The Book of Malachi

The Book of Malachi opens with Malachi, a thirty-year-old mute man, being recruited to work at an off-shore oil rig. This rig, however, isn’t for oil, but is owned by Frasier Pharmaceuticals and is where they are farming organs from criminals. Malachi is promised a new tongue in exchange for a six-month stint of cutting the nails of the prisoners. At first, he assumes all the people there deserve their fate, growing organs for others to then be sent back to prison. As he hears their stories, he begins to question the morality of it all. He also discovers how far Frasier will go to keep their project a secret and questions everything they’ve told him. Now he will have to decide what kind of man he will be and whether the ability to speak is worth not being able to tell what he’s seen.

I am more used to a linear type of writing style, so I struggled to sift through and separate the present, the past, and Malachi’s imagination. The plot is captivating, but is more about the human-interest side than the actual science fiction part of it. There were a lot of parts I wish I could unread, graphic descriptions of masturbation and prevalent strong language. The best part of this book was hearing everyone’s stories and how trauma shapes us as people. I’m sure this will be a hit, but it wasn’t for me.