pickFor a short book, this one gives you a lot to think about. It is written as a journal of sorts chronicling the mission of a space crew travelling to four new moons/planets to study life. Chambers does an amazing job crafting a future world that is believable yet fantastic. The story addresses ethical dilemmas, interpersonal relationships, and the concept of home.
pickOkay, I'm done spamming my feed with quotes from this remarkable classic. Accessible too, given the page count. A good chunk of this edition is actually scholarship on the story, and I'm still thinking through my own thoughts; will leave other 'takes' for a second read at some point in the future. For everything it says, (not as dated as I thought it would be), I'm so very glad this book exists.
"...hoped that some day our cities would open up more and let the green and the land and the wilderness in more, to remind people that we're allotted a little space in earth and that we survive in that wilderness that can take back what it has given, as easily as blowing its breath on us or sending the sea to tell us we are not so big." ???
"The things you're looking for, Montag, are in the world, but the only way the average chap will ever see ninety-nine percent of them is in a book. Don't ask for guarantees. And don't look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine or library. DO YOUR OWN BIT OF SAVING, AND IF YOU DROWN, AT LEAST DIE KNOWING YOU WERE HEADED FOR SHORE." ??
"We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren't happy. Something's missing."
"It's not books you need, it's some of the things that were once in books...The magic is only in what books say..."
I don‘t know what Saturday me was thinking when I got my summer reading program stack but apparently I was like you just finished a chunkster so let‘s do another? Starting this today.
panSurprised to say this one didn‘t click for me. It has all the right elements — Space horror, realism, psychological suspense — but it didn‘t work for me. The reveal was underwhelming and I never felt fully connected to Catherine. Good prose, though.
