Readers' Corner
Weekly Review: Want by Cindy pon
By Kamili Chambers
Want by Cindy Pon is a dystopian science fiction novel set in an alternate version of Taipei, the current capital of Taiwan. In this society people are separated into two groups: the Mei, meaning without, and the You, those who have. According to the main character, a You is “genetically cultivated to be the perfect human specimen before birth.” They have the best air, food, water, and anything else needed to ensure the longest possible lifespan. Needless to say, they live in complete luxury. They rarely have a need to leave their homes, but when they feel the desire to go to a You only Cafe or show off their newest body modification, their air is cleaned by temperature regulated body suits that provide the best oxygen money can buy. Despite the fact that pollution has rendered the air unfit to breathe, the only people that can afford these lifesaving air suits are the You. Any average Mei would be lucky to live past 40. The book begins with the main character, Jason Zhou, kidnapping a wealthy You girl named Daiyu Jin. His goal is to use the ransom money from this kidnapping to blend into You society and take down the company that makes the suits from within.
The purpose of Want is to shed light on the impact of classism and pollution. The title itself alludes to the idea that people are always willing to chase after more, regardless of how much they already have or how much others suffer because of it. The working class Mei want and are left wanting, while the You have much but always want more.
The book does a good job of exploring themes like classism, stereotyping, and the negative effects of technology. The You justify their lavish spending by viewing the Mei as uncivilized, diseased, and delinquent. If you help the Mei you might as well be helping criminals, so no one cares for their wellbeing or opinions. Due to the mistreatment of the less fortunate, the Mei are forced to fuel these stereotypes by stealing food and medicine for their families, creating a cycle that allows the You to comfortably ignore the suffering of others.
Unlike other books, Want doesn’t exclusively rely on surface level stereotypes to justify the unforgivable actions of its characters. The book also addresses classism by discussing the inner struggle of those who have more and recognize that these stereotypes are untrue, but aren't willing to give up the advantages they’ve gained. When the main character is integrated into upper society, he starts to enjoy the luxury so much that he can almost forget his friends are suffering because of it. He begins to dread returning home because it forces him to face the consequences of his actions on a personal level. The book does a good job of showing how someone can choose to ignore other people’s pain just because they have the choice.
The other You are also faced with these consequences on a daily basis, but they run away from reality by turning to fantasy. By showing the different ways people use money and technology as a distraction from the real world, Want highlights fundamental problems in modern day society. When the You can separate themselves from societal problems at the push of a button, they can easily allow themselves to ignore the fact that they’re causing the problems they try so hard to get away from. They can hide from poverty in their mansions, block out pollutants with their suits, and even run away from their own insecurities by purchasing body modifications.
When the You spend so much time away from the world’s problems, they can confidently claim it’s not an issue. People today often have a difficult time sympathizing with problems that don’t affect them personally, but when faced with the extreme examples presented in this book, the reader is forced to acknowledge their own role in society. Although this book has some fairly gruesome scenes, there isn’t much that’s happening to the Mei that isn’t currently happening to impoverished people in real life. The only difference between the You and wealthy people in the real world is distance. The You and the Mei all live in the same city. Horrible things happen to the Mei right outside their windows, yet the You do nothing to stop it.
I believe this book is a good read because it’s as entertaining as it is insightful. Every page leaves you wanting to jump to the next one, and it does a good job of subtly forcing the reader to look within themselves and weigh their own actions against the actions of the You.