Proctor Bennett is an official in the idyllic land of Prospera, an archipelago in the ocean. The archipelago consists three islands: the main island of Prospera is where the elite live, the Annex is the province of the workers, and the Nursery is where the old people go to be reprogrammed. Proctor’s job is to take the old people, either willingly of unwillingly to the Nursery. He enjoys his works until he has to take his father who is unwilling to go. They ugly scene makes Proctor think, and he becomes uncomfortable with some of the aspects of his environment and the stresses between the classes.
The divide between the elite and the servants who are basically slaves bothers him and in fact he learns of unrest in the Annex. The workers are in many respects basically slaves and Proctor begins to see the difficulty of the situation.
This is a long book with a complex plot. There are a great many characters. Some are well developed, but others could have been fleshed out better. There are plenty of twists and the ending is somewhat surprising. However, it’s a satisfactory read. In some ways, it reminded me of Plato’s Republic. Plato sees no conflict between the classes in his ideal society, but perhaps The Ferryman presents a more complete picture of what could happen.
I received this book from Random House for this review.
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