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timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
How much you like this will depend on how you approach it. As a regular reader of SF, I like my puzzles explained, and Penner has decided not to do that. Fine, that's his call, and since there isn't enough data for us to even guess what has happened, we are forced to stay with Miranda as she, well, carries on. Also lacking data, she reasonably enough lives mostly one day at a time.
The one thing that still niggles at me is
But even that isn't any more indigestible than all the lore about (for example) zombies, and we all accept that, so it’s cool.
It's well written. And I award a point for the author leaving me thinking, "What would *I* do in that world?"
The one thing that still niggles at me is
Spoiler
the trucks that are taking oil etc TO somewhere for some reason, and bringing back food to the diggers ... WHY? How did they get exempted?But even that isn't any more indigestible than all the lore about (for example) zombies, and we all accept that, so it’s cool.
It's well written. And I award a point for the author leaving me thinking, "What would *I* do in that world?"
alexray's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
poignant. satirical and genuine, bleak. a quiet apocalypse that is tranquil when not unsettling. prose that's crisp and meditative. a world and places and characters that feel real enough to touch.
stark commentary, a smart reflection of reality and haunting original form. a medley of modern individual alienation, of strange endless meaningless labour, of fascism and bourgeois liberals, of gender roles and race, of meaning and identity and purpose with nobody else around to verify it, of survivors still bound for extinction that decay in their echoes of the good old past.
stark commentary, a smart reflection of reality and haunting original form. a medley of modern individual alienation, of strange endless meaningless labour, of fascism and bourgeois liberals, of gender roles and race, of meaning and identity and purpose with nobody else around to verify it, of survivors still bound for extinction that decay in their echoes of the good old past.
snowbenton's review against another edition
1.0
Checked every single box of things I don't like about apocalyptic fiction.
bebopthebunny's review against another edition
5.0
When you fail to spend your life toiling away to live a mediocre life that barely keeps you fed and leaves no time for family doing a task that ultimately has no purpose society will say there is something wrong with you, that your not quite right in the head. But one might argue there is more to life, there is religion, community, and art. Perhaps those are the things that truly matter. Those are the things we should dedicate our lives to the pursuit of. But absolutely under no circumstances should we just be aimless. We should never wonder from place to place without a path ahead. We can't just get high and drink in parking lots. We must dedicate ourselves in some fashion. Ether join the drone, create masterpieces, or at the very least find Jesus. After all, are you truly human if you don't find a theory or way of life to dedicate your own life to? Can you call yourself a member of society if you don't have a very strong and set mindset about what is really important and then try to convenience all those around you that you have found the holy grail to the meaning of life? Thought not. Strange Labour is absolutely not what I thought it was but man I enjoyed the hell out of it. Meandering, not sure if it was trying to have and underlining meaning or point, I still don't know if it had a point but I read into it and came up with my own conclusions which was good enough for me. Perhaps it is about what it means to be human, what we are when we strip all else away, what we could be or what we should be, I don't know because I am not Robert Penner but I do know it caused me to question what I would want in a world where all the society approved paths were ripped apart and I would want to just get high and drink wine in a parking lot with Dave.
wmhenrymorris's review against another edition
I thought I was over post-apocalyptic books (esp. since reading Station Eleven right at the beginning of the pandemic's arrival in the U.S. [hey, I didn't know it was about a pandemic]), but Penner does something so new and strange with his debut novel that I was immediately drawn in.
This book is aware of the tropes, but it doesn't address them in an ironic or spoofy way, rather it arrives at the post-apocalyptic world by asking: what if the apocalypse comes not through the death of millions of people, but through all neurotypical people leaving their lives and engaging in a "strange labour"--building massive earthworks in strange patterns across the U.S.?
The result covers some ground that is fairly familiar, but does so with a fresh set of angles, concerns, and characters and ends in a way that is both hopeful and troubling and says a lot (some of it obliquely) about our modern relationship to work, family, and community. I have read very few first novels that are this literary and this genre while also being so self-assured. Highly recommended.
Full disclosure: I received this book as an ARC because Penner and I are colleagues in that he has published my work in his online SF journal Critical Echo. But if I didn't genuinely like the book, I wouldn't have said anything about it.
This book is aware of the tropes, but it doesn't address them in an ironic or spoofy way, rather it arrives at the post-apocalyptic world by asking: what if the apocalypse comes not through the death of millions of people, but through all neurotypical people leaving their lives and engaging in a "strange labour"--building massive earthworks in strange patterns across the U.S.?
The result covers some ground that is fairly familiar, but does so with a fresh set of angles, concerns, and characters and ends in a way that is both hopeful and troubling and says a lot (some of it obliquely) about our modern relationship to work, family, and community. I have read very few first novels that are this literary and this genre while also being so self-assured. Highly recommended.
Full disclosure: I received this book as an ARC because Penner and I are colleagues in that he has published my work in his online SF journal Critical Echo. But if I didn't genuinely like the book, I wouldn't have said anything about it.
j_ardis's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
devilstatedan's review
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a very thoughtful approach to dystopian fiction and quite a "literature" take on the theme... The story is of Miranda, a young woman who is surviving in a world that has gone through a sudden and severe change. Most of the adult population now join the diggings - vast earthworks of deep interconnected trenches - dropping everything in their lives to work themselves to death in silence, along with other affected individuals. Those who are seemingly immune to the change now have to navigate the changed world where there they exist in a sort of torpor, all trying to make sense of the new circumstances in their own ways. Miranda travels across America encountering others who are unaffected and we learn of the ways the human mind might make sense of such a massive and catastrophic change. It's like a ghost town with shades of danger and mistrust of others, stories of life before the change, and what to do next.
The children are seemingly unaffected but as they grow they become increasingly aware that they too might at some stage drop everything to join the diggings. Those left behind are forced to make choices; do they lock their young away to save them?? Do they put them out of their misery?? This book addresses some large existential questions and life and values and what makes a society work/breakdown.
The pace is slow but thoughtful so you are swept up in Miranda's experience as she progresses. The scenic descriptions are vivid and the author creates the starkness of this new world. And as a character, Miranda is neither likeable nor dislikable, she just IS... making this a ponderous and philosophical road trip story.
The children are seemingly unaffected but as they grow they become increasingly aware that they too might at some stage drop everything to join the diggings. Those left behind are forced to make choices; do they lock their young away to save them?? Do they put them out of their misery?? This book addresses some large existential questions and life and values and what makes a society work/breakdown.
The pace is slow but thoughtful so you are swept up in Miranda's experience as she progresses. The scenic descriptions are vivid and the author creates the starkness of this new world. And as a character, Miranda is neither likeable nor dislikable, she just IS... making this a ponderous and philosophical road trip story.
spechaho's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is an interesting debut. While I didn't thoroughly enjoy Penner's novel, it was certainly thought-provoking. "Strange Labour" follows Miranda as she travels West across the U.S. in the wake of a bizarre and mysterious apocalyptic event. While acknowledging many tropes of the post-apocalyptic sub-genre, the author manages to circumnavigate most of them in a way, approaching or referencing them from a subtly different angle. It's not that Penner has created something entirely new or different with this short novel (though he does get points for a unique apocalypse), but he has chosen a different conversation than that which is typically found in this type of story. His prose is long, meditative, even stream-of-consciousness at times, full of simile, symbolism, and metaphor, whether it be dialogue, thought, or exposition.
There is a slow, steady pulse to it all, which gives a sense of cohesiveness across both character and narrative development, and colors the entire feel of the novel. That feel is slow, reflective, and subdued. The development is slow in part because Penner does a nice job of "showing, not telling," letting the reader put together the world and events preceding the story piece by piece. It is also slow by virtue of the fact that the novel is fairly character driven, and indeed, there is not a whole lot "happening" in the story. Even the minimal "action" in the story itself feels ponderous and a bit removed, as if the reader is meant to reflect on the events, more than experience them. Indeed, though I mentioned that I didn't particularly enjoy the book, I don't think I was necessarily meant to enjoy it. Rather, it feels as though the story is merely a medium to facilitate individual introspection and sociocultural extrospection. In that sense, it is a success. However, it's worth cautioning readers that the novel seems quite bleak, cynical, at times even nihilistic. It is open-ended, without much in the way of "answers" or "statements." Its characters may be hard to invest in or identify with. Again, it is slow, and bleak. This may be frustrating to some, and certainly takes the right mood to appreciate. If that mood is yours, "Strange Labour" is well done and worth a try.
There is a slow, steady pulse to it all, which gives a sense of cohesiveness across both character and narrative development, and colors the entire feel of the novel. That feel is slow, reflective, and subdued. The development is slow in part because Penner does a nice job of "showing, not telling," letting the reader put together the world and events preceding the story piece by piece. It is also slow by virtue of the fact that the novel is fairly character driven, and indeed, there is not a whole lot "happening" in the story. Even the minimal "action" in the story itself feels ponderous and a bit removed, as if the reader is meant to reflect on the events, more than experience them. Indeed, though I mentioned that I didn't particularly enjoy the book, I don't think I was necessarily meant to enjoy it. Rather, it feels as though the story is merely a medium to facilitate individual introspection and sociocultural extrospection. In that sense, it is a success. However, it's worth cautioning readers that the novel seems quite bleak, cynical, at times even nihilistic. It is open-ended, without much in the way of "answers" or "statements." Its characters may be hard to invest in or identify with. Again, it is slow, and bleak. This may be frustrating to some, and certainly takes the right mood to appreciate. If that mood is yours, "Strange Labour" is well done and worth a try.