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A review by polychromatic_hedgehog_parable
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
WTAF TED CHIANG
1. Ted Chiang seems to me to be a very good writer
2. I disliked most of the stories in this collection
3. lmao why use the c-slur so often????
ableism:
"[...] your ability to interact with others is c****led. It'd be a kind of high-functioning autism."
fuck that lmao.
I'm still uncertain where I fall on discounting relationships in favour of world building etc, and certainly feel that I discount the former for the later more than some people I know. I feel like a problem I had with this collection is that it tended to concentrate on world building & philosophical ideas over compelling characters and I just... wasn't interested in any of the philosophy Ted Chiang seemed to be interested in? idk.
I also tended to prefer the stories that were more multi-fauceted/introduced multiple perspectives. Maybe: the presence of multiple perspectives makes the world seem more real or enriches the perspective of the main character?
Many of the stories had distinct writing styles, which I found to be neat! And I felt like Ted Chiang did a good job of switching?
I thought it was cool to have a section in the back for where you got your ideas for each story. That sounds potentially very fun to write/share! :O
(more ableism, eugenics)
tower of babylon: why have I read multiple science fiction stories about the shape of the world being a [cylinder, hyperbola, other 3D shape] instead of a sphere. I don't find these very interesting. Now I feel like I should write one, though. or find more and create a collection. they're a meme.
story of your life: I liked the movie a lot better lol. I didn't really like the story. I did cry a bit though.
seventy-two letters: "I've invented DNA so as to save poor people from eugenics" is a really weird plot for a short story. I liked that the short story engaged so directly with racism & classism, but then the resolution seemed to involve fully side stepping eugenics through the ingenious invention of DNA, in a way I feel parallels many popular understandings of eugenics as an idea that was most persuasive in Europe during the second industrial revolution. It's still persuasive. People are literally dying rn. I just had a conversation with someone who is directly targeted eugenics yesterday.
hell is the absence of god: ok I really liked this one and also found it too relatable LMAO. I enjoyed the frank, recognizable depictions of different types of christians/relationships with religion.
liking what you see: ok I literally just finished the book and will need to think more about this. but I enjoyed the format!
honestly I got this book for free somewhere and I was considering putting it back in a free little library when I was done with it but maybe I'll keep it just for the one story. maybe not.
1. Ted Chiang seems to me to be a very good writer
2. I disliked most of the stories in this collection
3. lmao why use the c-slur so often????
ableism:
"[...] your ability to interact with others is c****led. It'd be a kind of high-functioning autism."
fuck that lmao.
I'm still uncertain where I fall on discounting relationships in favour of world building etc, and certainly feel that I discount the former for the later more than some people I know. I feel like a problem I had with this collection is that it tended to concentrate on world building & philosophical ideas over compelling characters and I just... wasn't interested in any of the philosophy Ted Chiang seemed to be interested in? idk.
I also tended to prefer the stories that were more multi-fauceted/introduced multiple perspectives. Maybe: the presence of multiple perspectives makes the world seem more real or enriches the perspective of the main character?
Many of the stories had distinct writing styles, which I found to be neat! And I felt like Ted Chiang did a good job of switching?
I thought it was cool to have a section in the back for where you got your ideas for each story. That sounds potentially very fun to write/share! :O
(more ableism, eugenics)
tower of babylon: why have I read multiple science fiction stories about the shape of the world being a [cylinder, hyperbola, other 3D shape] instead of a sphere. I don't find these very interesting. Now I feel like I should write one, though. or find more and create a collection. they're a meme.
story of your life: I liked the movie a lot better lol. I didn't really like the story. I did cry a bit though.
seventy-two letters: "I've invented DNA so as to save poor people from eugenics" is a really weird plot for a short story. I liked that the short story engaged so directly with racism & classism, but then the resolution seemed to involve fully side stepping eugenics through the ingenious invention of DNA, in a way I feel parallels many popular understandings of eugenics as an idea that was most persuasive in Europe during the second industrial revolution. It's still persuasive. People are literally dying rn. I just had a conversation with someone who is directly targeted eugenics yesterday.
hell is the absence of god: ok I really liked this one and also found it too relatable LMAO. I enjoyed the frank, recognizable depictions of different types of christians/relationships with religion.
liking what you see: ok I literally just finished the book and will need to think more about this. but I enjoyed the format!
honestly I got this book for free somewhere and I was considering putting it back in a free little library when I was done with it but maybe I'll keep it just for the one story. maybe not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
c-slur up the wazoo