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What happens if we genetically design our kids to not need sleep and it gives them a pretty good advantage over "sleepers". On the surface of things - that's what this book is about.
Below the surface it seems to be a kind of response to or exploration of objectivism, the same way The Dispossesed was an exploration of a socialist utopia. It's kind of neat, but for me it stumbled in some of the sleep science and in the way relatively smart people had trouble arguing against the self-centered philosophy of several of the characters.
TLDR: It's never a good sign when you find yourself thinking about Ayn Rand nearly every time you turn a page.
REVIEW
Beggars in Spain tries to answer a theoretical question: what would happen if some of us didn't need sleep? An interesting idea, surely, but it's not really what the book is about. Instead, it's a limited and myopic view of how the world MIGHT work if there was a minority elite (the Sleepless). Sadly, it possesses little to no connection to real world economies or politics. But for what it lacks, it has strawmen 1%er arguments in spades... so I suppose it does have some relation to our world if you consider everything from a wealthy, educated minority's viewpoint about how everyone else is just lazy.
Except, I'm not really sure that what it is. When I speak about this book, I often find myself asking: Is it a commentary on the stupidity of elitist points of view? Or is it espousing dangerously toxic opinions?
The Sleepless believe that they got to where they are purely on their own merit so everyone else deserves their poverty and lack of options parallels some very real political viewpoints that hobble us today. It is not lost on me that the majority of Sleepless come from wealthy families that could afford the genetic modification for their children. It is also not lost on me that there is one character who is a Sleeper and is determined to be as successful as the privileged Sleepless, but is unable to until he gets a genetic modification himself.
So is it commentary or critique? I don't know, and it doesn't really affect my opinion overall.
For me, the whole book honestly reads like objectivist nonsense about how the talented/intelligent elite are persecuted by the unwashed masses who cry about unfairness. Add to that absolutely flat characters and an unbelievable tract for political futurism, I'd have to say this book is a hard pass, prestigious awards notwithstanding.
REVIEW
Beggars in Spain tries to answer a theoretical question: what would happen if some of us didn't need sleep? An interesting idea, surely, but it's not really what the book is about. Instead, it's a limited and myopic view of how the world MIGHT work if there was a minority elite (the Sleepless). Sadly, it possesses little to no connection to real world economies or politics. But for what it lacks, it has strawmen 1%er arguments in spades... so I suppose it does have some relation to our world if you consider everything from a wealthy, educated minority's viewpoint about how everyone else is just lazy.
Except, I'm not really sure that what it is. When I speak about this book, I often find myself asking: Is it a commentary on the stupidity of elitist points of view? Or is it espousing dangerously toxic opinions?
The Sleepless believe that they got to where they are purely on their own merit so everyone else deserves their poverty and lack of options parallels some very real political viewpoints that hobble us today. It is not lost on me that the majority of Sleepless come from wealthy families that could afford the genetic modification for their children. It is also not lost on me that there is one character who is a Sleeper and is determined to be as successful as the privileged Sleepless, but is unable to until he gets a genetic modification himself.
So is it commentary or critique? I don't know, and it doesn't really affect my opinion overall.
For me, the whole book honestly reads like objectivist nonsense about how the talented/intelligent elite are persecuted by the unwashed masses who cry about unfairness. Add to that absolutely flat characters and an unbelievable tract for political futurism, I'd have to say this book is a hard pass, prestigious awards notwithstanding.
Dans cette très longue nouvelle, ou ce très court roman, on suit la jeunesse et une partie de la vie de Leisha Camden, une fille éprouvette conçue "sur plans", c'est-à-dire avec des demandes particulières. Une de ces demandes est, évidement, qu'elle ne dorme pas. Du tout. Jamais. Ou, comme le dit à peu près la quatrième de couverture "Qu'est-ce que vous feriez de plus si vous ne dormiez pas ?".
Le récit est intéressant pour plusieurs raisons.
Il y a d'abord un postulat transhumaniste intéressant. Parce que bon, le sommeil, comme résidu évolutionnaire, ça se pose là. Et celui-ci sera bien exploré durant la croissance de Leisha, mais aussi après pour ses études.
Il y a également un postulat sociétal : le contrat comme base de la vie en société. Ca m'a rappelé certains excès à la Ayn Rand. Mais ça laisse aussi la place à quelques beaux moments.
Il y a enfin un postulat purement social, avec l'opposition entre les dormeurs et les non-dormeurs, et le haine de l'autre qui en découle.
Tout ça est assez chouette, et particulièrement renforcé par l'humanité que met l'auteure dans ses personnages. Leisha est exemplaire avec son idéalisme, son intelligence et sa volonté de changer le monde. Mais sa soeur jumelle, Alice, est également un beau personnage en lutte, terrien, réaliste, et parfaitement complémentaire.
Avec tout ça, on a un beau récit, accompagné qui plus est d'une bonne interview de l'auteure. Mais je n'ai pas été totalement séduit. Et le pire, c'est que je ne sais pas trop pourquoi.
Le récit est intéressant pour plusieurs raisons.
Il y a d'abord un postulat transhumaniste intéressant. Parce que bon, le sommeil, comme résidu évolutionnaire, ça se pose là. Et celui-ci sera bien exploré durant la croissance de Leisha, mais aussi après pour ses études.
Il y a également un postulat sociétal : le contrat comme base de la vie en société. Ca m'a rappelé certains excès à la Ayn Rand. Mais ça laisse aussi la place à quelques beaux moments.
Il y a enfin un postulat purement social, avec l'opposition entre les dormeurs et les non-dormeurs, et le haine de l'autre qui en découle.
Tout ça est assez chouette, et particulièrement renforcé par l'humanité que met l'auteure dans ses personnages. Leisha est exemplaire avec son idéalisme, son intelligence et sa volonté de changer le monde. Mais sa soeur jumelle, Alice, est également un beau personnage en lutte, terrien, réaliste, et parfaitement complémentaire.
Avec tout ça, on a un beau récit, accompagné qui plus est d'une bonne interview de l'auteure. Mais je n'ai pas été totalement séduit. Et le pire, c'est que je ne sais pas trop pourquoi.
This book is a tour de force. It covers almost 100 years, and four generations. It's up there with books by Butler and LeGuin in its complex analysis of a changing society and deeply complicated relationships. It's really like multiple books in one, linked together. The first half I could hardly put down. The second half slows down in pace a little, but still kept me hooked it. I think my only complaint about this book is that I wish it addressed ableism and disability a bit more directly. Kress includes characters with vastly different levels of ability and intellect and discusses class. But beyond class and intelligence, only briefly brings in characters with actual disabilities and is a little abstract about where they fit into the social structures the characters live in. But the book does a great job with what it does get into. The characters think deeply about society and change their minds and change their theories again. While the book is philosophical is some ways, it is also very grounded in lively, deep, flawed, interesting characters and an engaging plot. Very thoughtful, very very good book.
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Sci-fi
Recommended Age: 18+
Favorite Quote: "Is it too much to believe that just once the universe has given us something wholly good, wholly a step forward, wholly beneficial? Without hidden penalties?"
What would you do if you could genetically modify your child? Would you get rid of all the genetic predispositions to the diseases that run in your family? Would you change their appearance? Their eye color, hair color, height, weight, build, skin color? Would you make them predisposed to liking classical music, art, literature, outdoors, etc.? Would you give them the ability to not ever need to sleep their whole life? That last question is the driving point of this novel. The novel explores the life and trials of numerous Sleepless (those that have been genetically modified to not need to sleep) through their childhood to their later adult life. It also explores how Sleepers (you and me) deal with these Sleepless. Because the Sleepless have 30% more time to study and work, will they outstay their welcome quickly on Earth when they are chosen for jobs over Sleepers? That's one of the many questions answered in this insightful novel.
This was the third required reading for a book club my husband and I have recently joined and I really enjoyed this novel! The novel was, for the most part, easy to read and the writing quality was amazing. This novel is almost 500 pages long and I read it in a day and a half while working, doing bookstagram, writing other reviews, getting ready to start a readalong in April, etc. The writing in this book just draws you into the story and refuses to let you leave peacefully!
While this book was fantastic, there were some issues I had with it. I loved how the book was paced, but the first time jump left me a bit confused for a time. The plot development of the book was very well thought out and executed, but I had issue with how some of the characters developed. While I loved the majority of the characters, I felt some of the things the author had them do was a bit out of character or just completely left field from the purpose of the book. The character I'm most upset about was Drew Arlen, who seemed to develop lustful feelings for one of the characters out of no where and it had no effect on the story overall except to make me feel creeped out by his character even more. The book also had adult scenes thrown about in the book for what seemed to be shock value. While I don't think any novel shouldn't have sex in it, I do believe that this needs to have a point in the overall story or it's just there for shock value or to make the book some type of romance novel. The book was also hard to read in certain spots when it discussed sciency material. While you might like it and enjoy it, I made B's in science class and I need the dumbed down version instead of the college level theory presented in this novel.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and felt the book made excellent points about prejudice in all of us and how people adapt and change over time. This is a must read in my opinion.
Genre: Sci-fi
Recommended Age: 18+
Favorite Quote: "Is it too much to believe that just once the universe has given us something wholly good, wholly a step forward, wholly beneficial? Without hidden penalties?"
What would you do if you could genetically modify your child? Would you get rid of all the genetic predispositions to the diseases that run in your family? Would you change their appearance? Their eye color, hair color, height, weight, build, skin color? Would you make them predisposed to liking classical music, art, literature, outdoors, etc.? Would you give them the ability to not ever need to sleep their whole life? That last question is the driving point of this novel. The novel explores the life and trials of numerous Sleepless (those that have been genetically modified to not need to sleep) through their childhood to their later adult life. It also explores how Sleepers (you and me) deal with these Sleepless. Because the Sleepless have 30% more time to study and work, will they outstay their welcome quickly on Earth when they are chosen for jobs over Sleepers? That's one of the many questions answered in this insightful novel.
This was the third required reading for a book club my husband and I have recently joined and I really enjoyed this novel! The novel was, for the most part, easy to read and the writing quality was amazing. This novel is almost 500 pages long and I read it in a day and a half while working, doing bookstagram, writing other reviews, getting ready to start a readalong in April, etc. The writing in this book just draws you into the story and refuses to let you leave peacefully!
While this book was fantastic, there were some issues I had with it. I loved how the book was paced, but the first time jump left me a bit confused for a time. The plot development of the book was very well thought out and executed, but I had issue with how some of the characters developed. While I loved the majority of the characters, I felt some of the things the author had them do was a bit out of character or just completely left field from the purpose of the book. The character I'm most upset about was Drew Arlen, who seemed to develop lustful feelings for one of the characters out of no where and it had no effect on the story overall except to make me feel creeped out by his character even more. The book also had adult scenes thrown about in the book for what seemed to be shock value. While I don't think any novel shouldn't have sex in it, I do believe that this needs to have a point in the overall story or it's just there for shock value or to make the book some type of romance novel. The book was also hard to read in certain spots when it discussed sciency material. While you might like it and enjoy it, I made B's in science class and I need the dumbed down version instead of the college level theory presented in this novel.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and felt the book made excellent points about prejudice in all of us and how people adapt and change over time. This is a must read in my opinion.
Beggars in Spain is one of those books that I enjoyed far more for its ideas than the reading experience, much like I still occasionally enjoy reading philosophy texts that I stashed away after college. Kress's choice of point of view creates a distance from the characters, a sort of sterile third-person viewpoint that occasionally shifts to omniscient; perhaps a suitable choice for the topic, but I finished the book without caring much about any of the characters.
What I did enjoy was the broad spectrum of ideas that Kress presents: the alternate failure/triumph of intellectualism and pure reason, a Rand-esque theory of enlightened self-interest (which the main character, Leisha, seems to espouse, regardless of what Kress claims in her forward), socialism vs. capitalism... I think I'd need to read it a few more times to completely grasp all the references. Many reviewers have said that they felt the writer's conclusions were forced on them at the end, but I feel the opposite: the character's conclusions are shown, but I have no real sense of whether those are Kress's conclusions, leaving me free to draw my own.
Above all, I believe Beggars in Spain is about what it means to be human, and the dignity that is conferred to mankind, regardless of intelligence, ability, or contribution to society-- moral equality, as best expressed in the Declaration of Independence (and misinterpreted by Kress's characters): "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
What I did enjoy was the broad spectrum of ideas that Kress presents: the alternate failure/triumph of intellectualism and pure reason, a Rand-esque theory of enlightened self-interest (which the main character, Leisha, seems to espouse, regardless of what Kress claims in her forward), socialism vs. capitalism... I think I'd need to read it a few more times to completely grasp all the references. Many reviewers have said that they felt the writer's conclusions were forced on them at the end, but I feel the opposite: the character's conclusions are shown, but I have no real sense of whether those are Kress's conclusions, leaving me free to draw my own.
Above all, I believe Beggars in Spain is about what it means to be human, and the dignity that is conferred to mankind, regardless of intelligence, ability, or contribution to society-- moral equality, as best expressed in the Declaration of Independence (and misinterpreted by Kress's characters): "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Beggars in Spain is a novel about a group of people who genetically engineered to not need sleep and how society discriminates against them. At least that is what this book is supposed to be about. In reality, it is about a bunch of privileged, whiny, objectivists. Now, I don't need to agree with a book's politics in order to enjoy it. I read Anthem in high school and I remember kind of enjoying it. This book is so boring, and frustrating! And it does a horrible job of promoting Objectivism! I had to actually look on the internet to make sure that that's what Kress was going for because the characters are all so unsympathetic!
The villain is an actual Atheist Socialist Commie Muslim like I've heard so much about. Is this where that came from? Oh, and she's a libertarian too. This book makes absolutely no sense. I don't think internal consistency is too much to ask.
The characters don't feel real, they're just puppets for whatever messed-up message Kress is trying to send. I could have just read Atlas Shrugged; that would at least feel like an accomplishment.
The villain is an actual Atheist Socialist Commie Muslim like I've heard so much about. Is this where that came from? Oh, and she's a libertarian too. This book makes absolutely no sense. I don't think internal consistency is too much to ask.
The characters don't feel real, they're just puppets for whatever messed-up message Kress is trying to send. I could have just read Atlas Shrugged; that would at least feel like an accomplishment.
I absolutely was fascinated by this trilogy as an adolescent...mostly by the idea of people who have no need to sleep and by the philosophical and ethical questions raised by genetic modification...I was glad upon rereading to discover that they age somewhat well upon rereading.
Even though I don't think it works as well as a science fiction work, there's a lot I really liked about Beggars in Spain. It's a story about a genetic modification that becomes popular with parents to make their children 'sleepless', that is, not having the need to sleep, and while I think the social/technological aspect of it is quite clumsy, there's a family drama at the centre of this that I think holds it all together really well.
Rather than a critique of technology or discrimination against modified humans, what the novella most wants to explore is individualism. The technology more than anything seems to complement this theme, with Leisha being brought up by her father with high expectations after he paid for her to not need sleep. This creates quite a toxic environment in the family with Leisha's mother spiralling into alcoholism, and her twin sister Alice being relieved of her father's expectation and praise. Leisha's father views it as him giving his child the best possible headstart for a competitive world, but really she's treated like an investment that will pay off long in the future. It's a selfish kind of parenting.
The relationship between Alice and Leisha was drawn together really well, despite them being twins they mirror each other, and Alice serves as a control variable against her sister. The end of the novella returns to this relationship, and I think it's the perfect thing to end on, with Leisha seeing the value in her sister that her father never could. The anti-individualism kicks in too, with the title referring to the oft-used argument that if you gave every beggar a dollar you'd end up a beggar yourself. I think the book quite convincingly argues against this, treating the world not as one-way trades but as an ecology, where an act of generosity will always be a net gain for the world, if not for the individual. It's passionate, hopeful writing, and I think the heart of the book is in the right place.
That being said, the science fiction aspect of the book did feel like it was often ignored, with sleeplessness being an allegory for competitive individualism. Sleeplessness is a complete and utter positive for the individual, with no side effects, no physical changes, no need for dreams, and I would have liked to have seen a bit more exploration into the physical changes. The novella seems to be happening pretty much in our world, with hovercars and holograms dropped in now and again, but never really creating something that feels like an entirely different world. I would be interested in reading the novel after this though, because I think the novella left a lot to be desired.
Rather than a critique of technology or discrimination against modified humans, what the novella most wants to explore is individualism. The technology more than anything seems to complement this theme, with Leisha being brought up by her father with high expectations after he paid for her to not need sleep. This creates quite a toxic environment in the family with Leisha's mother spiralling into alcoholism, and her twin sister Alice being relieved of her father's expectation and praise. Leisha's father views it as him giving his child the best possible headstart for a competitive world, but really she's treated like an investment that will pay off long in the future. It's a selfish kind of parenting.
The relationship between Alice and Leisha was drawn together really well, despite them being twins they mirror each other, and Alice serves as a control variable against her sister. The end of the novella returns to this relationship, and I think it's the perfect thing to end on, with Leisha seeing the value in her sister that her father never could. The anti-individualism kicks in too, with the title referring to the oft-used argument that if you gave every beggar a dollar you'd end up a beggar yourself. I think the book quite convincingly argues against this, treating the world not as one-way trades but as an ecology, where an act of generosity will always be a net gain for the world, if not for the individual. It's passionate, hopeful writing, and I think the heart of the book is in the right place.
That being said, the science fiction aspect of the book did feel like it was often ignored, with sleeplessness being an allegory for competitive individualism. Sleeplessness is a complete and utter positive for the individual, with no side effects, no physical changes, no need for dreams, and I would have liked to have seen a bit more exploration into the physical changes. The novella seems to be happening pretty much in our world, with hovercars and holograms dropped in now and again, but never really creating something that feels like an entirely different world. I would be interested in reading the novel after this though, because I think the novella left a lot to be desired.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Graphic: Ableism
Minor: Alcoholism