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fairymodmother 's review for:
Babel-17
by Samuel R. Delany
Well, that was wholly unique! This is not so much a story as a poet-linguist's exploration of the significance of language.
CONTENT WARNING:
Things to love:
-The language. I mean, that's really all there is. Every way we communicate (and I mean every way) is mentioned and symbolized. He then messes with all of it so that you have time to think about what it would be like if one of the ways we express ourselves was different.
-The different writing styles. Each section is broken up with a new experiment in writing to demonstrate what we're doing in this part. I didn't love all of them, but I appreciated the talent it takes to do it.
-The fantastical. Oh man! So many cool ideas and visuals!
-The messages. Mental health, sex positivity, "strong female protagonists," people of color...this book was really "ahead of its time," most of the time.
Things that weren't as strong:
-Dialogue. Sometimes I felt like I was missing a lot of context. Possibly because I am so far removed from the time (and less familiar with psychotropics than many of the era lol) and possibly because of the subject matter.
-Plot. It was just shoed in to talk about concepts. Don't look too deep. Just enjoy the ride.
If you're a language nerd or can get lost in cool ideas, just relax, this one's short, rather witty, and unlike anything else I've ever read before. If you bounce hard off stories with no, well, story, just relax, this one's short, rather witty, and unlike anything I've read before. ;-)
CONTENT WARNING:
Spoiler
some misogyny and body horror/experimentation. Fat shaming. Loss of a loved one. Psychosis.Things to love:
-The language. I mean, that's really all there is. Every way we communicate (and I mean every way) is mentioned and symbolized. He then messes with all of it so that you have time to think about what it would be like if one of the ways we express ourselves was different.
-The different writing styles. Each section is broken up with a new experiment in writing to demonstrate what we're doing in this part. I didn't love all of them, but I appreciated the talent it takes to do it.
-The fantastical. Oh man! So many cool ideas and visuals!
-The messages. Mental health, sex positivity, "strong female protagonists," people of color...this book was really "ahead of its time," most of the time.
Things that weren't as strong:
-Dialogue. Sometimes I felt like I was missing a lot of context. Possibly because I am so far removed from the time (and less familiar with psychotropics than many of the era lol) and possibly because of the subject matter.
-Plot. It was just shoed in to talk about concepts. Don't look too deep. Just enjoy the ride.
If you're a language nerd or can get lost in cool ideas, just relax, this one's short, rather witty, and unlike anything else I've ever read before. If you bounce hard off stories with no, well, story, just relax, this one's short, rather witty, and unlike anything I've read before. ;-)