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A review by calarco
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
5.0
Truly original in its scope, Ted Chiang’s short story collection [b:Stories of Your Life and Others|223380|Stories of Your Life and Others|Ted Chiang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356138316l/223380._SY75_.jpg|216334] is a really solid literary read.
What I enjoyed the most about this collection is that at the core of each story is a particular scientific or speculative concept that ultimately drives the drama and suspense of a given plot. More important, these ideas are never overpowering of (or detrimental to) character development. This is best showcased with “Liking What You See: A Documentary,” which is told from the perspective of numerous interviewees who each serve to provide unique perspectives of the facial obscuring Calli technology. Each appear in no more than a couple paragraphs, yet each feel fully distinct and developed in their short segments. This approach constitutes some of the strongest form of world-building I’ve read in a while.
Another great feature is the blending of sci-fi and spiritual themes—Chiang eloquently blurs the lines between these two elements. Often, sci-fi as a genre comments on the tenants of morality, change, and the nature of the human condition in big concept ways, but I have not read a great deal that ties in spirituality quite as well as Chiang did with this collection. This is best seen with “The Tower of Babylon” and “Hell is the Absence of God.” Each explores Western religious themes, yet they are unraveled through an inquisitive lens that pieces together the underlying mechanisms of how and why.
The titular story, “Story of Your Life,” is truly a knock-out; rarely am I excited about linguistics as a source of narrative tension, and the way Chiang interweaves this with shifting Vonnegut-esque perspective is pretty moving. Perhaps my favorite story of the collection, however, is “Understand.” While not listed as a source of inspiration, the story reminded me in several ways of [b:Flowers for Algernon|36576608|Flowers for Algernon|Daniel Keyes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1510416245l/36576608._SY75_.jpg|3337594], though reimagined as an action film that focuses on what altered awareness would entail as an experience, in addition to its consequences. Good stuff.
Overall, The Story of Your Life and Others is a truly great book; I highly recommend it. I’ll be on the lookout for more of Ted Chiang’s work, his thoughtful writing style is truly praiseworthy.
What I enjoyed the most about this collection is that at the core of each story is a particular scientific or speculative concept that ultimately drives the drama and suspense of a given plot. More important, these ideas are never overpowering of (or detrimental to) character development. This is best showcased with “Liking What You See: A Documentary,” which is told from the perspective of numerous interviewees who each serve to provide unique perspectives of the facial obscuring Calli technology. Each appear in no more than a couple paragraphs, yet each feel fully distinct and developed in their short segments. This approach constitutes some of the strongest form of world-building I’ve read in a while.
Another great feature is the blending of sci-fi and spiritual themes—Chiang eloquently blurs the lines between these two elements. Often, sci-fi as a genre comments on the tenants of morality, change, and the nature of the human condition in big concept ways, but I have not read a great deal that ties in spirituality quite as well as Chiang did with this collection. This is best seen with “The Tower of Babylon” and “Hell is the Absence of God.” Each explores Western religious themes, yet they are unraveled through an inquisitive lens that pieces together the underlying mechanisms of how and why.
The titular story, “Story of Your Life,” is truly a knock-out; rarely am I excited about linguistics as a source of narrative tension, and the way Chiang interweaves this with shifting Vonnegut-esque perspective is pretty moving. Perhaps my favorite story of the collection, however, is “Understand.” While not listed as a source of inspiration, the story reminded me in several ways of [b:Flowers for Algernon|36576608|Flowers for Algernon|Daniel Keyes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1510416245l/36576608._SY75_.jpg|3337594], though reimagined as an action film that focuses on what altered awareness would entail as an experience, in addition to its consequences. Good stuff.
Overall, The Story of Your Life and Others is a truly great book; I highly recommend it. I’ll be on the lookout for more of Ted Chiang’s work, his thoughtful writing style is truly praiseworthy.