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A review by melihooker
We Who Are about To... by Joanna Russ
3.0
Joanna Russ’ We Who Are About To… is a feminist sci-fi novella, first for featuring a female protagonist in space, but more notably a woman who rejects the traditional role of motherhood. The story is focused on a group of five women, our protagonist among them, and three men stranded on what seems to be a deserted planet. It is soon apparent that in addition to being unpopulated there is no food to sustain them beyond the six months of inventory they landed with. Apart from our narrator, who is recounting their daily experiences through her vocoder, all the members of this group want to rebuild society, i.e. impregnate the women to propagate their race on this planet. For our protagonist, lack of food resources and medical equipment render this a more dangerous endeavor than it is worth. This is the conflict that drives the first half of the plot. Power dynamics are established quickly and naturally; “And in everyone’s face the flash of realization: no law.”
The second half of the story reads almost like a fever dream. Starvation and isolation blur the lines of what is real. Is our protagonist right, is a life on this planet hopeless? Or is there hope for them yet?
This is an interesting and thought-provoking story and clocks in at just the right length, slightly over 100 pages. Any longer and the plot would become monotonous.
Perhaps for its time this was groundbreaking, and it is undeniable Russ is a brilliant mind with the writing chops to back it up, but the secondary characters were noticeably dated; two-dimensional, 1960’s stereotypes that I found a little dull. That is the main reason this was a “like” and not a “love” for me. The second half showcases Russ’ talents more than the first and is the star of the book.
Still, I would recommend this to sci-fi fans as an essential read. It’s short enough you won’t have to invest much time. Whether you “like” it like me or get tipped into the “love” category Russ offers much for readers to chew on.
The second half of the story reads almost like a fever dream. Starvation and isolation blur the lines of what is real. Is our protagonist right, is a life on this planet hopeless? Or is there hope for them yet?
This is an interesting and thought-provoking story and clocks in at just the right length, slightly over 100 pages. Any longer and the plot would become monotonous.
Perhaps for its time this was groundbreaking, and it is undeniable Russ is a brilliant mind with the writing chops to back it up, but the secondary characters were noticeably dated; two-dimensional, 1960’s stereotypes that I found a little dull. That is the main reason this was a “like” and not a “love” for me. The second half showcases Russ’ talents more than the first and is the star of the book.
Still, I would recommend this to sci-fi fans as an essential read. It’s short enough you won’t have to invest much time. Whether you “like” it like me or get tipped into the “love” category Russ offers much for readers to chew on.