Story of Your Life

4/5
A mind-melting mix of semantic jargon that explores the notions of free will, causality versus teleology and parenthood. While the twist is made clear far earlier in the novella when compared to the film Arrival, this gave Chiang space to dive deeper into both the scientific and emotional ramifications of the two-dimensional Heptapod B language. For this reason I do think Villeneuve's movie leaves a far more powerful impact on its audience, despite being more scientifically shallow than that of the short story.

With Stories of Your Life being less focused on having a momentum-driven plot with exciting visual conflict however readers are given more spaced out, non-linear glimpses of how linguist Dr. Louise Banks raises her child. It really does feel like stepping inside captured moments which summarise a mother-daughter relationship, and properly explains the inevitability of knowing the future.