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A review by emilyb_chicago
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
4.0
All of these stories are intense and often odd, but all are thoughtfully done. They each delve into a fascinating and unique world and when the story ends I had to pause just to dwell on the world/story/ending. Because each is very much it's own individual entity, I'll review each story separately.
Tower of Babylon - 4 stars: Happily this not a trite retelling of the biblical story, but a real-feeling emersion into the life of the Babylon worker.
Understand - 3 stars: This was well done, but the stream of consciousness feeling is not my favorite story telling method. It starts feeling very much like a 'Flowers for Algernon' sort of story that I've read and seen produced in many medium. It diverged pleasantly from the trope and although I felt like it was a bit too-clever, it stayed engaging.
Division by Zero - 2 stars: I just couldn't get attached to these characters and found the jumping around confusing instead of intriguing. Still, the concept was an interesting one.
Story of your life - 5 stars: This story is why I read the book. I saw the movie Arrival, which used this story as a basis. It's one of those rare book/movie combos where one enhances the other (like [b:The Abyss|40289|The Abyss|Orson Scott Card|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1225165505s/40289.jpg|937985] or [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413706054s/18007564.jpg|21825181]). Even though this was also told from the 1st person, I found it necessary for and enhancing of the story. If you're only reading one story from this book, read this one!
Seventy-Two Letters - 4 stars:
The Evolution of Human Science- stars:
Hell is the Absence of God - 4 stars: Like so many of these, what an interesting world this story lives in. It sucked me in and I would happily read whole novels about this world. That said, this was a perfect glimpse into the world and told a complete story.
Liking What You See: A Documentary - 5 stars: Especially in today's world, what would you do if you could no longer see attractiveness? This story explores the politics and social dynamics if you can turn on/off the ability to tell if someone is good-looking.
What's Expected of Us - 4 stars
The Merchant and the Alchemist's - 4 stars
Exhalation - 4 stars:
The Lifecycle of Software Objects - 4 stars:
Tower of Babylon - 4 stars: Happily this not a trite retelling of the biblical story, but a real-feeling emersion into the life of the Babylon worker.
Understand - 3 stars: This was well done, but the stream of consciousness feeling is not my favorite story telling method. It starts feeling very much like a 'Flowers for Algernon' sort of story that I've read and seen produced in many medium. It diverged pleasantly from the trope and although I felt like it was a bit too-clever, it stayed engaging.
Division by Zero - 2 stars: I just couldn't get attached to these characters and found the jumping around confusing instead of intriguing. Still, the concept was an interesting one.
Story of your life - 5 stars: This story is why I read the book. I saw the movie Arrival, which used this story as a basis. It's one of those rare book/movie combos where one enhances the other (like [b:The Abyss|40289|The Abyss|Orson Scott Card|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1225165505s/40289.jpg|937985] or [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413706054s/18007564.jpg|21825181]). Even though this was also told from the 1st person, I found it necessary for and enhancing of the story. If you're only reading one story from this book, read this one!
Seventy-Two Letters - 4 stars:
The Evolution of Human Science- stars:
Hell is the Absence of God - 4 stars: Like so many of these, what an interesting world this story lives in. It sucked me in and I would happily read whole novels about this world. That said, this was a perfect glimpse into the world and told a complete story.
Liking What You See: A Documentary - 5 stars: Especially in today's world, what would you do if you could no longer see attractiveness? This story explores the politics and social dynamics if you can turn on/off the ability to tell if someone is good-looking.
What's Expected of Us - 4 stars
The Merchant and the Alchemist's - 4 stars
Exhalation - 4 stars:
The Lifecycle of Software Objects - 4 stars: