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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I have mixed feelings about this one (3.5 but I'm rounding up). It's in the tradition of scifi that functions as much as an argument or examination of a political philosophy as it does a story. The idea is that some people are genetically modified to not need sleep and this gives them advantages over others.
In the preface she says, "I wanted to explore the long-range economic effects of creating a favored class of people in a United States becoming increasingly polarized between rich and poor. I also wanted to work out my reactions to other writers' philosophies: to Ayn Rand's belief that no human being owes anything to any other being except what is agreed to in a voluntary contract. To Ursula Le Guin's belief, expressed in the wonderful novel The Dispossessed, that humankind could live without government if it lived without personal property. I didn't believe Rand or Le Guin, but what did I believe? Like many greater authors, I wrote to find out."
Like her, I don't agree with either Rand's or Le Guin's beliefs as stated above (nor am I sure those summaries are entirely accurate, though I have read The Dispossessed and agree that it's wonderful). She tries to account for what an individual owes themself and what they owe their community. Sometimes is seems that she's just trying to split the difference between the two views she said she disagrees with by creating twin societies built on the nightmares of libertarians and communists. These societies are saved from being mere caricature, though, by the sense that Kress is genuinely wrestling with the implications of giving too much weight to the individual or to the collective. It's a thought provoking novel and I'm glad I read it even if I'm not entirely convinced by her solution.
In the preface she says, "I wanted to explore the long-range economic effects of creating a favored class of people in a United States becoming increasingly polarized between rich and poor. I also wanted to work out my reactions to other writers' philosophies: to Ayn Rand's belief that no human being owes anything to any other being except what is agreed to in a voluntary contract. To Ursula Le Guin's belief, expressed in the wonderful novel The Dispossessed, that humankind could live without government if it lived without personal property. I didn't believe Rand or Le Guin, but what did I believe? Like many greater authors, I wrote to find out."
Like her, I don't agree with either Rand's or Le Guin's beliefs as stated above (nor am I sure those summaries are entirely accurate, though I have read The Dispossessed and agree that it's wonderful). She tries to account for what an individual owes themself and what they owe their community. Sometimes is seems that she's just trying to split the difference between the two views she said she disagrees with by creating twin societies built on the nightmares of libertarians and communists. These societies are saved from being mere caricature, though, by the sense that Kress is genuinely wrestling with the implications of giving too much weight to the individual or to the collective. It's a thought provoking novel and I'm glad I read it even if I'm not entirely convinced by her solution.
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It would be a solid 5/5 if the villains were better. Kress spent too much time marinating on Ayn Rand 'cause Sharifi is one of the only characters outside of The Fountainhead who manages to be this one dimensionally evil in every respect.
In this story the definition of community is constantly questioned. Are we a community because we are humans? Then we can spare money for the beggar. He or she is apart of the community. Are we a community because we contribute our time and skills to grow and continue the economy? Then the beggar isn't part of "our" community. He or she is part of the beggar community. They will support themselves by begging and offering nothing. Lastly, are we a community because we have the same goals and ideas in life? Those who think different ideas are the enemy will try to strike them down at every turn. Those who think different ideas makes a community well-rounded will live side by side their neighbors regardless of point of view. What all these communities share is self-preservation. Every individual wants to keep going with whatever means the can get. This story shows what happens when people with different ideas of community clash.
This book started up a little slow for my taste but I am so happy that I stayed with it. The social commentary is deep yet subtle and leads you to checking your own biases based on silly social constructs. The character development is strong and characters are fluid. A great young adult sci-fi read.
Maybe I was expecting too much but this was just a bit meh. Never seemed to coalesce into anything other than thought problems. Also, why was it that the only bit of clothing ever described was the antagonist's abaya? And it wasn't even that the Muslim faith meant anything to the character, but was this weird bit of appropriation.
Regardless, glad I read it. Been on the list for a while.
Regardless, glad I read it. Been on the list for a while.
This novel extrapolates the 1991 Hugo and Award winning novella with the same name - in fact, the novella is the first of four parts, set in the USA of 2010. The novel continues with the second part titled "Sanctuary" in 2051, the third part "Dreamer" in 2075 and the fourth part "Beggar" in 2091.
The premise is easy: Pre-natal genetics modify humans to look beautiful, be smart and most important eliminate the need for sleep. These "Sleepless" minority needs less place (no more beds!) and they are a third more productive time (no sleep, no tiredness!) and thus they are elite achievers.
A second important innovation is they ubiquituous availabilty of cost-free "Y"-energy (it isn't explained but could be thought of local fusion generators).
Philosophy plays an important role as well in the form of "Yagaiism" - only what a person can achieve through her own efforts does count, the weak and unproductive "Beggars in Spain" are not owed anything. This moral code is based on Ayn Rand's Objectivism. It contrasts [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg]'s [b:The Dispossessed|13651|The Dispossessed|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1353467455s/13651.jpg|2684122]: All men are not created equal!
I found the novella to be a page-turner - characters and story-flow were great - especially the coming-of-age story-contrast of the sleepless vs. sleeping sisters were awesome. Sometimes, the philosophical discussions were a little bit preachy and lengthy but it was ok for me that Kress wants to transport a message.
It is interesting, how this two decades old story playing in our current time feels like science fiction and dated at the same time: Nowadays we have no datanet but WWW and it isn't safe but NSAed. Well, I had a web server installed in 1990 but couldn't dream the revolutionizing force of twitter, then :)
Energy nowadays is more expensive than ever, Y-energy far away. Communication is over mobile phones. And we don't have the knowledge to manipulate hair or eye-color genetically.
The rest of the novel starts from these basics. It looses novella's sharp and stringent clarity a little bit but brings in great new ideas and situations that I find it very worth reading.
The sleepless didn't manage to rule the earth but are a minority. The majority of humanity doesn't invest into sleeplessness anymore. There is lots of resentment and hatred, even segregation. They build an orbital station and work towards independence from the U.S. In the end, they bring up additional genetic modifications which lead to hyperintelligent "Super-Sleepless" children.
The novella is worth 5 stars, the rest of the novel was not as excellent but I'll give it 4 stars.
The premise is easy: Pre-natal genetics modify humans to look beautiful, be smart and most important eliminate the need for sleep. These "Sleepless" minority needs less place (no more beds!) and they are a third more productive time (no sleep, no tiredness!) and thus they are elite achievers.
A second important innovation is they ubiquituous availabilty of cost-free "Y"-energy (it isn't explained but could be thought of local fusion generators).
Philosophy plays an important role as well in the form of "Yagaiism" - only what a person can achieve through her own efforts does count, the weak and unproductive "Beggars in Spain" are not owed anything. This moral code is based on Ayn Rand's Objectivism. It contrasts [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg]'s [b:The Dispossessed|13651|The Dispossessed|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1353467455s/13651.jpg|2684122]: All men are not created equal!
I found the novella to be a page-turner - characters and story-flow were great - especially the coming-of-age story-contrast of the sleepless vs. sleeping sisters were awesome. Sometimes, the philosophical discussions were a little bit preachy and lengthy but it was ok for me that Kress wants to transport a message.
It is interesting, how this two decades old story playing in our current time feels like science fiction and dated at the same time: Nowadays we have no datanet but WWW and it isn't safe but NSAed. Well, I had a web server installed in 1990 but couldn't dream the revolutionizing force of twitter, then :)
Energy nowadays is more expensive than ever, Y-energy far away. Communication is over mobile phones. And we don't have the knowledge to manipulate hair or eye-color genetically.
The rest of the novel starts from these basics. It looses novella's sharp and stringent clarity a little bit but brings in great new ideas and situations that I find it very worth reading.
The sleepless didn't manage to rule the earth but are a minority. The majority of humanity doesn't invest into sleeplessness anymore. There is lots of resentment and hatred, even segregation. They build an orbital station and work towards independence from the U.S. In the end, they bring up additional genetic modifications which lead to hyperintelligent "Super-Sleepless" children.
The novella is worth 5 stars, the rest of the novel was not as excellent but I'll give it 4 stars.
This novella is the first part of the novel [b:Beggars in Spain|68333|Beggars in Spain (Sleepless, #1)|Nancy Kress|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388462799s/68333.jpg|1813234]. See my review there.
The theme (some humans wind up with genetics that make them vastly superior to others) and the way it drives the plot (ordinary humans freak out and try to harm the mutants) are common to the point of cliché these days. But the book is well written and I liked some of the ways this story dealt with the theme and some of the other ideas such as a new economic theory resulting from the development of really cheap energy. Anyway, it kept me listening intently.
Nitpickers will find plenty of fodder. (I'll just say that I thought the level of medical technology wasn't entirely consistent...if they can make designer babies 50 years from now, they will probably also be able to use gene therapy or something similar to cure things like heart disease, which kills one of the main characters.) The nits didn't detract from the story for me.
Nitpickers will find plenty of fodder. (I'll just say that I thought the level of medical technology wasn't entirely consistent...if they can make designer babies 50 years from now, they will probably also be able to use gene therapy or something similar to cure things like heart disease, which kills one of the main characters.) The nits didn't detract from the story for me.