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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Wonderful story. Sagan's had a rich, beautiful imagination that made a fantastic tale quite realistic.
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Grief, Death of parent
Chosen for discussion by Midtown Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Club on Jun 23, 2024.
One might expect Sagan to write a dry story, but his characters seem well-developed. One might expect him to write a heavily scientific story, full of skepticism, but the central theme of this book is spiritual. Even with the evangelical character, Sagan is granting benefit of doubt - he actually believes what he's preaching. More benefit than I would give. In fact, Sagan underplays the fanatic. In my experience, they are the most close-minded bunch.
Sagan's optimism also displays itself in the story. The world becoming more peaceful after learning that there is intelligent life elsewhere? More likely, we'd tear ourselves apart. Then again, he didn't live to see Trump.
I found the debate over whether to build the machine amusing. I'm fairly sure that the entire message would show up on Wikileaks. It would be a matter of which billionaire did it first. Again, Sagan wrote this prior to today's Internet and today's billionaires.
I do wish that we could have had AdNix. Would have made such a difference in reigning in capitalism.
The ending is where we really see Sagan's spiritual side. When I first read it, I was also much younger, and more open to such things. "The creators of the universe left us messages" felt good then, but today it feels like a literary cop-out. It might even reinforce the idea that we live in a simulation, if written today. We even see the union of science and religion, as Ellie and the evangelist come close to hooking up.
I'm still not sure what possible difference it makes that Ellie's step-father was her bio father? He was a real jerk, and Ellie had good reason to hate him apart from the fact that he was not the lost Dad.
Overall, I'd have given this five stars in the early 90s. Today, only three.
One might expect Sagan to write a dry story, but his characters seem well-developed. One might expect him to write a heavily scientific story, full of skepticism, but the central theme of this book is spiritual. Even with the evangelical character, Sagan is granting benefit of doubt - he actually believes what he's preaching. More benefit than I would give. In fact, Sagan underplays the fanatic. In my experience, they are the most close-minded bunch.
Sagan's optimism also displays itself in the story. The world becoming more peaceful after learning that there is intelligent life elsewhere? More likely, we'd tear ourselves apart. Then again, he didn't live to see Trump.
I found the debate over whether to build the machine amusing. I'm fairly sure that the entire message would show up on Wikileaks. It would be a matter of which billionaire did it first. Again, Sagan wrote this prior to today's Internet and today's billionaires.
I do wish that we could have had AdNix. Would have made such a difference in reigning in capitalism.
The ending is where we really see Sagan's spiritual side. When I first read it, I was also much younger, and more open to such things. "The creators of the universe left us messages" felt good then, but today it feels like a literary cop-out. It might even reinforce the idea that we live in a simulation, if written today. We even see the union of science and religion, as Ellie and the evangelist come close to hooking up.
I'm still not sure what possible difference it makes that Ellie's step-father was her bio father? He was a real jerk, and Ellie had good reason to hate him apart from the fact that he was not the lost Dad.
Overall, I'd have given this five stars in the early 90s. Today, only three.
Love the man but I don't know how he managed to make aliens boring
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I mostly picked this book up because I saw the movie years ago and found it fairly entertaining, plus I had heard that Carl Sagan books were accessible for those of us who aren't science geniuses. That is totally true. Not only is the plot engaging and the characters interesting, but you almost feel smarter finishing the book. The plot is basically the same as the movie, but the characters are richer, the plot not quite as sinister. I tried imagining the movie at certain points and was happy to find more detail in my imagination than Hollywood could provide.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
The book is, of course, better than the movie. It's a very detailed projection of what could happen if SETI ever actually found evidence of intelligent life out there in the universe and really delves into the philosophical, societal, and economic consequences of it. I felt like the main character was heavily influenced by Carl Sagan's experiences as a dedicated scientist and I enjoyed the view of a life unlike my own (childhood interests, career path leading to lonely scientist). The strongest points of the book were the times when the main character was exploring her own feelings about life.
I found a quote I really like too: "If the one-year-old, the five-year-old, the twelve-year-old, and the twenty-year-old all find compatible personalities in the beloved, there is a real chance to keep all of these sub-personas happy. Love ends their long loneliness."
However, the plot was very slow with the details sometimes cumbersome. I usually lost interest in the political squabbles and policy talk but I can understand why those details were necessary to track the status of the world. I had difficulty continuing at times but pushed on because I knew this was one of those classics that must be read.
It's not one of my favorites but I'm glad I can finally check it off my list.
I found a quote I really like too: "If the one-year-old, the five-year-old, the twelve-year-old, and the twenty-year-old all find compatible personalities in the beloved, there is a real chance to keep all of these sub-personas happy. Love ends their long loneliness."
However, the plot was very slow with the details sometimes cumbersome. I usually lost interest in the political squabbles and policy talk but I can understand why those details were necessary to track the status of the world. I had difficulty continuing at times but pushed on because I knew this was one of those classics that must be read.
It's not one of my favorites but I'm glad I can finally check it off my list.
Beautiful, moving, and eye opening. No matter how many times I read this this book never ceases to surprise me and each new time I read it I’m able to relate to its content and characters in new ways. But it’s so much than simply the content of the book; the mere fact that this copy was the same one I held in my hands the first time I read it when I was just eight years old makes me feel close to all of the layers and thoughts of my last self, and I feel I know myself a little better in the process.
The question of existence and the origin of the universe is one that will always accompany me no matter how old I get or how much I read and learn; in fact, the more I know the more I wonder and I’m glad that I have this book as a beautiful reminder of how much this topic fascinates me.
The question of existence and the origin of the universe is one that will always accompany me no matter how old I get or how much I read and learn; in fact, the more I know the more I wonder and I’m glad that I have this book as a beautiful reminder of how much this topic fascinates me.
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to read this because I remember loving the film adaptation as a kid and watching it multiple times with my mom who was a huge Jodie Foster fan, and I remember seeing Interstellar for the first time and thinking that it evoked a similar feeling in me that Contact had, so naturally I was excited to get into this. I would say I did like it for the most part. Sagan's writing is thoughtful, although I did struggle with it quite a bit. I loved how every "phase" of the story gave me something to think about: from the reception of the Message, the aftermath of the trip to Vega, to Ellie's personal life. Overall, I think it takes a smarter person than I am to appreciate this novel so I'll be reading some analyses of this book later on.