I like Becky Chambers' writing. It is thought-provoking and hopeful. To Be Taught if Fortunate is a stand-alone novella that addresses the question of space exploration. Why do it? The title is a quote by Kurt Waldheim, former UN Secretary-General, to extraterrestrials.
"We step out of our solar system into the universe seeking only peace and friendship – to teach, if we are called upon; to be taught, if we are fortunate."
Four astronauts are on a scientific mission of exploration beyond our solar system to planets calculated to have life. Their struggles and triumphs are told from the perspective of crew member Ariadne. She is the ship's engineer giving her a pragmatic, problem-solving bent, but because she's not the captain, she has to be persuasive. They all understand that studying alien life disturbs and endangers, but may also preserve and protect it. When you lift a rock to look at worms, they are forced out of their chosen dark habitat into the damaging sunlight.
I'm making this book sound pedantic, but it is like a good Star Trek episode with Captain Piccard and Riker wrestling with the Prime Directive to help, but maybe harm. Differing opinions are honored, but the well-drawn characters give the story spark and interest. Chambers is good at the big picture of space exploration and the intimate portrayal of human costs.
Here is a review of another book by Chambers from an earlier post: https://barbpruittwrites.blogspot.com/2022/01/excellent-app-for-book-people-is-where.html.
I found I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (who also wrote 101 Dalmations) predictable and somewhat sexist. It may be because it was written and set in the 1930s. It is short and sweet, but irritating. I found the main character too helpless. Cassandra Mortmain is a lively, beautiful young woman with an even more beautiful older sister. They live in a castle with a younger brother, a famous, inept father, and a dotty stepmother in amusing poverty. So droll. The older daughter is contemplating marriage with a handsome, wealthy American suitor that she doesn't love to save her family.
Hello, Jane Austen calling.
It didn't work for me, but if you love JA, it is whimsically diverting.
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At my daughter's church is a lovely book table with well-curated and thought-provoking books like The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World, by Rosaria Butterfield (aliens-tennis-and-hospitality.html). It is one of the many perks of visiting them. On my latest visit, I picked up Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity by Alisa Childers. Childers grew up in a loving Christian family, sang in the Christian band ZOEgirl, and mostly interacted with people who affirmed her beliefs. Then she encountered a pastor who called himself a hopeful agnostic and challenged her fundamental understanding of her faith: like the deity of Christ and the trustworthiness of the Scriptures. This book arises from Childers wrestling with her doubts. She is a dedicated researcher reading many books and even auditing seminary classes to understand what was accurate and true.
Here are some of my takeaways:
- Attacks on the essentials of the faith are not new. New challenges to belief are old heresies redressed: Manichaeism, Gnosticism, and Pelagianism, to name a few.
- Christianity has its defenders. They may not be the loudest voice, but they are out there.
- When facing doubts, reach out instead of pulling in.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is the June pick for my murder mystery book club. I wasn't excited to read it. I assumed the main character, Lo Blacklock, a travel journalist, would be an unreliable narrator. Unfortunately, I misjudged this book on many levels. One: the cabin is not in the woods, but on a boat (ship?). Two: Lo Blacklock has her issues--it adds tension and complexity-- but she is fierce and dogged in defending the weak. As I read, the book only improved from my original assumptions.
My false ideas were based on the excellent books Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and the myriad of books that came out in the early 2000s with "girl" or "woman" in the title. Here is a list: https://www.listchallenges.com/books-with-girl-or-woman-in-the-title
Anyways, I recommend this suspenseful, twisty story. It's a good one.
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