A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Feeeeeeelings

In theory, I should love this, but it annoys me in the same way the Murderbot series does. It tries to be relatable with obstacles the main character faces, but then it also ignores the long but necessary process of struggling to overcome said obstacles.

For example, Dex (they) face an interesting challenge at the start of the book, but then there's a time jump and suddenly they're a master of this new, complicated skill. Why? What's the point of skipping this? At the end of the book, they have a mini breakdown, but it feels shallow because we never got to see them struggle, fear and evolve. We recognize the words they're saying as something we relate to, but we don't feel them with our heart because we didn't get to bond over our struggles at the start of the book. I get that the author wanted to write a cozy, feel good book, but come on...

This book felt like a hug! The definition of a cozy, comfort read! I only wish it were longer and I can't wait for the sequels!

I also did not expect this sci-fi fiction novella to be so relevant to pastoral ministry!

Dex wants to be a tea monk and help people. On their first day of trying to actually do this, a woman comes to him crying because her beloved cat just died. If this passage doesn't speak directly to those entering some kind of pastoral ministry after seminary then I don't know what does:

“Dex realized with a stomach-souring thud that they were standing on the wrong side of the vast gulf between having read about doing a thing and doing the thing. They'd been a garden monk until the day before, and in that context, their expressions of comfort to the monastery's visitors came in the form of a healthy foxpaw crawling up a trellis or a carefully pruned rose in bloom. It was an exchange expressed through environment, not through words. Dex was not actually a tea monk yet. They were just a person sitting at a table with a bunch of mugs. The wagon, the kettle, the red and brown, the fact that they were clearly well past apprentice age—all of it communicated that they knew what they were doing. They did not.Dex did their best to look sympathetic, which is what they wanted to be, rather than lost, which is what they were. “I'm sorry,” they said. They scrambled to recall the written advice they'd spent hours consuming, but not only had the specifics evaporated, their basic vocabulary had as well. It was one thing to know people would tell you their troubles. It was another to have an actual flesh-and-blood stranger standing in front of you, weeping profusely as means of introduction, and to know that you—you—were responsible for making this better.

Yet another comfy read from Becky Chambers. Pity it is only a novella - is it quite short. This was my first time reading solarpunk and I want to read more of it! Robots don't want to work in factories anymore because they've developed consciousness? No problems, just shut down your factories, send them on their way and work around it. It's a very utopian-seeming future, unlike steampunk/sci-fi which is usually quite gritty and dark. I guess it's almost like a fantasy in how unrealistic it is lol.

I've had a really strong past read from Becky Chambers novella “To Be Taught if Fortunate” I consider it a favorite.

I didn't get along with the first book in her main series she's best known for and my reading experience was very similar with this one. Different stories but the tone so similar.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built felt overly child-like and whimsical. A pandering moral children story. I prefer books with such clear messages to be a bit more nuanced and less spoon fed when its marketed for an older audience. I really liked the concept of this but went too far in that direction that this slim novel went on too long for me.

An absolutely wonderful book. My only complaint is that tea monks don't exist in real life, unfortunately.

i would die for mosscap

This is the most pleasant book I have ever read. It's just a joy, and so calming and thoughtful. It really wrestles well with many of life's questions in ways that bring about peace instead of existential dread, which I appreciated. Honestly, don't have too many thoughts on it right now, but, if I could only recommend one book to read, this is it. This is the book I recommend most. Anyway, absolutely looking forward to the sequel.

Lovely but I found the language almost too distracting.

Only right at the end of the book did I consider that maybe I really wasn't the right audience for the story - as it seemed to smack of “millennium type problems”. Using air quotes in my description because I'm fairly sure this is a patronising statement I'm making!

The Dex character feels discontent with their achievements and is struggling to find fulfilling meaning. Their work has meaning to others but they're left feeling empty. Obviously it's an impossible measure as life trondles forward and achievements change with time.

For me it was only really when Dex meets the Robot (whose name I've already forgotten) when the book became more engaging. It was like the Dex character could be challenged and some real depth was offered (for better or worse for Dex's personality).

But what I did struggle with was the language and the odd shoehorning of gender pronouns. Dex is neither “he” or “she”, so Chamber's settles with using the “they” pronoun. This led to my own confusion regularly thinking the lines I was reading was referring to Dex and another character that was in the scene.

The sore-thumb moment is when Dex asks, interestingly, what pronoun the Robot uses, and the Robot responds with “it” and it refers to itself as an object. Dex replies with (something like) they are the same, and their pronoun is “they”. This seemed like a potentially interesting exchange between the Robot and Dex about the subject of how one refers to oneself and how they identify, but it doesn't happen. It just has that exchange, and then the story returns to what they were doing and carries on. It felt jarring and like Chamber's wanted to discuss this topic, but instead shoe horned it in.

I do also suspect that my trouble with the language is a me-thing and probably with practice it won't cause me as much (or any) confusion, but for now, and this book, it definitely affected how I enjoyed the story.

Kinda a gorgeous book. The descriptions and the prose were beautiful and every sentence was vivid. It was succinct without making me feel like something was missing and it was just long enough to deliver its message. I also felt like the message was pretty neat and the way the book “shows not tells it” worked well for me. It was also the first book that I've read that was so deliberate about pronouns! I appreciated that the book did it without being super like “HEY LOOK WHAT IM DOING” about it.

Spoilerish Alert

There were a couple things that annoyed me though. There was a bit of “manic pixie dream girl” energy with the relationship between the robot, Mosscap, and our protagonist, Dex. Dex kept broadening his expectations and horizons thanks to their relationship and it just felt like sort of formulaic in that regard.

Brb becoming a tea monk

The Psalm for the Wild Built is a joy to read. There is no great antagonist to the battle except for your nagging inner voice, and only hope guides your journey through the lands.

“You're an animal, Sibling Dex. You are not separate or other. You're an animal. And animals have no purpose. Nothing has a purpose. The world simply is. If you want to do things that are meaningful to others, fine! Good! So do I! But if I wanted to crawl into a cave and watch stalagmites with Frostfrog for the remainder of my days, that would also be both fine and good. You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don't know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don't need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”

Hope is a pervasive emotion; if you let it, hope can seep into every crevice and neuron in your body. It gives you the belief that more can come and there are better days ahead. That is what Monk and Robot show with every step and roll of the tea cart, there is a low chanting sound that follows them as they travel singing “Hope. Hope. Hope.”

The story follows Sibing Dex and Splendid Speckled Mosscap. Dex is a tea monk. A traveling monk and a cart full of herbs and spices moving from town to town, healing the sick with their spicey creations and leaving comfort in their wake. As a character, Sibling Dex is battling the old thought of “am I doing what I should be doing.” and “Why aren't I happy.” I think that many readers will empathize with his thoughts and struggles, myself included. Happiness can sometimes feel like a slippery emotion; you grasp it and hold on, yet somehow it wriggles out of your hands and flies away.

“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don't know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don't need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”

Splendid Speckled Mosscap is a wonderfully depicted robot who meets up with Sibling Dex while walking the roads between camps. There is an honesty in Mosscap's character and a refreshing uncluttered view of what is essential in life and why.

Mosscap is the first robot to meet up with a human in centuries. This story has flavors of the “first contact” motif. Apparently, in this future world, when humans discover that the robots gained sentience, they let them go to be free people out in the world. There were no battles and bloody betrayal. No Arnold Schwarzenegger saying, “i'll be back.” The humans realized that the robots were people. This is such a wonderful hopepunk idea. Humans do what is ethically and morally right with no monetary compensation or power struggle. Humans are proper and sound, and to this reviewer, who reads 90% of grimdark novels, it was quite the change.

I do not want to spoil anything in this “warm cup of tea on a raining morning” book. The pair talked about philosophy and mindset that hit me hard. And I think readers will love it. A psalm of the Wild Built is lovely, the characters are beautiful people trying their best, and I can't wait to read more of their adventures.

Another great, meditative story from Becky Chambers, who had rapidly become one of my go-to authors for stories that bring on a sense of calm and peace.

1: A Psalm for the Wild-Built ★★★★
#2: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy ???

this was just, like, really nice. it feels a little cheesy to compare it to a warm cup of tea, but it really was a warm cup of tea in book form. as someone who feels a little lost in life right now, this was exactly the message i needed to hear. while the plot was interesting, this was largely character-focused and introspective. i definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something quiet and comforting to read.

short, beautiful read

I shouldn't be surprised that Becky Chambers has yet another book that gives me all kinds of fuzzy heart feelings. I loved all of the Wayfarers books, and saw someone recommending this one and had to give it a shot. It gives me vibes of “Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn too” with the robot trying to learn what it is that humans/humanity needs. I have a great deal of love for Dex, and I think the sweetest thing I've read in ages is Dex not being able to eat their meal without giving some to their guest.

As a big fan of the Wayfarers universe, I am happy to find that Becky Chambers has built this other world. More to love!

This was a nice little read, with two very kind main characters. I can't wait to read more about these two in a sequel.

This book is dedicated to “anyone who could use a break” and I think that's about everyone right now. It's the perfect book to cuddle up with a hot drink - tea would be best, I think - and read in one sitting. It's a lovely exploration of humanity and robot-anity and I cried over these sweet friends.

Aesthetically and tonally right up my alley, but it really just felt like an extended prologue rather than a full story in itself. Also the voice, while mostly charming today, probably is going to age like milk.

There's something that elevated Becky Chambers for me after reading all of her Wayfarer series. If I hadn't read those first, I'm not sure I would have appreciated this one as much (like how I wasn't as in love with To Be Taught if Fortunate, which was my first Chambers, like so many other people). This is a really intricate story mostly about one character and their struggles with the minutia of life and individual purpose (yes please!). Although I appreciated their journey for most of the book, I was a tad bored until the 2/3rds mark — and THEN I was hooked. The set up for the rest of the series has me super excited for the next one and hopefully many more after.

Outstanding read. Great characters and world-building.

this book is so lovely.

i already was a big fan of the solarpunk genre but this rlly cemented my love for it.

the story feels like a big, warm hug. i couldnt recommend this more

(also can we talk about how beautiful the cover is???)

While there's nothing groundbreaking here, I breezed through this novella and it made for a very pleasant reading experience.

Chambers storytelling style is straightforward and without frills, but the overall result is quite affecting. I'm eager for future adventures with Dex and Mosscap and learning more about the world of Panga.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

My thoughts here.
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2021/08/microreview-book-psalm-for-wild-built.html

A short book about service and reflection, told with gentle humour, that encourages the reader to ask the question, “What do people really want?” and “What is the nature of purpose?”.