So it’s been a while… Thanks to end of year craziness at work, two exam marking contracts, a London trip and a holiday I have had little time to blog. However that has all changed in the last two weeks and I have, happily, rediscovered my reading mojo! I have read the first three books of these four before but it has been 11 years since I read the first one so needed some revision! The fact I have devoured all four in the last 10 days is testament to how bloody brilliant they are.
I follow the wonderful Malorie Blackman on Twitter and was therefore very excited to see that she had penned a fifth novel in the Noughts and Crosses series. I call it this as this is the first book in the series and also the basis of the world she has created. Set in an alternate timeline, for want of a better description, we have a society divided into noughts and Crosses. You may notice that one of those words is capitalised and the other is not – for very good reason. Blackman has done this herself in her novels and it was only on this read through that I noticed it. Noughts are seen as the lower class in society – they do the menial jobs, they have fewer rights and privileges and are treated poorly. They have only been afforded the right to education past 14 in the first novel and even that is going badly. As to be expected, you cannot alter all people’s prejudices overnight. Crosses are the ones in power; the ones with all the haves where the noughts have not. They are the ones in control in every walk of life. What is even more interesting is that the Crosses are black and the noughts are white. This isn’t made explicit and is not necessarily the key factor in the division of people. It is more to do with the status of nought or Cross but obviously the colour of your skin is the clearest sign as to which you belong to to those characters in the books.
As a white woman I cannot possibly understand the difficulties of those from the races who have historically been oppressed and still very much are – however this is an intriguing choice Blackman makes. She has flipped what many of us have seen as how society is and therefore may just give us an insight into the difficulties faced by those who have faced racism throughout their lives. As a white woman reading this it did make me sit up and think “Wow” as this is not a difficulty I face. Sure, I’ve had difficulties because I’m a woman, because I’m northern, because I’m not from a rich background. But having to consider that in this society my skin colour could cause these problems for me was quite profound.
I cannot possibly fit in the whole story of the four into this blog and what’s more I don’t want to. I want people to read these books for themselves. What I will say is that the main thread flowing through these books is the story of Persephone Hadley and Callum McGregor. Sephy, as she is known, is a Cross and Callum is a nought. They have been friends for years and progress into lovers – though not in public as this would be a disgrace to her father Kamal – a high flying politician. Their relationship being forbidden obviously echoes attitudes to mixed race relationships and how the majority of us wince at the fact this was illegal in some places in the not too distant past. Callum’s family, particularly his brother Jude, have connections with the Liberation Militia – a terrorist organisation made of primarily of noughts who see themselves as fighting against the Crosses. Again, echoing many events I have seen in my lifetime and sadly probably will continue to do so. Noughts and Crosses begins with these two and follows through the outcomes of their relationship, their choices and what impact the decisions they made have on both their futures.
As I said, I don’t want to look at each book here as, not only would I spoil it, it’s so important to me that people go away and read these. The use of terms Blackman has created here such as blankers for noughts and daggers for Crosses may seem tame but they are clearly on that same par of words we have heard in our own lives and world. How freely some people use names and how much they can hurt. Blackman approaches issues such as suicide bombers, terrorism, how far you would go to protect, how far you would go for revenge and presents them in a way where you just get it. I’m not for a second suggesting she makes us sympathetic towards people who partake in these activities but what she does do is show how easily some people could be drawn in to this or how people’s weaknesses and difficulties can be exploited by those that wish to. The grooming of some characters is shocking yet at the same time eye opening. The way Blackman is not afraid to shock or upset or scare her readers to show the raw nature of these characters is incredible. There were many moments where I genuinely gasped or said something out loud when I read through all of these books. You are waiting for the happy ending, you are waiting for the interruption of something to stop what is happening. But this is real life – we are not saved just because a story says we should be. And the stark use of these images are what make these books so gripping and so important.
Blackman employs a technique I love which is use of multiple narrators. We switch between narrators every chapter, with the exception of Double Cross which is told from the point of view of Tobey, a nought and friend of Callie Rose, for the majority of the book. I wondered if the pull would have waned when we got to book four. It didn’t; if anything it got more stark and more raw than anything in the other three. Tobey is new to us, though is a minor character in the other books, and learning about him and his motivations was fascinating and terrifying. It really shows you the lengths some people will go to when the need for revenge is so strong and you feel like you have nothing to lose.
Characters in these books are angry. They want revenge. They want justice. They want what is right to happen and some will stop at nothing to make sure it does. It hurts, it can be difficult to read and you can often find yourself robbed of the justice the characters themselves are chasing. But that is why these books should be read. Life is not always nice and there are bad things that happen to good people as well as good things happening to bad people. Blackman has so far written four books that show this beautifully. Be warned – they are not for anyone below the age of 14 and even then mature 14 year olds only. But my goodness will I be throwing these under the noses of anyone I feel would benefit or enjoy. They are powerful and original and I for one cannot wait for number five.