‘In Ascension ’ by Martin MacInnes
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BOOKER PRIZE
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
An astonishing novel about a young microbiologist investigating an unfathomable deep vent in the ocean floor, leading her on a journey that will encompass the full trajectory of the cosmos and the passage of a single human life
Storytelling:
Set in the future, Leigh, a Dutch girl was given a microscope for her eleventh birthday, and she soon developed a passion for studying microorganisms in water. Through her studies and master programmes she blossomed into an outstanding marine biologist who knew more about algae and genetic programming than anyone in the world. Her father abused her as a child, but her mother never protected her from him. She would however come to Leigh in her bed at night and silently comfort her.
The story tells of her expeditions to the mid-Atlantic Ridge and into space on a top-secret mission.
Ideas:
Martin portrays a highly intelligent soul with a high work ethic and extremely curious nature, who prefers her own company. The story explores her relationship with her sister and her mother, who later in life suffers from dementia. Leigh’s missions into space took her further away from her family and any ties on earth, so she has to build a strong bond with her two astronaut colleagues. As her spaceship departed the Earth’s atmosphere, she metaphorically waved goodbye to her family, never to see them again, and this idea of grief lives through the story.
Outlining:
It is a clever book of five parts, describing five distinct phases of her life with new world transformation adventures. Each adventure is embellished with intrigue and excellence in future technologies, with one exploring a trench in the sea deeper than the Mariana Trench, previously the deepest on Earth. Then another, aboard the Proscenium spaceship, travelling one million times further than any previously crewed vessel to the inner reaches of the Oort Cloud, one hundred-thousand times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. On this final journey in space, she grows algae taken from biological samples secretly extracted from the sea trench to supplement the crew’s meals over such a long trip.
The pace of the book is good, with these clear stages taking the reader on an innovative voyage, ending in her final descent to earth where she is finally consumed by the ocean she so loved.
Star Review:
4/5