reviews

A Door into Ocean
by Joan Slonczewski

A Door into Ocean chronicles the intricate power relationships between the human inhabitants of the planet Valedon and the all female population of the ocean moon, Shora. We witness this ideological interplay on private and public stages. Merwen and Usha, two selfnamed Sharers from Shora, enter into Valedonian society to determine whether its residents are, in fact, human and thus deserving of the same rights and respect due to each Sharer. Likewise, we follow Spinel the stonecutter’s son and the Lady Berenice as they journey to Shora as they discover new social roles within the world of purple skinned women.

On Valedon, stone is the arbiter of one’s fate. Stonesign determines an individual’s basic identity by assigning each person a specific occupation within society. Stonesign is a visible method of assessing one’s social status in relation to others.

On Shora, one shares identity and social position through the choice of one’s selfname. Selfnames are chosen by each individual to reflect the character flaw the person strives most to avoid. By sharing the selfname Impatient One with her sisters, Merwen strives most for patience. Names are shared with others on Shora, not owned like stones. Identity is thus constructed out of the web of relations one shares with all others on the moon.

Spurred on by the emissary of the Patriarch, a larger galactic empire to which Valedon is bound, the Valedon military invades Shora with the intent to subdue its native population. While Valedonians possess superior mechanical technology, the Sharers rely on an even more sophisticated biological system. The Sharers have the ability to forcibly remove the invading army, and yet they refuse to use violence against their oppressors. They opt instead to share healing with the Valedonians, even when faced with complete annihilation. The scale has increased, but the basic struggle has not. Valedonians seek to define all Sharers within a predetermined social hierarchy. The Sharers, by example, encourage each Valedonian soldier to look upon identity as a quality that is personally derived, shared, and redefined. Relationships with others, therefore, like the oceans of Shora itself, remain in flux and cannot be carved in stone.

Joan Slonczewski’s novel is richly written, its characters complex and memorable, and its plot at once stirring and unpredictable. Both compelling and intellectually challenging, it was a sheer pleasure to read.