Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - The Calculating Stars

Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

29 reviews

oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense 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? Yes

3.5

Enjoyable and easy to read story about a human "computer," married to the lead engineer of a space agency who both live through a meteorite hit that devastated much of the eastern seaboard of the United States. Elma, the main character, has experience flying after serving as a WASP in WWII and wants to be taken seriously as a potential astronaut when she helps discover that earthlings are going to have to start colonizing space sooner rather than later due to the catastrophic environmental effects from the meteorite.

This book had enough interest to hold my attention, though I enjoyed the pace at the beginning of the book (directly before & after the meteorite hit) more than the latter half which sometimes feels like it's not sure where it's going or headed. The pacing isn't always spot on, either - some plot points seem to linger for a long time without strong reason and then other thing things I assumed would take much longer to happen seem to pass in the blink of an eye. The ending of the book was a bit weird to me - it feels like its hurtling towards the conclusion in a rush when I would have liked for the author to spend more time getting there, but it wasn't a huge deal.

This book attempts to broach a lot of difficult topics - feminism and sexism in the 1950's, grief and loss after a catastrophic event, mental health/depression/anxiety, anti-semitism, and homophobia. I am glad that the author includes and grapples with all these issues as it feels very authentic to the timeframe that this story is taking place. I especially am grateful for the author's recognition of mental health and the part that mental health plays in our personal and professional lives (especially for women - who are seen as "overly emotional" or "hysterical" to start with). I thought the way that this topic was raised and examined was fairly true to historical context and added a good layer of depth to the story. I do think that the plot points and scenes that had to do with the character grappling with her experience as a white woman were sometimes glossed over or not done with the sort of cultural sensitivity that I would have expected for a book published this recently. Again, I'm glad the topic is raised but I think I expected a bit more depth.

Content Warnings