To Be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers released 8/8/2019 is not a book that immediately grabs the reader, but instead slowly sinks into your subconsciousness until you find yourself pondering its themes days after finishing it. Spoilers ahead, continue at your own risk! The books premise is that it is a report from explorers on the spacecraft Merian and its ecological survey of exoplanets with the four explorers. It then moves on to the experiences within the spacecraft such as their interpersonal relationships, who they are as people as well as their life on board of the spacecraft. The book uses pseudoscience throughout, such as the term ‘somaforming’ which allows for the people to adapt to the planet, rather than having the planet adapt to them, therefore not leaving an impact on the planet more than just the observation mission they were given. The positives I found with this book was the diversity of the written characters, one was A-Sexual, one was Mexican, another trans, etc. I liked the diversity within the book, as it wasn’t overdone with it being a main part of their personalities as many books do, but this was a part of who they were with no qualms. It does feel like a checklist, however, the characters had such an overwhelming fondness of each other that you could see written throughout the book. The theme of familial bonds shows, as well as their polyamorous relationships does crop up throughout albeit with a subtleness that may not necessarily be picked up the first time around. The book also has a description of the planets that showed the scope of the author’s imagination to be wide and varied, a planet had been described as having the Northern Lights under the surface that made it look as though the planet was glowing from within. A negative I found with this book, was mostly an unnecessary graphic scene of brutality that I did not enjoy (it involved an animal). I did not immediately enjoy this book, as I felt underwhelmed by the ending, as I felt that it just ended with no resolution. Although, upon reflection of the book, it made me deeply think and compare it to the current situation of Covid-19, where we are isolated from our friends and families, the comparison I felt was that of leaving your family and not being able to contact or see them and not knowing how they are. The reason for this comparison was due to the lack of communication the Merian received from Earth whilst they were on their missions. This also led to the characters withdrawing into themselves as well as one spiralling so much that she tried to kill herself just to feel the freedom. There were several themes throughout this book, which involved mental health, friendships dissolving, the contemplation of death and life, as well as beautiful and sometimes terrifying descriptions of their experiences. Although I did not fully enjoy this book the first time that I read it, I did have thought provoking discussions surrounding the topics shown throughout and that is the best impact a book can have on you. Although I didn't 100% enjoy this book, these are my own views and they may not resonate with everyone, I still recommend this book and I do rate it a 4/5*.
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About MeHi I'm Charlotte, I review books for fun and read a lot! Archives
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