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A review by cloudjules
História da sua vida e outros contos by Ted Chiang
5.0
My new favorite short story collection, hands down. Speculative fiction so often falls into the trap of exposition, and Ted Chiang masterfully avoids that. The reader is thrown into these universes head first, no introductions given. Time period is subtly implied (e.g. a reference to Queen Victoria's ascension, the use of antiquated units of measurement), as are small bits of world-building that, while inconsequential to the main plot, enrich the universe and atmosphere of the stories, all of which take place in fantastical worlds that feel fully realized and lived in, despite not being the main focus. The universe is shown to you instead of explained, and it makes the book that much more intriguing.
It's worth noting that Chiang's goal here isn't to blow your mind with overly twist-y endings; the concepts explored and the worlds depicted are interesting enough to keep you reading with no rush.
The Tower of Babylon: 4.5/5
The concept behind this story is absolutely incredible, and the lack of exposition makes it feel even trippier. Once I realized just how this universe works, my jaw hit the ground. It evokes some gorgeous and terrifying imagery — sometimes at once — while raising questions of faith and purpose.
Understand: 3/5 (originally 2.5)
The only story of the bunch that left me underwhelmed. Starts out very well, to the point where I thought it'd be one of my favorites, and presents some very cool concepts, but the way it's built up feels like you're in for a twist ending, or at least a very impactful one. Instead, what you get feels a bit like a cop-out. It's abrupt and reads enough like a plot twist that I thought I must have missed something. As it turns out, I didn't; the ending just presents itself to be a lot cooler and bigger than I found it to be. It's not a bad story by any means and the beginning is absolutely fascinating, I just thought it was the weakest link of the bunch.
Division by Zero: 5/5
I have a hard time expressing how much I loved this one. The fact that it's not one of the most popular amongst reviewers makes it feel even more like it was written specifically for me. The themes explored in this story are everything I never knew I needed. I'd never read anything about the philosophy of mathematics, and this story made me realize this is something I've loved and thought of for my entire life, without ever realizing it was a real area of study. "How can we be sure math works?" is a question that has plagued me since childhood, and reading a story entirely built around it was incredible. It also helped that the protagonist's existential anguish is reminiscent of cosmic horror, one of my favorite subgenres, and made even more terrifying thanks to the foreign source of fear being a mere concept, and a very earthly and mundane one at that.
While the math stood out as its most interesting aspect, the story is just as much about relationships and mental illness. The main character's husband's reflections on their marriage and the parallels between his wife's condition and his own past do a great job of emotionally grounding the story.
Just... so good.
The Story of Your Life: 5/5
So I am the biggest Arrival fan, and it was this love for the movie that made me put off reading its source material for so long, in fear that one would somehow ruin the other. Boy, was I wrong! This is one of the rare cases where source material and adaptation complement each other, one's existence strengthening the other's. If anything, I love Arrival even more now.
Everything about this story has been said already, so I'll leave it at this: believe the hype! This really is one of the greatest sci-fi stories ever written.
Seventy Two Letters: 3.5/5
Okay so I'm still fascinated by the world-building it this, due to its content but mostly for the way it's approached. It's really everything spec. fiction sets out to be: an earnest look at what it would be like if [weird thing] was real. And the weird thing in this case — the concept of a real-life Golem —, becomes almost mundane to the reader as we get acquainted with and begin to understand the politics that go with it. That, along with the off-hand mentions of unicorns and magic being real, makes for a great piece of magical realistic world-building. There is an air of magic here, yes, but the story's feet are so firmly on the ground it reads like any other adult fiction. I also love how the homunculus mythos is portrayed here, following both the biology and the alchemy view of it, and acknowledging it's deep jewish influence.
All that being said, I don't think the plot itself lived up to the premise, and the overall experience was a bit dull.
Hell is the Absence of God: 4/5
Like Seventy Two Letters, this one does an excellent job at subtly building and grounding its world, which also happens to be the most far-removed from our own. The fantastical elements are completely at the forefront here, making the story the one closest to a straightforward fantasy. Still, it's all treated with utmost seriousness, presenting realistic depictions of how humans might act and react if certain things were real. The fantastical elements are used to highlight one of the greatest philosophical debates about God, turning real-life religious anxieties up to eleven and making us truly reflect on the meaning of faith.
Liking What You See: A Documentary: 4.5/5
But when it comes to realistic human reactions, the last story of the collection takes the cake. Here, Chiang comes up with a futuristic invention and throws the "show, don't tell" rule out of the window in the best possible way, presenting us with nothing but characters debating on the benefits of a new piece of technology. There is no description at all, the entire story framed as talking head dialogue in a documentary. That is interesting on its own, but what elevates the story is how compelling some of the arguments are; I found myself changing my mind on the issue throughout the story, invested as though reading about real-world politics. As with the other stories, Chiang uses this outlandish scenario to underline real-world problems, though the reflection caused by this one is probably the most fun.
It's worth noting that Chiang's goal here isn't to blow your mind with overly twist-y endings; the concepts explored and the worlds depicted are interesting enough to keep you reading with no rush.
The Tower of Babylon: 4.5/5
The concept behind this story is absolutely incredible, and the lack of exposition makes it feel even trippier. Once I realized just how this universe works, my jaw hit the ground. It evokes some gorgeous and terrifying imagery — sometimes at once — while raising questions of faith and purpose.
Understand: 3/5 (originally 2.5)
The only story of the bunch that left me underwhelmed. Starts out very well, to the point where I thought it'd be one of my favorites, and presents some very cool concepts, but the way it's built up feels like you're in for a twist ending, or at least a very impactful one. Instead, what you get feels a bit like a cop-out. It's abrupt and reads enough like a plot twist that I thought I must have missed something. As it turns out, I didn't; the ending just presents itself to be a lot cooler and bigger than I found it to be. It's not a bad story by any means and the beginning is absolutely fascinating, I just thought it was the weakest link of the bunch.
Division by Zero: 5/5
I have a hard time expressing how much I loved this one. The fact that it's not one of the most popular amongst reviewers makes it feel even more like it was written specifically for me. The themes explored in this story are everything I never knew I needed. I'd never read anything about the philosophy of mathematics, and this story made me realize this is something I've loved and thought of for my entire life, without ever realizing it was a real area of study. "How can we be sure math works?" is a question that has plagued me since childhood, and reading a story entirely built around it was incredible. It also helped that the protagonist's existential anguish is reminiscent of cosmic horror, one of my favorite subgenres, and made even more terrifying thanks to the foreign source of fear being a mere concept, and a very earthly and mundane one at that.
While the math stood out as its most interesting aspect, the story is just as much about relationships and mental illness. The main character's husband's reflections on their marriage and the parallels between his wife's condition and his own past do a great job of emotionally grounding the story.
Just... so good.
The Story of Your Life: 5/5
So I am the biggest Arrival fan, and it was this love for the movie that made me put off reading its source material for so long, in fear that one would somehow ruin the other. Boy, was I wrong! This is one of the rare cases where source material and adaptation complement each other, one's existence strengthening the other's. If anything, I love Arrival even more now.
Everything about this story has been said already, so I'll leave it at this: believe the hype! This really is one of the greatest sci-fi stories ever written.
Seventy Two Letters: 3.5/5
Okay so I'm still fascinated by the world-building it this, due to its content but mostly for the way it's approached. It's really everything spec. fiction sets out to be: an earnest look at what it would be like if [weird thing] was real. And the weird thing in this case — the concept of a real-life Golem —, becomes almost mundane to the reader as we get acquainted with and begin to understand the politics that go with it. That, along with the off-hand mentions of unicorns and magic being real, makes for a great piece of magical realistic world-building. There is an air of magic here, yes, but the story's feet are so firmly on the ground it reads like any other adult fiction. I also love how the homunculus mythos is portrayed here, following both the biology and the alchemy view of it, and acknowledging it's deep jewish influence.
All that being said, I don't think the plot itself lived up to the premise, and the overall experience was a bit dull.
Hell is the Absence of God: 4/5
Like Seventy Two Letters, this one does an excellent job at subtly building and grounding its world, which also happens to be the most far-removed from our own. The fantastical elements are completely at the forefront here, making the story the one closest to a straightforward fantasy. Still, it's all treated with utmost seriousness, presenting realistic depictions of how humans might act and react if certain things were real. The fantastical elements are used to highlight one of the greatest philosophical debates about God, turning real-life religious anxieties up to eleven and making us truly reflect on the meaning of faith.
Liking What You See: A Documentary: 4.5/5
But when it comes to realistic human reactions, the last story of the collection takes the cake. Here, Chiang comes up with a futuristic invention and throws the "show, don't tell" rule out of the window in the best possible way, presenting us with nothing but characters debating on the benefits of a new piece of technology. There is no description at all, the entire story framed as talking head dialogue in a documentary. That is interesting on its own, but what elevates the story is how compelling some of the arguments are; I found myself changing my mind on the issue throughout the story, invested as though reading about real-world politics. As with the other stories, Chiang uses this outlandish scenario to underline real-world problems, though the reflection caused by this one is probably the most fun.