Greensmith by Aliya Whiteley
I would like to thank Laura from Unsung Stories for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Unsung Stories
Published – 12/10
Price - £9.99 paperback and e-reader formats
Penelope Greensmith is a bio-librarian, responsible for a vast seed bank made possible by the mysterious Vice she inherited from her father. She lives a small, dedicated life until the day the mysterious and charming Horticulturalist arrives in her garden, asking to see her collection. He thinks it could hold the key to stopping a terrible plague sweeping the universe. Soon Penelope is whisked away on an intergalactic adventure by the Horticulturalist, seeing the vast and bizarre mysteries amongst the stars. But as this gentle woman searches for a way to save the universe, her daughter Lily is still on Earth, trying to track her down, trying to survive the terrible events unfolding there...
For me a key factor in science fiction is can we progress the conversation. Are the stories talking about where we are as a species now and what our current potential futures look like. I’m more interested in what today’s writers are doing with those older concepts to explore where our current world is now heading. In Aliya Whiteley’s novel Greensmith we get a perfect example of a tale exploring some classic science fiction ideas through new perspectives and yet giving us a new hauntingly weird and beautiful trip across the universe.
Penelope Greensmith is a 52-year-old divorced bio-librarian deciding what else she wants from life. The joys of internet dating appear to be a logical step, but she also is very focused on her desire to keep cataloguing the earth’s plant species as so many species face oblivion. Initially Earth looks doomed by the idea of constant war but now something else is on the horizon a slow marching green plague turning all vegetation into a strange green mush. As it gets closer and closer Penelope ponders if there is anything she can do and just when all seems lost, she is visited by the strange intergalactic traveller known only as The Horticulturist or Hort for short. Hort with his amiable manner, green shoes and quirky personality thinks he knows how to save the world and he needs Penelope. They cross the universe to hopefully right some wrongs on a planet of flamingos, meet Hort’s nemesis and save the day for Earth and more importantly Penelope’s only daughter Lily. Penelope though, is about to find the universe is stranger and crueller than she ever realised, and she has a key role to play.
There is a familiar yet strange feeling about the novel – we all know strange friendly aliens always help humanity when all seems lost. That we have one who has a false name, quirky costume and even a strange ship that seems larger on the inside means you may think you know this story. However, Whiteley importantly grounds the story in Penelope’s words and viewpoints – she isn’t a young character doing this just for adventure. Penelope actually wants to save her world and family. Therefore, she brings to the partnership with the Horticulturist a slightly more nuanced eye for what makes a hero or that just adventure and wonder is not enough. There is a feeling of slow entropy in this story as we also get to see Penelope’s ex-husband and her adult daughter trying to survive as the earth faces destruction that is less cinematic explosion and just a slow but steady destruction of all organic matter. Here a potentially deadly fate staring them in the face – it’s a classic slow apocalypse and in 2020 we all know the feeling of seeing something horrible on the horizon getting closer.
Controlling the narrative is important to all the main characters. Hort loves to be in charge and as Penelope finds he has made enhanced versions of his earlier adventures ever showing his heroics – hiding the actual facts. Lily records her potential last messages to the world in a phone making things look positive and brave while Penelope initially just wants to categorise plants as a record of what earth is. As the story develops, we discover that the universe just isn’t a simple narrative its weirder and more remarkable than just good versus evil. We see a planet of flamingos fighting an oppressor; meet a long lived all powerful arch nemesis who is also a plant and we find legends about the past and future of the world plus some strange events long ago that shaped Penelope’s future. Small coincidences lead to huge revelations. But this story isn’t a neat happy ending its about trying to make the best that you can out of what you’ve got.
All of this sounds quite dark and melancholic, but this novel is about accepting things must change. Whiteley brings the universe to life with life everywhere be it planets of intelligent birds, plants or civilisations that can cross stars. The universe is far stranger and unpredictable than people think, and it can’t be made to fit any narrative. Life must always move on and change but you need to do the right thing as much as you can with what you’ve got to hand even if sometimes its accepting you need to move on..
On a personal level as I have recent had a death in the family reading this tale was a reminder that the world around us is quite precious and also not here for long. Life doesn’t always follow an easy narrative and what we are told is right may not always be the case. The stories we tell ourselves are important but not always true. Greensmith however is beautiful, weird and in a strange way one that gave me peace and hope. Highly recommended.
