Obernewtyn (novel)

Obernewtyn
2007 edition cover
Author	Isobelle Carmody
Cover artist	Les Petersen
Country	Australia
Language	English
Series	Obernewtyn Chronicles
Genre	Fantasy, Science fiction, Post-apocalyptic
Publisher	Penguin Books (AUS)
Publication date	1987
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	248
ISBN	978-0-14-032231-6
OCLC	27491110
Followed by	The Farseekers

Obernewtyn is the first novel in the Obernewtyn Chronicles series by Australian author Isobelle Carmody. Carmody began writing it at the age of fourteen, and reworked the novel through high school and university. Much of the inspiration for the protagonist, Elspeth Gordie, comes from her own life experiences. It was published by Penguin Books in Australia in 1988 and shortlisted for the Book of the Year for Older Readers in the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards.

A science fiction-fantasy novel set in a post-apocalyptic world, the story follows Elspeth Gordie, an orphan with special mental abilities, who lives a life of fear and danger. When her abilities are brought to the attention of the ruling, totalitarian Council, she is banished to the remote mountain institution of Obernewtyn, where all "Misfits" are sent. The leaders of Obernewtyn are secretly searching for the old weapons that had sent the world to the brink of despair, and Elspeth finds herself embroiled in a plot that risks more than just her personal safety.

The book has been published in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Portugal. The Library Journal stated it was a "thought-provoking tale of courage and sacrifice";^[1] other reviews found it one-dimensional and difficult to follow. Adapted as a stage play by Caroline Heske, it was performed in Darwin, Australia in 2004 by the Corrugated Iron Youth Arts Theatre.

Composition

Isobelle Carmody began writing the book when she was fourteen, in 1972.^[2] She rewrote and developed it throughout high school and university. After briefly working as a journalist, she left to write full-time.^[3] Penguin Books agreed to publish the book when Carmody submitted the manuscript in her early twenties and it was published in 1987. Carmody has said that the character and life experiences of Elspeth reflect her own:^[2]

As a girl, I felt myself to be a Misfit. I was the eldest of eight children and I grew up in this tough neighbourhood where there were kids that beat up odd kids like me who read and wrote stories. I longed not to fit in and be like the other kids, but to find people who were like me. And of course like probably every kid, though I did not know that then, I longed to have something important to do. I longed to be special. I think this is the natural result of the powerlessness of children in a world of adults that don’t always seem to be looking after the world all that well.

—Isobelle Carmody, 2008^[4]

The author named The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, Doctor Dolittle and books about Pippi Longstocking as sources of influence.^[4]

Synopsis

Context

Obernewtyn is set in a world recently ravaged by a nuclear holocaust, known to the survivors as "the Great White", later said by the Herders (leaders of the new religious order) to have been sent by Lud (God) to punish humanity. The surviving remote communities attempted to rebuild society, which over time developed into a totalitarian Council, and a religious order, the Herder Faction. Mutations of the mind also began to appear in some of the surviving generations; those discovered are either burnt alive along with the rebels or labelled as "Misfits" and outcasts. The resulting large group of children are placed in orphan homes and used for manual labour.

Voice and setting

The story is told in the first-person through the protagonist, Elspeth Gordie, a teenage girl who has secret mental powers such as telepathy and the ability to communicate with animals. The story begins at Kindraide orphan home, where she and her brother Jes live, before moving briefly through Sutrium, the capital, and the countryside. However the majority of the narrative is set at Obernewtyn, which lies in the northern mountains of the Land, the fictional nation in which the Obernewtyn Chronicles is set.

Plot

Elspeth learns from her premonitions, and her cat Maruman's prophecies, that a keeper from Obernewtyn, a feared institution where Misfits are sent to work, will come to take her there. Soon, when delivering tea to visiting Head Keeper of Obernewtyn, Madam Vega, Elspeth accidentally reveals she is a Misfit, though not to what extent, and is soon despatched to Obernewtyn. Her first few weeks at Obernewtyn are spent in the kitchen, with the cook’s daughter, the favoured Misfit, Ariel, and farm overseer, Rushton, taking an immediate hatred of her. Later reassigned to the farm, an encounter with Matthew and Dameon reveals she is not alone in her particular abilities. Elspeth, plagued by nightmares, begins to feel there is a dark secret underneath their everyday tasks. While working, Elspeth decides to test the range of her telepathic ability, "farseeking", but beyond the boundaries of Obernewtyn, a strange machine, the Zebrakhen, traps her mind. She is only freed by combining her mental strength with another anonymous mind who offers assistance. Asked by Vega to look out for "special" Misfits, her interview reveals the Doctor is a defective simpleton; his "assistant", Alexi, has no interest in Elspeth in his quest to find the "right one". Elspeth and Matthew later deduce that tortuous experiments on their kind are occurring, and they decide to escape.

That night, Elspeth sneaks into the Doctor’s office to retrieve a map and compass, but on finding forbidden books and maps from before the Great White, the "Beforetime", she realises they must be searching for something from long ago. She leaves empty-handed. Rosamunde, a friend from Kindraide, arrives at Obernewtyn and coldly informs Elspeth that her brother Jes had discovered he also had mental abilities, but was killed by guards in an escape attempt. Rushton comforts the distraught Elspeth, and asks her why she plagues him. Fearful that someone will soon be after her as well, her group’s escape plans begin in earnest. Elspeth returns a second time to the Doctor’s office, but when Vega, Alexi and Ariel enter, she learns Ariel is part of the Obernewtyn family, and that they are searching for a Misfit to help them find the location of Beforetime weapons. Pre-warned that two councilmen are coming to fetch her for questioning by the Herders, at nightfall she makes to escape but Rushton stops her. He reveals a secret network of drains which gets her safely to the farms. Yet, once there she is lost in a blizzard, until Dominick finds her and locks her in the farmhouse to return later to Obernewtyn. Overhearing a conversation between her captors, she discovers they were to secretly meet with the rebel group, but Rushton has gone missing. Convincing them that her powers can help find him, she makes her way on foot through the blizzard to the far mountains, with Maruman as her guide.

Inside the cave network she finds a dying Cameo, who tells her the Beforetime weapons Alexi and Vega are searching for caused the Great White, but they do not know this. She also reveals it is Elspeth’s destiny, as the Seeker, to destroy them. After mourning her death, Elspeth overhears that Rushton, imprisoned in the next cavern, is the true heir of Obernewtyn. Suddenly, she is captured by Ariel, who ties her to a table next to the Zebrakhen machine. Elspeth is forced to hold the diaries of Marissa, the wife of the founder of Obernewtyn, and use her abilities to discover what Marissa was thinking when she wrote them to determine the weapons’ location. Still withstanding the torture, Elspeth mentally enters Rushton’s mind and recognises the voice of her earlier rescuer from the Zebrakhen. Rushton gives his mental strength to her to endure it, but in her despair at their threats to kill him, her resistance breaks and Marissa’s thoughts reveal the map to be carved into the front doors of Obernewtyn. At this point, the Zebrakhan overheats and bursts into flames. Something in Elspeth’s mind cracks and she uses this new power to kill Vega. She falls unconscious as Rushton’s rebel friends rush in. Alexi is killed, but Ariel flees into the night and is believed to have died in the blizzard. Now known to be the legal master of Obernewtyn, Rushton plans to build it into a secret refuge for Misfits.

Reception

Critical

On the whole, Obernewtyn has been positively received. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called it "a promising new series" and stated that Carmody evades stereotyping by imbuing her characters with conflicting interests.^[5] The Library Journal stated that it is a "thought-provoking tale of courage and sacrifice".^[1]

Lloyd Alexander, an American fantasy author, commented that it is a fantastically imaginative novel. He cited intricate detail, in-depth character development, and skilled use of language as some of the strengths of the work.^[6] American Young Adult fantasy writer Tamora Pierce expressed that the novel is "a dream date for [her]", given the novel involves a courageous girl of many talents and animals with "minds of their own".^[6]

However some reviewers have criticised aspects of the book. A reviewer writing for Kirkus Reviews said that the novel is "pedestrian and one-dimensional".^[7] Victoria Strauss, of SF Site, felt the emotional detachment of Elspeth, despite her loss and grief, robs the novel of some of its impact.^[8] John Foster felt Obernewtyn is hard to follow due to the complexities of the language and plot.^[9]

Awards and nominations

Obernewtyn won the Marcus Clark Literary Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript, which subsequently saw Carmody receive an Australia Council of the Arts Writer's Grant.^[10]

In 1988, Obernewtyn was shortlisted for Book of the Year for Older Readers in the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards.^[11]

Publication history

Single Book Publications:^[12][13][14]

Combined Volumes:^[12]

Foreign language publications

In 2008, a Portuguese edition, translated by Ana Neto, was published in Portugal by Bertrand Editora entitled 'Elspeth–a Senhora do Pensamento' .^[15] This translates to "Elspeth–Lady of Thought".

Audiobooks

Adaptions

The Corrugated Iron Youth Arts Theatre in Darwin, Australia, produced Caroline Heske's stage play adaptation of Obernewtyn, directed by Jeremy Rice, at the Brown's Mart Theatre from the 3rd to 7 November 2004.^[18] Rice stated that the original novel has "that imaginative streak that suits theatre".^[19]

References

External links

• Obernewtyn.NET The Official Obernewtyn Chronicles Fan Club
• Carmody-Online Isobelle Carmody Fansite
• Obernewtyn Chronicles Australian publisher's site for series
• Obernewtyn title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database