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A review by christinecc
Robot Artists & Black Swans: The Italian Fantascienza Stories by Bruce Sterling
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A strange, disorienting collection of short stories draped in Italian culture. Not bad by any means but perhaps not the best place to start with Bruce Sterling.
"Robot Artists and Black Swans" is an anthology of stories written in the style of Italian science fiction, or more specifically Italian literary speculative fiction like Italo Calvino's fare. In a nutshell, Sterling presents these stories within a framing device that turns him into "Bruno Argento," a supposedly Italian author from Torino who (still within the framing device) merely pretended to be the Texan "Bruce Sterling."
It's an interesting idea, although I'm not sure what it added to the collection. I'm not even sure how far Sterling pushed the device. Did he really write these in Italian and then translate them into English? And if so, how much of the original style did he manage to preserve? Still, the framing device draws an interesting connection between Sterling and another author, Primo Levi, mentioned in the book. Levi (whose works I wholeheartedly recommend) is known for his account of his ordeal in Auschwitz, but he also published science fiction under a pseudonym and wrote some pieces on the art (and ripple effects) of translation, such as "L'altrui mestiere." So if you're wondering (like I was) why Sterling brings up Primo Levi, that might be it.
As for the stories, they're all fairly readable, although they suffered from a distanced approach to the characters' minds and situations. Everything felt external and false. That might have been the intention, or perhaps the issue jutted out more because of the uncomfortable pseudo-Italian dressing. None of the stories managed to attain a sense of authenticity. I was always on the outside, but at least the mixture of science-fiction and historical fiction took me to another world for a short while. "Robot in Roses" and "Kill the Moon" were both my personal highlights and the bookends for the collection.
Recommended if you are curious about Sterling's take on Italian short story conventions or Sterling's Italian-esque magical realism, but it's also worth your time if you're a Sterling fan plain and simple.
Thank you to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley for granting me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"Robot Artists and Black Swans" is an anthology of stories written in the style of Italian science fiction, or more specifically Italian literary speculative fiction like Italo Calvino's fare. In a nutshell, Sterling presents these stories within a framing device that turns him into "Bruno Argento," a supposedly Italian author from Torino who (still within the framing device) merely pretended to be the Texan "Bruce Sterling."
It's an interesting idea, although I'm not sure what it added to the collection. I'm not even sure how far Sterling pushed the device. Did he really write these in Italian and then translate them into English? And if so, how much of the original style did he manage to preserve? Still, the framing device draws an interesting connection between Sterling and another author, Primo Levi, mentioned in the book. Levi (whose works I wholeheartedly recommend) is known for his account of his ordeal in Auschwitz, but he also published science fiction under a pseudonym and wrote some pieces on the art (and ripple effects) of translation, such as "L'altrui mestiere." So if you're wondering (like I was) why Sterling brings up Primo Levi, that might be it.
As for the stories, they're all fairly readable, although they suffered from a distanced approach to the characters' minds and situations. Everything felt external and false. That might have been the intention, or perhaps the issue jutted out more because of the uncomfortable pseudo-Italian dressing. None of the stories managed to attain a sense of authenticity. I was always on the outside, but at least the mixture of science-fiction and historical fiction took me to another world for a short while. "Robot in Roses" and "Kill the Moon" were both my personal highlights and the bookends for the collection.
Recommended if you are curious about Sterling's take on Italian short story conventions or Sterling's Italian-esque magical realism, but it's also worth your time if you're a Sterling fan plain and simple.
Thank you to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley for granting me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.