An astonishing book...Review by Clare Rhoden

House of the Flight Helpers by Philomena van Rijswijk Tartarus Press Review by Clare Rhoden (Aurealis Magazine)

House of the Flight Helpers is a meditation on the present and the future it forebodes. In the dystopian land of Incognita, fear and loathing disrupt the natural order. Cowering inside Luckycola city, everyone lives in the shadow of the Great Wall, a barrier erected to keep out birds. Every feather that slips in invites panic: city folk suffer from a manic phobia of everything avian. Overhead, bird-proof netting separates the city from the dangerous sky. Days are dimmed and a permanent seasonal disorder prevails. But the servants of the President for Life ensure no citizen shows sadness. Oxymoronic Cheerful Federators, cold and brutal as the Stasi or the SS, prey on the citizens. Into this heartless setting, van Rijswijk introduces a swathe of pathetic but interesting characters, from Juana in the mental hospital to Honeysuckle Rose, a child plucked from home and thrust into an orphanage after her sister’s arrest. The multitude of stories within this novel produces a dense read that needs time and reflection. The convoluted narrative passes from scene to scene like a film panning over an entire continent, occasionally zooming in. The reader sees similar situations in different guises across the city. Fear, suspicion and self-preservation dominate. The President’s denial of history, like his institution of enforced celebrations, increases the weight of satire. House of the Flight Helpers is a concentrated critique of the 20th century and a resounding warning about the 21st. Humanity, in seeking to control life and bend it to human purpose, tramples over natural justice and beauty—here represented by birds. This book rewards slow reading and provides moments of poetic truth. Language is assured and the descriptions mesmerising. It is satire, elevated literary satire, that may frustrate the reader who desires solid stepping stones in plot and character development. An astonishing book of many merits for readers of intelligent dystopia.

*Aurealis is an Australian speculative fiction magazine published by Chimaera Publications, and is Australia's longest running small-press science-fiction and fantasy magazine. The magazine is based in Melbourne.