But it follows all the recipes that I was taught in my introduction to creative writing class: short chapters, an emphasis on setting, dialogue that must serve a purpose and clearly-defined characters (as in, the characters inhabit their own boundaries and have a unique place in the story. I'm not sure if it's Suzanne Weyn's style or because the book is marketed at early teenage readers.

Empty is, well, very empty when it comes to that: it's prose is straightforward, it tells it as it is. I think the reason I read it so fast is because I'm used to lush language, with lots of visual imagery, metaphors and descriptive text. That said, the environmental message is the only thing that carries makes this book worth a second look in a heap of dystopian/ post-apocalyptic novels. I suppose if you are American, you will see the parallel between two of the biggest events in the book and the War in Iraq (widely speculated to be about oil) and Hurricane Katrina. Main events in the plot take place alongside news reports of wider world events. Hence the title 'empty': oil becomes so precious that America has to go to war for it, pay $300 a barrel and live without cars. Or, how power comes on several hours a day only because the power companies can't afford it.

A lot of book is devoted to emphasizing how, for example, supermarket shelves are empty because using oil is too expensive for transportation. Mostly because the story's set in semi-urban community, the effects are quite profound. It might seem quite a very boring plot, but while it is the central idea behind the story, the message of depleted/ depleting oil stocks is conveyed in a much more down to earth way. The premise behind the book is actually not something out of science fiction or fantasy: the world is running out of oil. It's categorized as Young Adult (YA) genre, simply because it has got protagonists who are youths.Įmpty is a book with a message. This is a short book, less than 200 pages, and I read in the space of a week. Our devotion to our appetite has betrayed us all.' 'The indulgence of our lives has cast a shadow on the world,

Empty book by suzanne weyn