no choice but to take a leap of faith. Because otherwise you are a coward, and you will be cut from the faction. And since you are Dauntless, you lack the prowess in thought process of Erudite, so you are incapable of coming up with alternative solutions, like clearing the minefield before proceeding. It's just the way you were brought up. To confront your fears by lunging into them face first. Admirable traits, but it also got many people killed in both real life and the book.

Being a divergent means you can take calculated risks, combining bravery of Dauntless and logic of Erudite. Or any other form of combination to overcome obstacles. Long story short: It's acceptable to display varying traits according to situations. Much like Bruce Lee's "be water, my friend".



The romance in the book is crude, but it also comes with simple teachings on how to deal with it. Nothing fancy about it, but it's a necessary to keep the story moving. There are little surprises in the book, you can almost see everything coming a dozen pages before. But I suppose you will find fun in reading about how a young girl handles conflicts. And also the subtle lectures of how one should balance the search for power and how life should be.

Not my top pick, but it is a decent enough read.

This post has been edited by NXJ: Nov 2 2013, 05:32 PM