Dolphin Music by Antoinette Moses
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“The year is 2051. CONTROL, the government of Europe, keeps everyone happy in a virtual reality. This is a world where it is too hot to go out, and where wonderful music made by dolphins gives everyone pleasure. It’s a world which is changed forever when music critic Saul Grant discovers what makes dolphins sing and sets out to free them.”
Wouldn’t this back-cover tidbit catch your attention immediately if you stumbled upon it while browsing through used books? I know it caught mine. It was in the open-air book market in front of Sofia City Library, where I’m doing my EVS. If anything with either 1) dolphins, 2) the Web or 3) dystopian sci-fi is easy enough to pique my interest on its own, imagine my face seeing them combined.
The book itself is only 96 pages long and, regardless of the simple language because the book was written specifically for EFL students of around FCE level, I found it to be quite enjoyable and engaging; not pretentious yet interesting; simplified in language but not messages, and quite relevant ones, too.
To tell you the truth, I find telling a story in the easiest words possible quite charming. Something in the style just makes my heart softer, like ice cream with warm cookies. It’s like watching children’s cartoons and being able to appreciate the simple beauty of it just because you’re an adult. If a universal truth were spoken, I’m sure it would be closer to such language than to the kind reserved for high philosophy. They say that life is complicated; that’s true, but it’s also fantastically simple.
For what it is, Dolphin Music is really good. I started off by giving this book three stars but writing about it made me happier. I can’t see what should stop me from giving it four.
