Review: Thoughtful take on the world
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 25, 2013
"The Man in Black - The Woman in White" shows us what the earth could be like in almost 200 years if we keep on letting it go to pieces and allow money to rule the world.Stross presents us with a world without hope, a dark story of loss, poverty, inequality and disinformation. The town of Present, Nebraska thinks the world works in one way, and it seems they have been intentionally kept in that belief. Maintaining this status quo is the will of the people who hold power to change the lives of the citizens of Present for the better.One of the tools the powers that be uses to keep the people of Present in Present is lack of education and information. Another tool seems to be to allow companies to move in and "encourage" farmers to sell their land and water-rights.Stross encourages me to question my own beliefs of right and wrong. Exactly who is the culprit and why do I consider that person to be a culprit?Poor young Kyle, living in circumstances that quite a few young people live in today. Desertification, water shortage and hunger are all parts of the lives of young and old in certain places of the world. There, too, tools such as the ones used against Present, Nebraska are utilised. "The Man in Black - The Woman in White" speaks of a world that already exists for many and will probably exist for many more in the years to come.Stross doesn't give us a solution or an answer to the problem. I appreciate that. Having an open ending allows me as a reader to look around and see if an answer exists at all.[...]