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A review by kitsuneheart
Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
5.0
What would you do with your time if you didn't have to spend a third of your day asleep? How would your life change if you were genetically predisposed to intelligence? What if these traits allowed you functional immortality?
Genetic engineering has progressed to the point where parents are able to pre-select desirable traits for their children, including intelligence, low-risk factor for diseases, and the newest modification: sleeplessness. Freed from the demands of a night unconscious, the children thrive, learning faster than any genius in history, gaining the admiration of all humanity. But when it's discovered that the Sleepless will also never age past their mid-twenties, the mass of un-tampered humanity turn upon them, limiting their jobs and rights, until the Sleepless realize they must splinter off from humanity and become something new. But giving up your humanity may very well mean giving up your soul.
This book had been on my shelf for years, given by a friend, and I kept putting it off. I wish I hadn't. It's intriguing, both in the initial concept, and further in, as we come to the morality of the Sleepless. The constant question of the Beggars--what are we obligated to do for the mass of unfortunates, when what little resources we have would be so stretched thin as to be meaningless when bestowed?--is a serious question for middle class and up individuals in the US; those who are in the position to bestow financial gifts, but unable to bestow so much to solve all of the world's ills.
Greatly recommended!
Genetic engineering has progressed to the point where parents are able to pre-select desirable traits for their children, including intelligence, low-risk factor for diseases, and the newest modification: sleeplessness. Freed from the demands of a night unconscious, the children thrive, learning faster than any genius in history, gaining the admiration of all humanity. But when it's discovered that the Sleepless will also never age past their mid-twenties, the mass of un-tampered humanity turn upon them, limiting their jobs and rights, until the Sleepless realize they must splinter off from humanity and become something new. But giving up your humanity may very well mean giving up your soul.
This book had been on my shelf for years, given by a friend, and I kept putting it off. I wish I hadn't. It's intriguing, both in the initial concept, and further in, as we come to the morality of the Sleepless. The constant question of the Beggars--what are we obligated to do for the mass of unfortunates, when what little resources we have would be so stretched thin as to be meaningless when bestowed?--is a serious question for middle class and up individuals in the US; those who are in the position to bestow financial gifts, but unable to bestow so much to solve all of the world's ills.
Greatly recommended!