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To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Becky Chambers
This is a thoughtful, engrossing work of science fiction, and on the whole, I adored it. It's on the quieter side of the genre, no doubt, but Chambers' attention to characterization, detail, and the worlds she builds make it an incredible journey, just the same. I will say that I wish the book had had some CWs--there are some truly upsetting moments, and so if you sometimes look for CWs, I'd recommend searching them out for this work. Otherwise, the one downfall here was the ending. Her characters are so clear throughout, so believable, and yet not knowing their motivation for a big decision at the end--or, rather, being told their motivation, but not given enough insight or lead-up to understand/believe in it--put a damper on the ending for me.
Overall, though, I'd absolutely recommend this little book to anyone interested in short sci-fi novels.
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A Palace Near The Wind
Ai Jiang
I adore Jiang's writing, and her Linghun is a book that I'll be thinking about and recommending to others for years to come. So, with that in mind, I was incredibly excited to sink into this new work. Yet, I'm left struggling with what to say here.
On one hand, I adored the concept, characters, and writing, and I can understand that the fairy-tale-like style adopted may have come from the author's original conception of the work as a 'Blue Beard-esque retelling'...but at the same time, I have to admit that all of the creativity, characters, themes, and story felt like far too much for such a slim package of a novel. Especially early on, I found myself wishing that the novel would just move more slowly and let me really sink into some of the scenes and get to know the world and characters with more depth. Instead, it often did feel more fairy-tale-ish, in the way that fairy tales are told to the reader (style-wise)...but such fairy tales tend to work in that style because they're relatively fast and simple, at least in terms of development and characterization. Here, though, there are so many fascinating characters, details, and worldbuilding details, and I too often felt like I was being rushed through them.
All in all, if this book had covered the same territory and been written to be twice the length it is, I think I'd be raving about it. Instead, I'm just not sure how I feel about it because it feels like a lot of the power it might have had for me was lost in a rushed forward momentum or a sort of detached style, and so as much as I loved the writing and the ideas here, and appreciate all of Jiang's work, I'm left wishing there'd been...well, more.
I'll be a forever fan of Jiang's work and continue picking up her books, but I haven't decided if I'll read the second book in this series, to be honest.
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Blues People
Amiri Baraka
LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka's classic work on the history of the blues is a powerful look at not just blues music, but the history of music in relation to race, as a method of tracing the development of culture and people. By examining music in relation to the historical progression from slavery up to civil rights, the author argues that self-identification as an African-American and/or American (as opposed to a displaced/enslaved African)--and a feeling of connection and cultural grounding in America vs. Africa--is directly tied to the development of music over these last centuries. It's the sort of nuanced look at history and development which, to be blunt, isn't offered in schools but should be. Examining race, politics, music, identity, and psychology as they are all tied up together in a progression of time, Baraka paints a fascinating history that's well worth reading even now.
Readers who are less familiar with blues music and different performers may find the very last section a bit more detailed than they'd prefer (in relation to intricacies of music and the blues and specific performers), but up through that point, the book is incredibly accessible to any reader who cares to move through history with a talented writer and thinker.
Absolutely recommended.
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Wake Up And Open Your Eyes
Clay McLeod Chapman
The style with which Chapman pulled this book off is incredible. The different voices, points of view, and overall project is a masterclass in bringing a variety of characters alive through voice and showing their characters progress on the page. In too many books, every POV character sounds the same, but Chapman managed to make the different characters utterly different while also making it feel effortless. I also don't want to imply there are too many POVs--honestly, there's just the right amount for exactly what he pulled off. So, again, writing-wise, this book is incredible.
But, all that said...I think a reader's response here is largely going to come down to concept. If you read about the concept--a form of possession taking hold of people as they fall down internet/mass media rabbit holes, and then tearing families apart--and feel like it's a fascinating one you want to fall into, you'll probably love this book. For me personally, I admit that the concept put me off, if anything--I love Chapman's work, so I wanted to read it, but if it had been written by anyone else, I probably would have passed. I read for escapism, and people being changed by internet rabbit holes--however drastically--just felt a little too close to reality right now. In any case, I think because of this, parts of the middle of the book dragged for me, even as I could appreciate what Chapman was doing it and the nuance of the story.
So, would I recommend this? If you're interested in the story concept, or if you're a writer wanting to get a masterclass in writing different characters in POV, this is a fantastic book to pick up. If you're just thinking about trying Chapman for the first time and less sure of the concept, then I might suggest starting with one of his other works...
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