bibliogramma | Ann Leckie: Provenance (Reply)

Ann Leckie’s latest book, Provenance, is a most engaging science fictional political thriller cum murder mystery. Set in the Radchaii universe, but not in the Radch itself, it’s a smorgasbord of plots, conspiracies, political infighting, diplomatic maneuverings, hidden identities, thefts, attempted invasions, and murder, where every major character and most minor ones have at least one hidden agenda and no one’s motives can be assumed. And that is why it’s so much fun.

I’m not even going to try to explain the details of the plot, because before we’re through the first chapter, it’s gotten hopelessly complicated by circumstances. The protagonist is Ingray, the daughter of a powerful politician in the Hwae government. Overshadowed by her sibling Danach, who is favoured to become the heir to her mother’s power and position, Ingray has come up with a very risky scene she hopes will improve her house’s fortunes and her own position in her mother’s eyes. That scheme involves the dishonored and exiled child of another powerful house, and some very valuable historical documents, known as vestiges, purporting to show the origins of that house. But things get complicated, and then they get more complicated, and then... well, that’s why I’m not trying to give any plot details. You’ll have to read it for yourself. But one thing that’s very important to the success of this novel is that Ingray, despite her attempts to scheme and plot, is basically a nice person. That’s part of why things get so complicated for her. But it’s why you want to keep reading, because you really want everything to work out well for her.

A lot of the action, the scheming, the secrets and mysteries, centre around vestiges. The Hwae have a deep regard for the histories of things - houses, events, people. And what other peoples might treat as souvenirs, or interesting historical artefacts, are matters of great seriousness in their culture. A signed menu from an important dinner. The original draft of an important law. A floor tile from a building where something significant happened once. These are vestiges. For the Hwae, vestiges have almost the status of sacred artefacts. They connect them to their past, tell them who they are by declaring where they come from, what they have done, and who they have been.

As one might gather from the title, history, documentation of history, and the legitimacy of such documentary evidence is at the heart of much of the plots and conflicts in the novel, from the ownership of a space ship, to the foundations of a house, to the origins of an entire people. The social and philosophical questions that underlie the narrative are very much about how we construct history and self, and the value we place on how things came to be, in comparison to how things are. As one of the characters says: “Who are we if our vestiges aren’t real?”