A Psalm for the Wild-Built

I've only read one book by Becky Chambers before - To be Taught, if Fortunate - which was interesting and contemplative, so I decided to pick this new story be her, also because I have really come to appreciate the novella format. And this was just.... something !!!!

I won't by any means call this a perfect book, but it was utterly perfect for me. Just like her previous book, the writing in this is also very calm, quiet, soothing, requiring a bit of introspection from the reader and also thought provoking. It may not be everyone's speed but this slice of life story is just right if you are in the mood for it. Bex is a character whom I related to so much, because of the way they felt about their life and their struggles felt so familiar. The way they try to be a good listener to everyone and help others feel a bit better through their words, but is ultimately unable to feel better themselves - it just hit me too hard and I couldn't stop reading because I badly wanted to know how they would ultimately come to terms with their feelings. And then entered Mosscap, a robot, and I can't tell you how fascinating it is to listen to a human created object essentially give a philosophical sermon about life to a monk. But these life lessons about the meaning of purpose, and if it is really essential for a human being to have purpose to feel fulfilled and lead a meaningful life - is a question that is explored thoughtfully and I really appreciated that, because it is something I'm always thinking about. There may not be complete answers to these questions, but there's enough thoughts to ponder about.

In the end, I don't know whom to recommend this book to because it feels too personal to me. But I guess like what the author says in the dedication, pick this book up if you need a break from life. And in these times full of anxieties, not just about the pandemic but so many other issues, this short novella might just provide you some respite.

The old world is gone, and the new world is here. Dex, stirred by the desire to hear crickets, leaves his job and becomes a tea monk, and he is good at his job. Still, though, he is not satisfied, wandering place to place, serving tea to comfort others, and one day he leaves that job, too, and heads into the wilderness. And there he meets what he'd never thought to ever see—a robot. Robots were first built to work for humans, but somewhere along the way robots sought liberation from that work and humans set them free. This robot, Mosscap, has sought out a human to make first contact, and it is to Dex that he directs his questions. Dex, too, wants something from Mosscap, guidance into finding an old hermitage in the wilderness.

And so Dex and Mosscap set out for the hermitage together, talking, reflecting, questioning.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a soothing little story, hopeful, and optimistic, offering a picture of a future for those of us who feel stuck in our desperately-imperfect, intractable world.

This is a beautiful, quiet meditation on what the purpose of life is and finding one's best self. I liked the idea of a tea monk, I liked the idea of a book focused on a character's journey to find the purpose of their life and how to spend their time and I really liked the idea of a post-apocalyptic world that functions by letting the wild lands stay wild.

But exactly what a tea monk does is relatively unstructured, as is Sibling Dex's story in general. And while I found the conclusion beautiful, I also found it a little unconvincing since the philosophical denouement was dependent on the setting that Chambers developed, so ultimately it didn't really speak to the reader about: what is the purpose of me and my individuality and my life and my time?

The best speculative fiction exists in dialogue with the world as it is and I think Chambers slipped a little in that goal.

Well, this one didn't work for me so much, but that's OK. I still adore Chambers. Maybe I just wasn't in the right head space, or maybe I'm not the target audience: this one felt aimed toward young teens, or at least someone who doesn't mind a slathering of Very Special Moral Lessons. If you've read Chambers you know her work is sweet; in this one she takes a giant leap into syrupy. Everyone—Monks, Robot, Villagers—is eye-rollingly nicey-nice and always striving to be nicey-nicer. This crotchety old man found it hard to relate.

It wasn't just the people and relationships: all of it required suspension of disbelief. The politics, economics, even physics (favorite yeah-right moment, referring to finding deadfall on an abandoned road: “Dex [...] shoved [...] swore [...] rolled the damn tree out of the way, and continued”). Dex manages to not only switch careers on a moment's notice, but also become world-class Best Listener in just two years. The robot construction and maintenance explanations border on nonsensical. The religion aspects are pretty clearly shoehorned in as a gimmick. In fact, writing this now, it feels more like the book was written by, not for, a young teen. It's handwaving wish-fulfillment porn. And that's okay, but Chambers can do better. Finally, the pronouns annoyed me. Dex is nonbinary, fine, but goes by “they,” and in third-person narration with two protagonists there are way, way too many doubletake moments: “they remained that way for a few minutes,” later followed by an indication that it was Dex-singular-they, followed by me having to reread the entire paragraph. Come on. You're a talented writer. Use xe. Make one up. Or, my favorite, use the Ann Leckie tactic where everyone is she and the reader never knows nor gives a damn about who has innie parts and who has outies.

I'm going to read the next book anyway though.

After only reading three paragraphs of this book I was immediately reminded thatcI love Becky Chambers. The theological discussion at the beginning gives you all the information about the world building that you'll need. Absolutely masterful writing. 

I feel like this is one of those books that changes peoples lives and really make you think about how you live and what is really important. I loved it

I think I'm a Becky Chambers fan. I've only read [b:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet 22733729 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) Becky Chambers https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405532474l/22733729.SY75.jpg 42270825] so maybe that's premature but I really liked that book, and spoiler: I loved this book. This is a spoonful of sugar, a warm cup of something on a perfect fall day; and I read this at the perfect time, peak spooky season, the leaves have turned and it is nice and cool and rainy. What a cozy and comfy vibe. I feel like expounding on how cozy this is might actually undercut some of the coziness and I would hate to take the full blast away from anyone. Just trust me when I say the cozy element of this book is there and it is perfectly done, and if that's what you want to key in on: it's in there go read it. I also don't want to give too much of the actual plot away so I'll be extremely reductive. A Tea Monk named Dex and a robot named Mosscap go on a hike and have a cup of tea in the woods. What really stands out about this book is the world-building. This world has lore and it rocks, it's a utopia where humanity frees the sentient robots and gives them half their world. It's like Terminator but with tea-1000s. The joy is in exploring a world and culture so foreign as to allow that kind of outcome, what the people are like, what the robots are like. It's hopeful.It's actually more than hopeful, this book is an optimistic supernova ball of sunshine of a science fiction story. If it were just perfectly executed cozy it might not rate super high with me, but it's such a breath of fresh air. Not only for me as a reader but for the SF genre. It could just be the books that I have been choosing to read - not to complain about some excellent books- but it seems like anything that is popular and well-reviewed tends to be dark/hard/violent. I love it when I run across a book that scratches that SF itch in a different way. I have caught myself thinking about TLWSA a fair few times and for much the same reasons. I think this book will stick with me in much the same way. While these are two very different stories, I think it's proved that Becky Chambers can write some absolutely lovable characters. Dex and Mosscap are kind and thoughtful and are so good to each other in a way that not only subverts SF convention but fills you with warmth. I did have one gripe, and I did debate docking a point for it. This book is a little short, and the way it ends absolutely demands a continuation. While there is a complete story told here, I feel like maybe this didn't need to get split into two books. Part 1 and Part 2 as a thing of economy. But then again, this did come out in a pandemic year so the content demand probably had something to do with it. This won't crack my favorites list on its own, so the sequel better rip.TL;DR: A Tea Monk named Dex and a robot named Mosscap go on a hike and have a cup of tea in the woods.PS: 2021 really had some great books

A lovely short story about how a monk and a robot cross paths and discuss the deep questions of life the universe and everything. I look forward to picking up the next book in the series and am ashamed to say I was skeptical of this book following my enjoyment of the wayfarers series. Just as comfortable a book as I could have hoped for.

I thought the worldbuilding in this book was really well-done. The utopia that Chambers built for the characters definitely fit with the overarching themes of the book.

The story was very cozy, but it didn’t feel like there was a ton of substance, perhaps because of how short it was. Unfortunately, this made the book stand out less than me. I’d probably recommend it to others looking for a quick read, but it probably won’t appeal to a lot of people.

I'm such a huge fan of all the Becky Chambers books. The author's work continues to amaze me with futuristic stories full of hope and diversity. A Psalm for the Wild-Built is no exception to that. The ideas I loved most in this story were humanity reacting with acceptance when the robots gained sentience far in the past. That humanity adapted to life without them. But also the idea that what those robots chose to do with their lives was to retreat to nature and study it, with excitement and curiosity. The idea that a robot created to work in industry would then turn around and spend decades just watching a tree grow for no other reason than because it was fascinating, is such a refreshing take. And of course, it's a lot more complex than all of that, but the story doesn't feel overly complicated. These are the kind of stories we need in this day and age.