I really like your take on it having similar feelings to that of character memoirs rather than a sort of summation in post. We get a lot of one-on-one time with every character and their special miens, and I think that's where "The Long Way" truly shines; in that other, more... call it cynical takes on large-cast sci-fi stuff ultimately devolves -- or evolves, in a way -- into long, tiresome and often quarrelsome discussions about a frankly byzantine problem/plot contrivance, and that struggle sometimes turns into miscommunication which always seems lazy to me.
By excluding that element, by including the personal and essentially shrugging off the melodrama inherent in tight-knit communities like these, we get to see sides of characters not usually explored in popular contemporary stories.
It's been a while since I read it, but I greatly enjoyed and was enraptured by the idea of Sissix's multiple families: the egg family, the hatch family, and the feather family (which you touched on in an earlier post). I've never seen anything quite like it before in media, as alien cultures are typically rendered as something ultimately human but more fringe-like, like never-having-heard-of-monogamy-lite or simply asexual (another relationship lens through which we rarely gaze). But Sissix, and by extension Chambers, explains that, sure, it's alien to humans and a lot of other races, seen as low and off-putting in social situations, but it is, at bottom, entirely normal.
Unfortunately, Sissix's and Rosemary's relationship, though believable, heartfelt and altogether great, did feel a bit rushed. Although, I cannot recall just how long the total journey took. Nine months or something like that? It's a pretty dense book -- and universe -- so I suppose things just needed doing at some point.
And I love that phrase you used: lowercase o others. That perfectly sums up this book, as so much is explained in this lovely book without condescension or expectation; the things presented, complicated and nuanced as they might be, just *are*, and there's nothing wrong with that.
It's a very kind book (and review!), as you said, and I look forward to reading many like it, as well as more of your reviews!
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I Agree!!
Date: 2023-06-23 00:40 (UTC)By excluding that element, by including the personal and essentially shrugging off the melodrama inherent in tight-knit communities like these, we get to see sides of characters not usually explored in popular contemporary stories.
It's been a while since I read it, but I greatly enjoyed and was enraptured by the idea of Sissix's multiple families: the egg family, the hatch family, and the feather family (which you touched on in an earlier post). I've never seen anything quite like it before in media, as alien cultures are typically rendered as something ultimately human but more fringe-like, like never-having-heard-of-monogamy-lite or simply asexual (another relationship lens through which we rarely gaze). But Sissix, and by extension Chambers, explains that, sure, it's alien to humans and a lot of other races, seen as low and off-putting in social situations, but it is, at bottom, entirely normal.
Unfortunately, Sissix's and Rosemary's relationship, though believable, heartfelt and altogether great, did feel a bit rushed. Although, I cannot recall just how long the total journey took. Nine months or something like that? It's a pretty dense book -- and universe -- so I suppose things just needed doing at some point.
And I love that phrase you used: lowercase o others. That perfectly sums up this book, as so much is explained in this lovely book without condescension or expectation; the things presented, complicated and nuanced as they might be, just *are*, and there's nothing wrong with that.
It's a very kind book (and review!), as you said, and I look forward to reading many like it, as well as more of your reviews!