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A review by peelspls
The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum
5.0
A literary masterclass in world building
I cannot overstate how much I loved what this book does. It's so strange to me that the story itself doesn't pan out to a fulfilling end (will probably become a series?). But the fact that I reached that sort of narrative dissatisfaction alone through the complexity of a multi-bodied neo-pronoun gender defined society is a miracle itself. It's one thing to say a story is about gender, and switch up a few pronouns, and call it a day. It's another to really make a story about gender enforcement, perceptions, how that frames a society's other channels such as economic means of subsistence, language, culture and the notion of attachment.
I love the style of the storytelling as well. The interludes do a lot to really ground the reality of the world and the work. Rosenbaum taps into the common fragility of a teen romance and gender confusion so gently and appropriately, that the wonders of the world aside, you can really relate to these characters.
Strongly recommend to anyone who loves non-traditional science fiction, and deep down inside has experienced the pain of a teen crush that they never really got over.
I cannot overstate how much I loved what this book does. It's so strange to me that the story itself doesn't pan out to a fulfilling end (will probably become a series?). But the fact that I reached that sort of narrative dissatisfaction alone through the complexity of a multi-bodied neo-pronoun gender defined society is a miracle itself. It's one thing to say a story is about gender, and switch up a few pronouns, and call it a day. It's another to really make a story about gender enforcement, perceptions, how that frames a society's other channels such as economic means of subsistence, language, culture and the notion of attachment.
I love the style of the storytelling as well. The interludes do a lot to really ground the reality of the world and the work. Rosenbaum taps into the common fragility of a teen romance and gender confusion so gently and appropriately, that the wonders of the world aside, you can really relate to these characters.
Strongly recommend to anyone who loves non-traditional science fiction, and deep down inside has experienced the pain of a teen crush that they never really got over.