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A review by barbz
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
A Psalm For The Wild-Built is the first Becky Chambers book I have had the pleasure to read.
A few things about me as a reader that are relevant to this review is the fact that my favorite things about a book are: Lyrical writing, big ideas, no right answers at the end and often times books that people would describe as "pointless" or say things such as "but where is the plot?".
You don't go to Amsterdam to see Van Gogh's paintings just to get there and complain that the layers are too thick, that there wasn't much "refining" done. Firstly because you know the works of Van Gogh, you know his style was intentional and secondly, because you surrender yourself to the painting as an admirer. You allow yourself to feel all the feelings that the painting may cause, because at the end of the day, that's the point. That is art.
Books to me are no different, critics, readers, you and I may say whatever it is we want to say about it, but when we strip that all back, the point is to feel something and Becky Chambers delivers that beautifully.
Some may find it cheesy, say that the discussions are superficial or don't say anything new, and sure, if you want to look at it like that, I guess I would agree. But it must be very sad to read such a beautiful story and think about what it lacks rather than what it offers.
I'm sure Chambers knew she wasn't going to become the best modern day philosopher from this, I'm sure she knew she wasn't discussing any crazy new ideas. She was pondering on human existence and our experience in relation to life, death, technology and nature. Being cliché is part of the point, because we, beings with a conscience, all worry about the same things.
A few things about me as a reader that are relevant to this review is the fact that my favorite things about a book are: Lyrical writing, big ideas, no right answers at the end and often times books that people would describe as "pointless" or say things such as "but where is the plot?".
You don't go to Amsterdam to see Van Gogh's paintings just to get there and complain that the layers are too thick, that there wasn't much "refining" done. Firstly because you know the works of Van Gogh, you know his style was intentional and secondly, because you surrender yourself to the painting as an admirer. You allow yourself to feel all the feelings that the painting may cause, because at the end of the day, that's the point. That is art.
Books to me are no different, critics, readers, you and I may say whatever it is we want to say about it, but when we strip that all back, the point is to feel something and Becky Chambers delivers that beautifully.
Some may find it cheesy, say that the discussions are superficial or don't say anything new, and sure, if you want to look at it like that, I guess I would agree. But it must be very sad to read such a beautiful story and think about what it lacks rather than what it offers.
I'm sure Chambers knew she wasn't going to become the best modern day philosopher from this, I'm sure she knew she wasn't discussing any crazy new ideas. She was pondering on human existence and our experience in relation to life, death, technology and nature. Being cliché is part of the point, because we, beings with a conscience, all worry about the same things.