Avery
I experienced this book in the main parts.
At first, I was really thrown off by all the strange names and pronouns. Was it performative? It was definitely hard to follow. I then got called out by the book and decided I better try a little harder.
> You can remember the difference between innumerable different types of sausage or sporting teams, but you cannot hold in your mind a mere half-dozen or so categories of people? That must make navigating the nuances of human experience extraordinarily taxing for you.
Halfway through, it was feeling a bit better. The pronouns made sense and were in some cases reasonable and interesting choices that contributed to world building. I started to think of the book as a sort of modern Le Guin Hainish cycle book, by way of Miéville's Embassytown, with a bit of Iain Banks's Culture sprinkled in. That felt like pretty high praise, but there was still something that wasn't sitting right with me. It was dragging in places, or felt a little unfocused. Not sure.
By the end, I started to appreciate the ambition and scope of the book a little better. I found it to have fairly satisfying ending, and wrapped up a lot of what had felt like dangling ends.
In short, I nearly didn't finish the book, and then it gradually made its way to something I would actively recommend. It's a bit meandering, but ultimately explores interesting territory in some interesting ways. A book about the cosmic significance of love.
I experienced this book in the main parts.
At first, I was really thrown off by all the strange names and pronouns. Was it performative? It was definitely hard to follow. I then got called out by the book and decided I better try a little harder.
> You can remember the difference between innumerable different types of sausage or sporting teams, but you cannot hold in your mind a mere half-dozen or so categories of people? That must make navigating the nuances of human experience extraordinarily taxing for you.
Halfway through, it was feeling a bit better. The pronouns made sense and were in some cases reasonable and interesting choices that contributed to world building. I started to think of the book as a sort of modern Le Guin Hainish cycle book, by way of Miéville's Embassytown, with a bit of Iain Banks's Culture sprinkled in. That felt like pretty high praise, but there was still something that wasn't sitting right with me. It was dragging in places, or felt a little unfocused. Not sure.
By the end, I started to appreciate the ambition and scope of the book a little better. I found it to have fairly satisfying ending, and wrapped up a lot of what had felt like dangling ends.
In short, I nearly didn't finish the book, and then it gradually made its way to something I would actively recommend. It's a bit meandering, but ultimately explores interesting territory in some interesting ways. A book about the cosmic significance of love.