Have you ever thought of ants? Those tiny black things that crawl are actually more complex than we credit them. They have systems, a governing body, divided into sections: worker ants, queen ant, warrior ants, midwife ants… heck, they even have a mortuary attendant ant.
‘Magnus Singula’ is a book on awakening, enlightenment, questioning the norms. Revolution, freedom and freedom of speech set in an ant colony. You see, before Magnus Singula, the colony existed under a strict regime, with the queen having the final say. Magnus Singula and Constance seek to change that.
In a story within a story, Magnus narrates the history of the colony to Constance, his first recruit. He then proceeds to hold lectures.
His strategy is psychological. He attacks what the ants believe in. Would they rather choose their own path or have someone choose it for them? Are they okay with the queen answering to no one? Isn’t it better to have autonomy, choose how you will help the colony? Isn’t it better to die having lived your life rather than to stay on a path chosen for you?
He gets the ants questioning their lives until the Queen plans to discard him, terming his resolution heresy.
The writing reminds me of Game of Thrones or poetry by Frank Njugi. Complex sentences, tantalising vocabulary and vivid narration. The author, Franz Owano, is also a poet, which probably makes his work sound like a Shakespearean poem. Why is this his writing style? Is it influenced by the books he read?
“I consumed a lot of the classics growing up because of my dad, who is an avid reader, and they were my foundation,” he says.
“I’d say my writing style in this novel sought to experiment with wordplay and rhyme in a way I could make the timeless literature a version of my own.”
When introducing my brain to new information or concepts, virtual learning is the way to go. While talking to my friend Carol, she suggested that watching Ant-Man would help me better understand or imagine how a colony of ants operates. I have been struggling with imagining a small being like an ant talk, lays eggs, rebels, etc. However, I have had an ant bite, so yeah, I believe soldier ants exist.
The story written is quite similar to how coups are started. I didn’t quite imagine rebellious ants, or maybe it’s the writing style that convinced me this is a human story written in the ant colony (You know, to avoid abductions #freefranz #freedomofspeech).
“I’ve always been fascinated by ant society, structure and caste systems,” Franz says.
“Particularly their organisation and the seamless running of the colony. Something us humans, as superior as we claim to be, have been unable to do without creating our own undoing.
“This felt like the appropriate setting for such a kind of story. Whether the story is true or not is subject to the reader’s interpretation. Which was the motive of the novel — to spur critical thinking. Hopefully helping us examine our own lives, society and our place in it, whether by choice or compulsion.”
I am sure if I were to read another book on ants, I would have a much easier time. In fact, I look forward to reading more fiction stories written in tiny beings’ lives.
To that, Franz said, “This will be my one and only exploration of the ant colony.”
