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frosthetix 's review for:
To Be Taught, If Fortunate
by Becky Chambers
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I discovered this space travel one-shot when I joined the StoryGraph's annual onboarding challenge (where they encourage users to try out features on the platform) and was looking for a book to add to the "fits your reader profile but excludes your most-read genre" prompt. I've always enjoyed science fiction, whether in films or literature, but it was only when I read Ted Chiang's short story collection Exhalationthat sci-fi became one of my favorite genres. After that, I started to develop an interest in sci-fi literature, and I truly think that written science fiction is more imaginative than sci-fi presented in the visual medium. I was lucky to have come upon this book while filtering through books that fit my prompt, because this was such a delightful, yet haunting read. While I love all sci-fi in general, space exploration sci-fi tend to scare me a bit. Although the space is vast and limitless, I also find space travel to be incredibly suffocating, and our ventures into space always provide a reminder of just how insignificant we are as a species in the grander scale of things.
The story reminded me of Interstellar (oh god what a filmbro thing to say) — that feeling of dread and loneliness in the outer space, and the concept of leaving your home knowing that when you head back decades and centuries will have passed and there would be absolutely no going back to the world you know and love. Often times space exploration fiction is actually an exploration of humanity and our own inherent qualities. This novella did so through its beautifully written characters, who all felt really human. I joked about it being a "gay spaceship" in one of my status updates, but I actually thought the diversity of the characters was dealt with so delicately that it felt really natural (not that queerness isn't; but it's very clear when the representation in films/literature are shoehorned in) and their identities were very easy to figure out even without any of the labels being mentioned. I think this is one of those books that would make you feel more the longer you think about it.
There is a bonus section at the end of the book where the author chats with her science consultant, who is also her mother, about the relationship between sci-fi and science. That part was super interesting and gave me much food for thought. I like that the scientist acknowledges that the general reader/audience have the ability to differentiate real science from fiction and that imagination and stories play an important part in the pursuit of scientific discovery. I didn't read the extract from the author's debut novel included at the end though, but I might check it out later since I really enjoyed her writing style.
The story reminded me of Interstellar (oh god what a filmbro thing to say) — that feeling of dread and loneliness in the outer space, and the concept of leaving your home knowing that when you head back decades and centuries will have passed and there would be absolutely no going back to the world you know and love. Often times space exploration fiction is actually an exploration of humanity and our own inherent qualities. This novella did so through its beautifully written characters, who all felt really human. I joked about it being a "gay spaceship" in one of my status updates, but I actually thought the diversity of the characters was dealt with so delicately that it felt really natural (not that queerness isn't; but it's very clear when the representation in films/literature are shoehorned in) and their identities were very easy to figure out even without any of the labels being mentioned. I think this is one of those books that would make you feel more the longer you think about it.
There is a bonus section at the end of the book where the author chats with her science consultant, who is also her mother, about the relationship between sci-fi and science. That part was super interesting and gave me much food for thought. I like that the scientist acknowledges that the general reader/audience have the ability to differentiate real science from fiction and that imagination and stories play an important part in the pursuit of scientific discovery. I didn't read the extract from the author's debut novel included at the end though, but I might check it out later since I really enjoyed her writing style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts