To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Ratings344
Average rating4.2
Lovely found family space exploration novella. Told from one POV as if addressing an audience ‘back home' on Earth. Chambers is excellent at bring heart into sci-fi and I love it.
This book was fantastic! For being so short, it really provided a lot of fuel for some big questions about human nature and the universe, while still being deeply rooted in the personal stories of the main characters.
Español & English
Español
Esta es una noveleta (o novela corta). Habiendo dicho esto, esta es una lectura rápida, esta noveleta no llega a las 200 páginas.
La historia que te cuenta es ciencia ficción pura con personajes por los cuales es fácil sentir aprecio debido a las situaciones por las que viven esto a pesar de que no es posible profundizar tanto en las historias personales o el pasado de cada uno. Si este libro comete un pecado, creo que sería ese, me quede con ganas de más. El libro refleja una realidad que no luce tan lejana considerando la situación y tecnologías de la actualidad, creo que en parte eso es lo que provoca que te enganches en la historia.
Lo recomendaría como un libro bastante amigable para quien es principiante en la lectura de ciencia ficción y está buscando algo corto para leer que tampoco sea una saga, pero eso no quiere decir que algún otro lector más experimentado no pueda disfrutarla. Creo que funciona bastante bien como una lectura rápida de fin de semana.
English
This is a novella (or short novel). That being said, it is a short read, this novella does not reach the 200 pages.
It tells a history of pure science fiction with characters for whom it is easy to feel fond to because of the situations they go through; even though it is not possible to explore as deeply into the background history of each one. In any case I think this is the one sin of this book, I wanted more. The book reflects a reality that does not seem so distant considering the current situation and technologies, I think that in part that is what gets you hooked while reading it.
I would recommend it as a very friendly book for someone who is a beginner in reading science fiction and is looking for something short to read that is not a saga either, but that does not mean that some other more experienced reader cannot enjoy it. I think it works pretty well as a quick weekend read.
I was a tad bummed that I didn't connect to this story the way so many others have, but I did find that I am in love with Becky Chambers' writing style. In terms of plot, I was not blown away. There were a couple times throughout the novella where I was excited by new twists, however the pieces that grabbed me never became major parts of the story and I was less interested in the direction Chambers takes the reader. Another disappointment was that character depth never felt more than that of a caricature. Overall the grand take aways and deep messages other readers report were missed by me. All that said, I can see the brilliance that is Becky Chambers and I am VERY excited to get to The Way to a Small, Angry Planet this year.
Becky Chambers writes just such wholesome and uplifting stories- and in this timeline I'll take all the hope for humanity I can get.
This is one of the most science-y of all SF books that I read, and yet the impression it leaves is of a story, and people.
I know the ending was .. right, but it doesn't mean I have to like it .
The only five stars I gave without feeling a tiny bit of dilemma this year. Great piece of work.
A fabulous novella that deals with the day-to-day activities of an extra-solar mission. Not a book to be read for the events (which tend to be of the more realistically mundane kind) but more one to be read for the experience. A bit like a gentler version of The Martian, this takes you through the experience of a deep space mission, with its up and downs, excitements and boredoms. Ultimately this is an ode to the desire to explore and understand, with a focus on the why rather than the what.
First half sounds like a high school biology lesson, second half reads like a slice of life fiction that tries to be philosophical... in the end it did nothing. There is no plot so it was kinda boring to be honest.
Becky Chambers' mom is an astrobiologist (yes, I'm jealous, too) and they worked together to imagine how spacefaring might work in this world. I love super-realistic space stories and there are so few of them, without ansibles and hyperspace drives. To Be Taught leans in to the boundaries of the speed of light. There is no going home, there is no instantaneous communication with earth, light years away. There is the claustrophobic feeling of being with the only humans who come from the same era as you, of being years away from hearing a response to your question. How do people cope with that? How does a society build up an astronaut plan and a culture to accept that? These are the fascinating questions of space travel and Chambers doesn't flinch from them.
Wow, I haven't rated a book 5 is a very long time. This checked all the ‘boxes' for me. Good subject, good character and relationship building, a plot the keeps moving, not too deep in lingo, no character that is designed to antagonize and be hated, and no backbiting and politics.
I especially loved the concluding paragraph!
I forgot how damn lonely this book is! It's lovely and good, and I enjoy it, but at the same time, being Alone, entirely alone, in space, knowing there are only three other people out there with you. I love Chambers' work. All of the gentle kind lonely space feels.
This is my 3rd or 4th Chambers book and I think it's my favorite. Not because it's short, it is, but because it ponders the big questions in life. Not that I didn't think space exploration wasn't important before, I did, but now I think I see the philosophy of WHY it's important. I can't help but wonder if this wasn't written to offset the current state of the country's views on space exploration (too expensive). Chambers even offers up an alternative to creating government expenses.
I really loved that their bodies had to be changed before exploring each new planet, it gave the feeling of a fresh start, a clean slate. I loved visiting the planets with them. I loved Ariadne's simple explanations for what really is a complicated science. I was all in.
This little book is filled with wonder, and that is something I needed right now.
I've known about Becky Chambers's Wayfarers series for a long time but never felt interested in it because it's sci-fi. But reading more science fiction is one of my goals for this year and when I saw that this standalone by the author was nominated for the Hugo awards, I thought what better way to get acquainted with her writing. And this novella turned out to be something I never expected.
I don't think I've read any proper space exploration or first contact books before, so this was a first and it definitely made for an interesting premise. And this book is almost written like a scientist explaining to normal people the purpose of their mission and what goes on during their daily activities - and that was just perfect for a novice sci-fi reader like me. There is still a lot of scientific terminology used that went above my head, but the main character also explains the basics well and I really felt like I was learning something new. There is also not much of a story or plot here, it's more like a catalog of all that happens to the scientists during their travel and testing; which can be a bit boring if not for the captivating words of the author and the absolute wonder that the characters feel whenever they encounter something new. It was that sense of awe, and sometimes despair that kept me going, and I can't deny that this was a reading experience unlike any I've had before.
But the best and important part of this book is the questions it asks and the themes it deals with. On one hand - we have the isolation that the astronauts feel after having been away from earth for so long, how it affects their mental health especially when they encounter some troubles, and how it affects their decision making; on the other hand - they also wonder about whether their exploration is ethical, what about the species on the new planets which never consented but still get affected due to their tests, and how can we humans justify sacrificing a few of these species for the sake of our quest for knowledge. There is also a great emphasis on these scientists being explorers and not colonizers, ready to adapt themselves to the new environment but not change it to suit them; and also the importance of pursuing space exploration as a means to learn and gain knowledge for the sake of it, but not for a profit motive.
To conclude, this novella maybe short but it is hugely impactful and I realize now why it's been nominated for the awards. It just slowly makes its way into your heart and changes your perspective forever. You definitely should check it out if you are a fan of sci-fi, but I think it works even better for newbie readers of the genre like me. And what an ending that was - exquisite, poignant, heartbreaking but just perfect.
Becky Chambers has a way of writing stories about space in such a way that I'm left feeling so moved. I listened to this audiobook (2x speed) in a single sitting. Besides lovely narration we are left with a story that left me feeling hopeful during such a time of uncertainty.
Short but sweet prequel novella set in the same universe as the Wayfarer series.
Sci-fi is still pretty much new to me. I haven't read very much in this genre. I have heard great things about this author so I decided to give this a shot. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I thought it was kind of boring in spots. I still think I'll try more of her books though.
Review originally posted on Geeky Galaxy.
I closed this book and actually said “No!” out loud. You know why? The book ends with a question. My answer to the question wasn't no. My yelling no is because I'm never going to know the answer to said question. And I'm asking myself if that means there never was an answer to the question, or if we just never find out the answer. Yes. That's a whole paragraph of me talking about the final few sentences of the book. I could probably write a whole novel in response to this book. But I won't. Instead, see below my trying to sum up how much I adored this book, without actually writing a novel.
The Plot
Aside from the ending, which I explained above, I adored the narrative style of To Be Taught, If Fortunate. It's told in a sort of after-action report. If reports were more casual and more human. It's as if the main character sat down, wrote up the goings-on, and sent it off to Earth in the hopes of it being read. And I loved that. Writing that makes me consider the ending again, there's no answer to the question because it's up to us to answer it. I'm just annoyed I won't get to read what happens next. And I really need to know what happens next.
The World
Here's the trick with this book, it's a study of four different worlds. And Becky Chambers manages to explain each one in such a way that I could imagine exactly what the planet was like, what the characters were feeling due to planetary conditions. For the most part, the environment is described without express emotion, but I somehow still embraced a sense of wonder that came with each discovery. It's like I wasn't reading fiction, and was enjoying the writings of someone who had actually been responsible for aiding in cataloguing life on other planets. It was amazing.
The Characters
Becky Chambers has a knack for characters. Despite the science, the planets, the technology, it all comes back to the four characters this whole thing is centred on. It's how these planets impact them, their thoughts, how they cope with environments, how they find joy in the little things, and deal with adversity. This whole thing is character-driven right up until the end, where Becky Chambers makes you a character, the reader makes the ultimate decision. And damn, I loved and hated that.
I'm not going to break the characters down like I normally do. I loved all of them. Despite this being a report of sorts, the characters personalities shone through and they're each unique and so fun to read about. You need to read this (and it's super short, so it won't take too long!) to really grasp how Becky Chambers manages to work her magic with these characters.
I should probably stop rambling now! Have you read this novella? What'd you think?
I got this book right away when I saw it coming out (thanks marketing!) because I have loved the Wayfarers series, by the same author, so much. It was “just” a novella, but packed with great optimism and trepidation about humans reaching out into the stars... my favorite kind of science fiction.
A beautiful, stunning, atmospheric and gut punching must read. Loved every second of this.