A review by aftaerglows
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

5.0

1. tower of babylon 3.5* - started off really well; you immediately realize how well chiang writes. i never knew where he was going and i was a little confused at the ending: i thought "well, that's a really complicated way of saying something pretty simple". enjoyed it nonetheless.
2. understand 4* - so so so cool. i wish someone would make this into a movie, with some changes.
3. story of your life 4.5* - linguist nerd shit? reflections on the linearity of time? sign me tf UP
4. seventy-two letters 3.25* - i'm not sure how to feel about this one, to be honest. i fear a reread is necessary
5. the evolution of human science 2.5* - too short (this is like, three pages long) to make an impact
6. hell is the absence of god 5* - i know this is weird because the protagonist is grieving the loss of his wife and trying to have faith in god so he can go to heaven and be with her, but i had so much fun. i was shocked by the ending and also... laughing. please don't call the cops on me.
7. liking what you see: a documentary 5* cool format, cool idea, not as fleshed out as the others but obviously i liked it a lot