Mudlark
by Mary Helen Specht
Mudlark, by Austin author Mary Helen Specht, covers a lot of time and territory in the not-too-distant future. It begins with a separation between mother and daughter at the Burning Man Project and soon moves into an intricate back-and-forth that spans the following quarter century.
The book begins with Jenny Sweet’s band performing at Burning Man in Nevada. Jenny knows that after this concert, the band will break up and so will her marriage to fellow musician Max. What she doesn’t realize is that, through missteps, she will also lose track of her teenage daughter, Neko, who came along to the concert. In a clever twist, Specht gives the reader definite time markers for each piece of action in this section, which contrasts with the turmoil when the narration shifts to Jenny’s daughter in the next chapter.
During the rest of the book, the narrative rotates between Jenny’s existence and Neko’s adventures, 25 years later. When we catch up with the daughter in New York, devastating weather, the result of climate change and the ignoring thereof, has forced the country into a dystopian nightmare of multi-layered semi-governance. And some of the strongest players in this environment are the skilled Mudlarks like Neko – people who know how to make dives and find the detritus of a wrecked civilization – a crystal decanter, spools of cable, heirloom jewelry, and even an Olympic Silver Medal and a bottle of Mezcal. Aboveground with her crew—her partner Iggy and their mentees Harriet and Jules -- they make a pilgrimage among a treehouse society, a rave, and a bunker where the social elite hold sway.
Specht makes a pointed contrast between the contrivance of Burning Man (if you weren’t aware, it is a real annual event), which has purposely created but controlled confusion, and the nightmarish and ever-shifting societal and physical landscape that Neko and her crew have to traverse. During Neko’s journey, she is secretly trying to find a master of her mother’s last album – and I’m not going to be a spoiler.
This intricately crafted book examines the themes of motherhood, the universal power of music, the weight of materialism, and the inevitable results of climate change, mostly set in a future where society hangs on by a few threads. It is a gripping read, and to use a cliché, I couldn’t put it down. Even if you are not a fan of dystopian stories (and I’m usually not), this novel will hold your interest. It may also make you wonder about how our social order might evolve under the right pressure. By the way, if you do read the book, do yourself a favor and search the internet for “Neko Sweets.”
