Occupied

By: Joss Sheldon

Narrated by: Jack Wynters

SOME PEOPLE LIVE UNDER OCCUPATION. SOME PEOPLE OCCUPY THEMSELVES. NO ONE IS FREE.

Step into a world which is both magically fictitious and shockingly real. Walk side-by-side with a refugee, native, occupier and economic migrant. And watch on as the world around you transforms from a halcyon past into a dystopian future.

Inspired by the occupations of Palestine, Kurdistan and Tibet, and by the corporate occupation of the west, Occupied is a haunting glance into a society which is a little too familiar for comfort. It truly is a unique piece of literary fiction…

Here's what reviewers have said about Occupied:

• "Darker than George Orwell's 1984" (AXS)
• "Candid and disquieting" (Free Tibet)
• "Genre-busting" (Pak Asia Times)
• "Brilliant" (Middle East Monitor)
• "A must read" (Buzzfeed)

©2015 Joss Sheldon (P)2016 Joss Sheldon

Critic reviews

"Occupied follows the lives of four main characters; a refugee, native, settler, and economic migrant, all of whom are affected by these divisions. At their core, each character is the same; they all face the same challenges, react in the same ways, and feel the same emotions. But their different labels and alternative backgrounds provide barriers which stop them from ever uniting. It would be easy to focus on this theme, which runs through Occupied. But to do so would be to miss the artistry of the novel; the characters which often remind us of ourselves, the scenery which bursts into life, and the subplots which fill every page. Occupied is a story of individual hope against collective despair, and with that comes a certain sense of optimism; a determination to be the best you can. The four main characters have to battle against the trauma of forced marriages, displacement, and physical abuse, but they become stronger as a result of experiencing such hardships." (AXS)

"Occupied operates in an ethereal plane; real enough to make it feel relevant, yet mysterious enough to imbue it with warmth. The reader evolves with the four main characters as they travel through life; standing in their shoes and fee ling their pain. For despite its darkness, Occupied is also full of light. The love between the characters is easily relatable to the love we often feel in own our lives, and the poetic descriptions buzz with energy and life. Occupied really is a unique work of dystopian fiction, and a must read for any lover of radical literature." (Buzzfeed)

"The way it was written meant that even if someone has no pre-existing knowledge of Palestine, the Kurdish question and Tibet, they would have still enjoyed it and still understood the reasoning behind the anti-colonial and anti-capitalist sentiments behind the book." (Middle East Monitor)

Some really good scenes, a little redundant

While it did take me 3 tries to get into this book, I’m glad I stuck with it. Occupied is a thought-provoking work. The three main characters, Tamsin, Ellie, and Arun, start off as kids, each coming from different backgrounds. As they age, they are pulled apart and their friendships set aside though they do occasionally intersect later in the story. A fourth pivotal character, Charlie, comes into the tale much later.

While this story qualifies as a satire, I did feel that I would have gotten quite a bit more out of it if I was more knowledgeable on Middle East politics (past and present). For the most part, the story stood on it’s own though I admit that I often lost track of which character is a Godly versus a Holy. I had the feeling that the underlying alluded to politics were more important than the story and I really just wanted to be swept up into the tale.

There is a lot of repetition in this book. Lots. That is the main thing that kept me from getting caught up in this book. If the book was 1/3 to 1/2 as long I feel that it would have more of punch, the important scenes would hit harder, and there would be more poignancy to the disturbing bits. All those things exist in the book as it is but you have to wade through the repetition to get to them.

The last fifth of the book was my favorite. It takes us into a near-future view of a consumer driven society. It definitely had that Brave New World vibe which I quite enjoyed. Also, I didn’t feel I had to be knowledgeable about certain politics to get what the story was telling me. This was the most chilling part of the book because there’s a society-encompassing apathy whereas the rest of the book has plenty of emotions flying around as one wrong is done after another, usually in the name of Right.

So, all told, I’m glad I finished it and I can see how fans of the satire genre would be interested in checking this book out. While the repetition and my lack of great knowledge on the politics alluded to made this book a bit of a chore to get through, it did end on a very strong note that resonated with me. 3.5/ 5 stars.

The Narration: Jack Wynters gave a decent performance. He had some accents and some voice range though not all of his characters were distinctly performed. He sounded interested in the story for the entire book never going deadpan bored. The pacing was good and there were no technical issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.

➜ This audiobook was received at no-cost from Audiobookworm Promotions. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Another great book by Josh Sheldon

I am starting to believe that if I see Josh Sheldon is written that it’s going to be a great book. This is the second book I have read by him and the second one I’m giving five stars to. A family finds out what it’s like to be occupied and one find out what it’s like to be a refugee it’s somehow they all learn to live together. This book is reminiscent of things that are happening today in our world even though this is a fictional telling I’m sure the emotions provoked in the book are real, but true to Josh Sheldons style I am learning he will always put in witty dialogue to lessen the load of the overall message. A great book I highly recommend!