What We Can Know

I am all over the place with how I feel about this book. What We Can Know is beautifully written and looks at various issues/themes throughout the book. In 2014 a beautiful poem/ corona is read aloud and since then the poem has been a mystery, a subject for conversation, and speculation. The poem was written by Francis Blundy for his wife, Vivian and was read to her on her birthday. Those in attendance shared comments on the poem and since the poem has gone down in infamy if you will. This lost poem has baffled, dazed, intrigued, and fascinated scholars and people ever since. In 2119, Tom Metcalfe, an academic, finds a clue that may lead to the poem….

In What We Can Know, a lot has happened between the years of 2014 and 2119 due to a man-made disaster. The world has changed, Britain has changed, but people and relationships have not. This book set in the future looks back on a time that is still fresh in readers minds (or at least in this reader’s mind). The future time has endured weather related catastrophe’s, climate change, extinction of certain animals and a decline in the world’s population.

Again, I was not sure how to rate this book. I enjoyed the writing, the themes, and the quest for the poem. This book shows change, but it also shows relationships that are full of faults, indiscretions, and justifications. The characters are not that likeable, and I am not sure if the author wants us to like them. They seem to do whatever they want when they want – morals be damned. So, what happened to the poem? You will have to ask Vivian.

This is a deep book in many ways and a simple book in others. I can see this book being made into a movie. There is a bit of food for thought here and would also make a good book club book. I have a feeling this is going to be a polarizing book. You will either love it or feel meh about it. The future does not look bright in What We Can Know. It’s rather bleak and grey.

Well thought out, thought provoking, and intriguing.