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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Here's the problem I found with Beggars in Spain: while the ideas and philosophy and ethics are deep, everything else, from the characters and plot to the writing itself, is shallow. There is no meat to the characters at all, which is painfully evident in Leshia as we see the world through her eyes. There is nobody to really root for, and the narrative is so detached from the events that I didn't find myself caring for anything at all.
Which is a shame, because there is some really interesting philosophy in this.
Also, it's ridiculously obvious that the cover is an altered picture of Angelina Jolie.
Which is a shame, because there is some really interesting philosophy in this.
Also, it's ridiculously obvious that the cover is an altered picture of Angelina Jolie.
I love the initial concept, but by the end of the story the execution is muddled. I enjoyed it, but was disappointed by the conclusion.
Kress, Nancy. Beggars in Spain. Sleepless No. 1. Morrow, 1993.
This well-written novel began as a 1991 novella that that won a Hugo Award. Kress expanded it to a full-length novel that was itself nominated for a Hugo. In the mid-1990s, she expanded it again into a trilogy. The science hook has to do with the creation of a new privileged class by parents who buy various kinds of genetic enhancements for their embryos, the most important of which is the ability to go without sleep—a modification that has the added benefit of extended lifespan. These designer children feel isolated and struggle to define their sense of community and their duty to the unenhanced population, represented by the trope of “beggars in Spain.” Thoughtful and worth a read.
This well-written novel began as a 1991 novella that that won a Hugo Award. Kress expanded it to a full-length novel that was itself nominated for a Hugo. In the mid-1990s, she expanded it again into a trilogy. The science hook has to do with the creation of a new privileged class by parents who buy various kinds of genetic enhancements for their embryos, the most important of which is the ability to go without sleep—a modification that has the added benefit of extended lifespan. These designer children feel isolated and struggle to define their sense of community and their duty to the unenhanced population, represented by the trope of “beggars in Spain.” Thoughtful and worth a read.
Relectura. Apenas recordaba la trama y me ha gustado mucho. La traducción necesita un repasillo, aunque cuando la leí con diecinueve o veinte años no me di ni cuenta :-)
A very quick read. I really liked it, but it does feel like a novella made into a novel (which it is). Genetically modified subgroup that doesn't need to sleep is ostracized. I don't think I'll move on to the others in the series.
Beggars in Spain was a fun, summertime read; fascinating, well-developed characters, and a plot line that takes on surprising directions. The book deals with the moral dilemmas associated with genetic engineering. In an expensive procedure, genes are manipulated to allow offspring to live without sleep, with an unanticipated benefit of living longer. The extra waking time gives the "sleepless" more time to study and become smarter. This, in turn allows them to design yet more sophisticated genetic engineering, which allows their children to become "super-sleepless", and thus super-intelligent. Everyday people are shut out from this "unfair" competition, so they feel resentful. Some of the sleepless find it necessary to wall themselves up into a sanctuary for self-protection.
The story often reminded me of [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157143422s/662.jpg|817219]; it seemed like a version of Atlas Shrugged on science-fiction steroids! In fact, in the second book of this trilogy ([b:Beggars and Choosers|68334|Beggars and Choosers (Sleepless, #2)|Nancy Kress|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1265486943s/68334.jpg|66235]), there is a fleeting mention of the character John Galt.
The parallels with Ayn Rand's book are not coincidental. In Atlas Shrugged, Rand describes her philosophy of objectivism. In Beggars in Spain, Nancy Kress introduces a character named Yagai who invents a very potent, portable energy source, and whose philosophy (Yagaiism) is related to objectivism.
The story often reminded me of [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157143422s/662.jpg|817219]; it seemed like a version of Atlas Shrugged on science-fiction steroids! In fact, in the second book of this trilogy ([b:Beggars and Choosers|68334|Beggars and Choosers (Sleepless, #2)|Nancy Kress|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1265486943s/68334.jpg|66235]), there is a fleeting mention of the character John Galt.
The parallels with Ayn Rand's book are not coincidental. In Atlas Shrugged, Rand describes her philosophy of objectivism. In Beggars in Spain, Nancy Kress introduces a character named Yagai who invents a very potent, portable energy source, and whose philosophy (Yagaiism) is related to objectivism.
This is a science fiction book that quickly became a hate-read.
Near future science fiction is hard because you do not know what the near future holds. This book was written in 1993 about a future 2008, a future 2051, a future 2075, and a future 2091. The 2008 premise that the story is built on does not work.
In 2008, there is a strident not-very-tall capitalist named Roger Camden who wants a designer baby who is the best and brightest designer baby. His wife who is beautiful and not much else does not seem to want this. She wants a normal child, but she ends up pregnant with twins somehow accidentally. One of the twins is normal, and one of them is the beloved designer baby. Each parent loves one child and hates the other. Roger loves the sleepless child. His wife loves the normal child.
If they are genetically modifying an embryo, how do they get accidental fraternal twins here in the first place? There was some explanation about how selective abortion was not possible in this future 2008. The story is dead because the premise just does not hold up. A lot of the discussions of biology in this book look like biology word salad to me with brain words, enzymes, neurotransmitters, etc.
Anyway, the designer baby is genetically modified for sleeplessness, and humans cannot deal with babies that cry 24/7 so some of these genetically modified babies are mistreated or killed. The only people who can deal are people with enough money to hire nannies and send them to private school. The sleepless children are all better than everyone else, and they are always talking about how much better than everyone else they are. The rest of humanity resents them for being insufferable and starts making corporations that exclude them or disallowing their participation in the Olympics. How does this work? Just because a mind does not get tired does not mean a body does not get tired, but in this future apparently, a body does not get tired either and does not age. There are lists of words all over the place that are meant to be profound. They are not.
Anyway, one of the sleepless decides she is going to go create a colony where all the sleepless can gather their wealth and isolate themselves from the rest of society. She is the child of a Saudi prince and some other person. Her name is Jennifer Fatima Sharifi. The name Jennifer pegs the child as a true child of the 1970s and 1980s in the US. She is always walking around in her abaya having strong opinions. Sometimes she prays. All the characters are flat so we do not know anything so interesting as how Islam plays into her thoughts on equality or anything. Eventually, her compound moves to space because it turns out that humans do not like the idea of super-smart insufferable people building a compound on Earth from which they control the world's economy. The way Sharifi talks about the people who sleep as beggars is rooted in eugenics, but it is not clear if the author judges her for this or not so she goes into space where eventually the sleepless genetically modify some super sleepless and also accidentally create some sleepers through procreation. Anyway, she kills the sleepers immediately because they see them as "beggars" who are not contributing to society. She also kills one of the super sleepless who has an accident and becomes disabled. This book is so boring with all the characters droning on and on about the importance of productivity. I think killing people with disabilities for being a drain on society would not be a thing that is done in books in 2019.
The super sleepers think in strings. Why does magic and brilliance in so many science fiction and fantasy books work as strings? Are these people envious of people who know how to knit or crochet? I will teach you how to knit or crochet if I never have to read about string magic or string thought again.
I wonder if this book is preachy like Ayn Rand books are preachy? I have never read one. I am not sure who won in the battle of individualism versus equality in this book.
Near future science fiction is hard because you do not know what the near future holds. This book was written in 1993 about a future 2008, a future 2051, a future 2075, and a future 2091. The 2008 premise that the story is built on does not work.
In 2008, there is a strident not-very-tall capitalist named Roger Camden who wants a designer baby who is the best and brightest designer baby. His wife who is beautiful and not much else does not seem to want this. She wants a normal child, but she ends up pregnant with twins somehow accidentally. One of the twins is normal, and one of them is the beloved designer baby. Each parent loves one child and hates the other. Roger loves the sleepless child. His wife loves the normal child.
If they are genetically modifying an embryo, how do they get accidental fraternal twins here in the first place? There was some explanation about how selective abortion was not possible in this future 2008. The story is dead because the premise just does not hold up. A lot of the discussions of biology in this book look like biology word salad to me with brain words, enzymes, neurotransmitters, etc.
Anyway, the designer baby is genetically modified for sleeplessness, and humans cannot deal with babies that cry 24/7 so some of these genetically modified babies are mistreated or killed. The only people who can deal are people with enough money to hire nannies and send them to private school. The sleepless children are all better than everyone else, and they are always talking about how much better than everyone else they are. The rest of humanity resents them for being insufferable and starts making corporations that exclude them or disallowing their participation in the Olympics. How does this work? Just because a mind does not get tired does not mean a body does not get tired, but in this future apparently, a body does not get tired either and does not age. There are lists of words all over the place that are meant to be profound. They are not.
Anyway, one of the sleepless decides she is going to go create a colony where all the sleepless can gather their wealth and isolate themselves from the rest of society. She is the child of a Saudi prince and some other person. Her name is Jennifer Fatima Sharifi. The name Jennifer pegs the child as a true child of the 1970s and 1980s in the US. She is always walking around in her abaya having strong opinions. Sometimes she prays. All the characters are flat so we do not know anything so interesting as how Islam plays into her thoughts on equality or anything. Eventually, her compound moves to space because it turns out that humans do not like the idea of super-smart insufferable people building a compound on Earth from which they control the world's economy. The way Sharifi talks about the people who sleep as beggars is rooted in eugenics, but it is not clear if the author judges her for this or not so she goes into space where eventually the sleepless genetically modify some super sleepless and also accidentally create some sleepers through procreation. Anyway, she kills the sleepers immediately because they see them as "beggars" who are not contributing to society. She also kills one of the super sleepless who has an accident and becomes disabled. This book is so boring with all the characters droning on and on about the importance of productivity. I think killing people with disabilities for being a drain on society would not be a thing that is done in books in 2019.
The super sleepers think in strings. Why does magic and brilliance in so many science fiction and fantasy books work as strings? Are these people envious of people who know how to knit or crochet? I will teach you how to knit or crochet if I never have to read about string magic or string thought again.
I wonder if this book is preachy like Ayn Rand books are preachy? I have never read one. I am not sure who won in the battle of individualism versus equality in this book.
Beggars in Spain is weirdly fast-paced yet packed with a lot of detail. I wanted to know what would happen next. I like the details, the setting, each character has defined traits and personality. It touches on incest and underage (the girls mostly) relationships which is weird of you think about it... but it was good and compelling overall. There are some parallels between the main antagonist and what is going on today....
Too scientific for me maybe but pretty good. Except for the end. Like the book end exactly where it was getting interesting ... It's frustrating.