Scan barcode
A review by fluffyeti
A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This is a first-contact novel set in the relatively near future, on an Earth which has confronted the climate crisis in a productive way. The story is almost exclusively couched in the experience of the main character who first encounters the aliens and who floors them by declining their offer to evacuate all humans off the (they assume dying) planet.
I have such mixed feelings about this book.
What I liked:
It's well written, it's got an incredibly different premise for first contact, it's hopeful and post climate crisis in a way that seems reachable. It is deeply queer in a refreshing, non-judgmental, "this is just how people are, and how they live their lives" way. The main character's practice of Judaism plays an integral role in her life, the life of her family, and in how she approaches challenges beautifully. I admire that the alien species are not just bipeds of another shade, and that the consideration of the vast physical differences between species receives more than surface level mention, as well as social mores which have just enough overlap with human ones to cause friction.
What made me uncomfortable:
Discomfort is not a bad thing, but it has slowed my review while I think about what bothered me, and why. I don't think it's a spoiler to reveal that the aliens attribute a great deal of status based on child rearing, and, more specifically, childbearing, to the point thatall diplomatic interactions are expected to include the children of those negotiating as the barest minimum. This does not present a problem, per se, but an entire alien civilization locking authority behind such a hugely personal--for humans--decision, and by initial appearances superficially reducing children to status symbols truly rankles me. That and the frequent breastfeeding, which, reflexively, I want to turn away from as an act which requires privacy, meant I never got really cozy with the book as a whole.
Overall/rating:
It's a great book, and I liked it and a lot of the ideas in it, but didn't breathlessly fall in love with it, hence the 4.25 stars.
I have such mixed feelings about this book.
What I liked:
It's well written, it's got an incredibly different premise for first contact, it's hopeful and post climate crisis in a way that seems reachable. It is deeply queer in a refreshing, non-judgmental, "this is just how people are, and how they live their lives" way. The main character's practice of Judaism plays an integral role in her life, the life of her family, and in how she approaches challenges beautifully. I admire that the alien species are not just bipeds of another shade, and that the consideration of the vast physical differences between species receives more than surface level mention, as well as social mores which have just enough overlap with human ones to cause friction.
What made me uncomfortable:
Discomfort is not a bad thing, but it has slowed my review while I think about what bothered me, and why. I don't think it's a spoiler to reveal that the aliens attribute a great deal of status based on child rearing, and, more specifically, childbearing, to the point that
Overall/rating:
It's a great book, and I liked it and a lot of the ideas in it, but didn't breathlessly fall in love with it, hence the 4.25 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping