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rorikae's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
'The Lesson' by Cadwell Turnbull is an intriguing novel that utilizes science fiction to discuss colonization and its impacts.
The story follows a number of inhabitants of the Virgin Islands before and after an alien ship lands on its coast and aliens, who closely resemble humans, start to infiltrate the island's society. The main part of the story takes place a year after one of these aliens, who are called the Ynaa, brutally murders a boy and the tensions between the Ynaa and the humans on the island reach a boiling point.
Turnbull's exploration of colonization through a science fiction lens allows the reader to delve deeper into the experience of colonization both through the eyes of the colonizer and those who are being colonized. He does this by weaving through a number of individual's perspectives, mostly humans who are impacted by the Ynaa's arrival and one Ynaa who has been set as the ambassador to the island. It really succeeds in its careful consideration of the lived experiences of its characters. We follow them through their everyday lives, seeing how the Ynaa have impacted even simple interactions. Though there is a cataclysmic, devastating set of events toward the end of the book, I think the story's real power is in its small moments. The one thing I did find frustrating was that in the audiobook, the narration jumped from character to character without indication and sometimes it was hard to realize that we were on to a new perspective.
I would recommend this book if you are looking for science fiction that is focused on the lives of its characters more than the logic of the world. We don't learn a great deal about the Ynaa but that isn't necessary as the story is truly about their impact on the world that surrounds them.
The story follows a number of inhabitants of the Virgin Islands before and after an alien ship lands on its coast and aliens, who closely resemble humans, start to infiltrate the island's society. The main part of the story takes place a year after one of these aliens, who are called the Ynaa, brutally murders a boy and the tensions between the Ynaa and the humans on the island reach a boiling point.
Turnbull's exploration of colonization through a science fiction lens allows the reader to delve deeper into the experience of colonization both through the eyes of the colonizer and those who are being colonized. He does this by weaving through a number of individual's perspectives, mostly humans who are impacted by the Ynaa's arrival and one Ynaa who has been set as the ambassador to the island. It really succeeds in its careful consideration of the lived experiences of its characters. We follow them through their everyday lives, seeing how the Ynaa have impacted even simple interactions. Though there is a cataclysmic, devastating set of events toward the end of the book, I think the story's real power is in its small moments. The one thing I did find frustrating was that in the audiobook, the narration jumped from character to character without indication and sometimes it was hard to realize that we were on to a new perspective.
I would recommend this book if you are looking for science fiction that is focused on the lives of its characters more than the logic of the world. We don't learn a great deal about the Ynaa but that isn't necessary as the story is truly about their impact on the world that surrounds them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Death, Genocide, Murder, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Suicide and Drug use
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