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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
I think the movie (which I loved) just ruined it for me. There's also way too much internal monologue vs actual dialogue and plot movement, so it feels extra slog-y. It's a good book, I just can't see myself trying to power through it enjoyably.
This book was interesting, but I often found myself lost in Carl's tangents. I enjoyed the bulk of the information and it is based on an interesting dichotomy of science and religion. Definitely a one time read, but I'm glad I read it.
Contact is Carl Sagan's ode to the human species. Encapsulating all our flaws, our little idiosyncracies, and our beauty in its pages, Contact manages to soar past even the furthest reaches of the galaxy explored by Ellie Arroway and the rest of the crew of the Machine. A telling passage from the story comes as Ellie speaks to an alien in the guise of her father (kinda) on the beach of an alien world/space station meant to look like Earth, and says ..."Lovingkindness (I like that word)...". Meant to be dialogue, it reads, to me, more like an admission from Sagan himself appreciating the little things our world. In even the grandest most unimaginable scenarios, time should be taken to appreciate loving yourself and those around you, and to remember we are all people. I feel I have taken a journey just as transformative through the pages of this novel as that by Dr. Arroway through the fabric of spacetime, and I am a better person for it.
Great book! The last 4 pages almost ruined it for me.
Still great book, the ideas and writing are top notch. Great main characters, Ellie Arroway is that girl that can't possibly exist in real life, but she is such a great female protagonist.
Spoiler
Cmon, she has to be the daughter of the physicist and not the hardware store owner. So, Sagan is a non-violent eugenicist at worst or an IQ heritability materialist. Academics will never change...Still great book, the ideas and writing are top notch. Great main characters, Ellie Arroway is that girl that can't possibly exist in real life, but she is such a great female protagonist.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
got good at the end, but definitely the slower book I've read this year
This review contains spoilers.
Contact is a rather fascinating read. Having seen the movie first, I compared the book endlessly to the movie as I read through it. I will address some of those changes shortly, but I think that every change in the movie made for a tighter and more cohesive and thematic story. The book is a bit rough around the edges. Sagan loves to take tangents into cosmology, history, and sociology, and has no problem with the story grinding to a halt in the process. I found the characterization a bit weak too - there is a LOT more "telling" than showing here. As soon as a new character is introduced, Sagan will stop and just tell us their back story and what they're like. And in many cases, that character will feature in a scene or two and disappear again.
That said, the premise is phenomenal. I love the unfolding of the message being received, and the multiple layers of decoding it requires. The instructions to build a mysterious alien machine is an irresistible mystery. The aliens are also very well realized. In terms of ideas alone, Contact delivers well, and at least the character of Ellie Arroway is very nicely fleshed out with a definable arc.
After finishing this book (just a couple hours ago), I'm most consumed with thoughts of the themes it was trying to examine. Science vs religion is certainly a big one. And where the film left this ambiguous, the book is quite specific. Ellie goes from a religion-hating skeptic, with no way to see how to reconcile science with religion, to seeing undeniable proof of God in the digits of Pi. I believe Contact is addressing a large number of religious people around the world who want to reconcile their faith with scientific truth. The existence of Aliens would shake up the claim that the Universe was created just for us, just like Evolution shakes up a lot of biblical beliefs. Contact lays out a way to see God in the physical laws of the universe, and to feel awe and religious wonder in science. I don't know Sagan's views on religion but at the very least I think he wanted to bridge the gap between religious people and science in a way that helps them feel the wonder and majesty of the Universe. I think that might speak to a lot of people.
The book touches on more themes like the nature of immortality, the nature of "awe", and the coming-together of the planet in the face of external pressures. All were well-explored, sometimes even to the detriment of the story itself.
The movie condensed or removed many characters. the science advisor Ellie has a relationship with is fully condensed into Palmer Joss, which provides a wonderful clash for Ellie's beliefs in the movie as she has a relationship with a preacher. The book has 5 people go into the alien capsule - in the movie, it is only Ellie herself. This change is far more interesting - the other 4 people aren't necessary to the story, and making it Ellie alone makes it more personal of an experience. It also strains credulity to hand-wave away 5 independent accounts of the alien events, but waving away a single account is easier and more perilous for Ellie. The World Message Consortium and the Soviets building a machine was also dropped. Perhaps not for the best, as this is an important theme of cooperation, but understandable in the interests of time. The background and stories about Ellie's parents and their relationship to her was also mostly missing, which I agree don't add much and just muddy the waters. The movie seemed to hone in on the most interesting dynamics and relationships while discarding or condensing appropriately. A rare case where the film is superior to the novel. And I think you could get enough from the movie to make the book unnecessary.
All in all, Sagan is a wonderful science writer and communicator. His first and only novel is certainly not bad, and contains a lot of wonderful ideas, mysteries, and revelations. But it's also overlong in parts, detours too much from the story, and tells us things directly that would be better shown. I'm so glad we got a quality screenwriter and director to further refine that story into a wonderful movie.
Contact is a rather fascinating read. Having seen the movie first, I compared the book endlessly to the movie as I read through it. I will address some of those changes shortly, but I think that every change in the movie made for a tighter and more cohesive and thematic story. The book is a bit rough around the edges. Sagan loves to take tangents into cosmology, history, and sociology, and has no problem with the story grinding to a halt in the process. I found the characterization a bit weak too - there is a LOT more "telling" than showing here. As soon as a new character is introduced, Sagan will stop and just tell us their back story and what they're like. And in many cases, that character will feature in a scene or two and disappear again.
That said, the premise is phenomenal. I love the unfolding of the message being received, and the multiple layers of decoding it requires. The instructions to build a mysterious alien machine is an irresistible mystery. The aliens are also very well realized. In terms of ideas alone, Contact delivers well, and at least the character of Ellie Arroway is very nicely fleshed out with a definable arc.
After finishing this book (just a couple hours ago), I'm most consumed with thoughts of the themes it was trying to examine. Science vs religion is certainly a big one. And where the film left this ambiguous, the book is quite specific. Ellie goes from a religion-hating skeptic, with no way to see how to reconcile science with religion, to seeing undeniable proof of God in the digits of Pi. I believe Contact is addressing a large number of religious people around the world who want to reconcile their faith with scientific truth. The existence of Aliens would shake up the claim that the Universe was created just for us, just like Evolution shakes up a lot of biblical beliefs. Contact lays out a way to see God in the physical laws of the universe, and to feel awe and religious wonder in science. I don't know Sagan's views on religion but at the very least I think he wanted to bridge the gap between religious people and science in a way that helps them feel the wonder and majesty of the Universe. I think that might speak to a lot of people.
The book touches on more themes like the nature of immortality, the nature of "awe", and the coming-together of the planet in the face of external pressures. All were well-explored, sometimes even to the detriment of the story itself.
The movie condensed or removed many characters. the science advisor Ellie has a relationship with is fully condensed into Palmer Joss, which provides a wonderful clash for Ellie's beliefs in the movie as she has a relationship with a preacher. The book has 5 people go into the alien capsule - in the movie, it is only Ellie herself. This change is far more interesting - the other 4 people aren't necessary to the story, and making it Ellie alone makes it more personal of an experience. It also strains credulity to hand-wave away 5 independent accounts of the alien events, but waving away a single account is easier and more perilous for Ellie. The World Message Consortium and the Soviets building a machine was also dropped. Perhaps not for the best, as this is an important theme of cooperation, but understandable in the interests of time. The background and stories about Ellie's parents and their relationship to her was also mostly missing, which I agree don't add much and just muddy the waters. The movie seemed to hone in on the most interesting dynamics and relationships while discarding or condensing appropriately. A rare case where the film is superior to the novel. And I think you could get enough from the movie to make the book unnecessary.
All in all, Sagan is a wonderful science writer and communicator. His first and only novel is certainly not bad, and contains a lot of wonderful ideas, mysteries, and revelations. But it's also overlong in parts, detours too much from the story, and tells us things directly that would be better shown. I'm so glad we got a quality screenwriter and director to further refine that story into a wonderful movie.
