Reviews

On the Origin of Species and Other Stories by Kim Bo-young

geller's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Very nice and thought-provoking short stories.  Quaint, often emotional, and deeply human.  The prologue essay, "A Reflection on Breasts," provides some helpful context for what to expect.  In short, while the stories certainly invoke elements of science fiction, they cannot be reduced to that.  The titular story, "On The Origin of Species," and its sequel, were my favorites.  A couple stories dragged a bit, but overall, it's highly enjoyable. 

Was not expecting the graphic descriptions of child murder at the end, but in retrospect I think it was necessary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

actualkorok's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

5.0

emergencily's review

5.0

• collection of sci-fi short stories musing on humanity, aliens, Otherness, evolution, and transhumanism
• first story in the collection is a bit of a tired sci-fi premise and doesn't go far beyond it, but the rest -- while resting on some familiar premises and concepts -- all turn what you expect onto its head, or at least shift your perspective
• standout stories in the collection:
  • the titular story "on the origin of other species" (and its followup story) are outstanding. in a future earth long after humanity has died out and been forgotten, a robot civilization rules the world while a lone robot researcher attempts to prove the existence of life, sentiency and "humanity" outside their society's preconceived norms, setting off an explosive chain of events.
  • "stars shine in earth's sky" is a reflection on disability, normativity and alienation. written as a letter from an older sister to her younger brother, it's filled with so much tenderness & hope & humanity it aches

mar's review

reflective medium-paced

5.0

From the Afterword by Sunyoung Park:
Overcoming human form, in Kim's world, is not quite a way of transcending our limits, as is often the case in superhero narratives, but rather a desperate attempt to survive by the marginalized and the vulnerable.

this is genuinely one of the best short story collections i've ever read, and i do not say that lightly. 
evolution and devolution, themes of marginality and struggle for survival (even in the face of the unforgiving passing of time and impermanence of life), a boundless creativity in exploring alternate scientific realities that i've only seen rivalled in the works of Ted Chiang, the familiar made alien and the alien made familiar so thoroughly it makes you question the subjectivity of not only your lived experience, but also of the reality humans take for granted... oh i fear this book will live in my mind forever

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Slavery

hermitix's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

storyonlystory's review

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

naysh's review

4.0

The titular "On the Origin of Species" story is excellent. The rest of the stories vary in quality.

Throughout though, there's a reckless creativity in how Kim Bo-young explores ideas. She is very much operating in her own space, but her work feels like it combines the love of science as a process from Cixin Liu (in "Mountain") and Greg Egan (in "Scale" or "Glory") with Ted Chiang's exploration of alternate scientific realities (in "Hell is the Absence of God" or "Omphalos"), but pushed towards the direction of magical realism, with metaphors being made real to absurd limits.

bentohbox's review

5.0

This is, without exaggeration, quite possibly the best book I have ever read. The literary style, the stories, the crafting of narratives, the vivid imagery; it's all so artful, so introspective, and left me sitting in awe after every story, processing what I had just read over and over in my mind. The questions of humanness, of what humanity really is, of what the future holds and what the past held, and who we are eminate from every story in diverse but equally influential ways. It is, quite simply, the most beautiful and artful book I've ever read.

If you enjoy authors like Ted Chiang, you will certainly enjoy this book. I also dare say that I loved this even more than Exhalation, and I didn't think that was ever possible.

Just read it. There are not enough stars to give, so do yourself a favor and read it.

hdubois's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What Kim is most interested in exploring is what we don’t know. Her stories are frequently referring to the things we lack an understanding of. From the robots in On the Origin of Species not understanding the humans that preceded them, to the dragons in The Last Wolves not understanding their pet humans’ artwork. We can’t know what we don’t know, and that concept will forever drive science fiction and fantasy. We always strive to discover and learn more, and these two genres allow for that feeling of newness more than anything else. But what makes Kim’s stories so fascinating is that she’s flipping the feeling of discovery around to re-examine how fascinating, and ultimately wonderful, the things that humanity does are. Other species don’t understand our sighs, our desires, our art, but we do, and going on a journey with others to discover our humanity is fascinating.

Not every story of Kim’s is a home run, but her concepts are always worthy of exploration. The title story and its follow-up were my favorites, with the opening story, Scriptures, following closely behind. There’s a great number of excellent twists and turns along the ways of these short stories, and while the characters all feel a bit too much like vehicles for a concept, rather than true characters, the plot and dialogue tend to carry things well enough that you can skirt right past that issue without much trouble.

Kim is a very strong writer, and I would happily return to her work again.

ulyazmh's review

5.0

Thought provoking and brilliant writing! I love how the author infused societal norms and abstract ideas (humanity, perspective, etc) into a collection of science fiction stories. The three-page-introduction set my bar high, yet it didn’t disappoint. Some stories took me longer to fully grasp their meaning but I’m glad I read it!