A Psalm for the Wild-Built

This was my first Becky Chambers book and I now understand the craze and I'm sure it won't be my last.

This is a book you didn't know you needed - but you are thankful to have found. It's a feel good story, about something we can all connect to: The need to explore not only the world but ourselves.

“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don't know how to answer that, because it is enough to just exist in this world and marvel at it. You don't need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”

I enjoyed this book for the most part. It has a slight philosophical bent, with some interesting dialogue about the meaning of "purpose", particularly toward the end, where I felt the book hit its stride with what it was trying to become. The plot takes a while longer to build up than I would have liked, but it's not excruciatingly slow (it's relatively short overall, too). Worldbuilding isn't a huge focus, but there was enough of it to spur my imagination on to wonder about the details left out. This isn't the kind of book that tries to be extremely realistic or predictive, and it incorporates some elements of fantasy into what could otherwise be tentatively described as futuristic science fiction, without the focus on the science. I found a good balance here, for this style of story, and liked it enough I'll continue on to the next book in the series, mostly out of curiosity for finding out what philosophical stance the story ultimately ends up on.

I do agree with other reviewers that it was too childish at times and a little hand-wavy on many of the topics it brings up. I think of this more as something intended to be short and sweet rather than carry any important meaning.

I shouldn't be surprised that Becky Chambers has yet another book that gives me all kinds of fuzzy heart feelings. I loved all of the Wayfarers books, and saw someone recommending this one and had to give it a shot. It gives me vibes of “Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn too” with the robot trying to learn what it is that humans/humanity needs. I have a great deal of love for Dex, and I think the sweetest thing I've read in ages is Dex not being able to eat their meal without giving some to their guest.

Lovely but I found the language almost too distracting.

Only right at the end of the book did I consider that maybe I really wasn't the right audience for the story - as it seemed to smack of “millennium type problems”. Using air quotes in my description because I'm fairly sure this is a patronising statement I'm making!

The Dex character feels discontent with their achievements and is struggling to find fulfilling meaning. Their work has meaning to others but they're left feeling empty. Obviously it's an impossible measure as life trondles forward and achievements change with time.

For me it was only really when Dex meets the Robot (whose name I've already forgotten) when the book became more engaging. It was like the Dex character could be challenged and some real depth was offered (for better or worse for Dex's personality).

But what I did struggle with was the language and the odd shoehorning of gender pronouns. Dex is neither “he” or “she”, so Chamber's settles with using the “they” pronoun. This led to my own confusion regularly thinking the lines I was reading was referring to Dex and another character that was in the scene.

The sore-thumb moment is when Dex asks, interestingly, what pronoun the Robot uses, and the Robot responds with “it” and it refers to itself as an object. Dex replies with (something like) they are the same, and their pronoun is “they”. This seemed like a potentially interesting exchange between the Robot and Dex about the subject of how one refers to oneself and how they identify, but it doesn't happen. It just has that exchange, and then the story returns to what they were doing and carries on. It felt jarring and like Chamber's wanted to discuss this topic, but instead shoe horned it in.

I do also suspect that my trouble with the language is a me-thing and probably with practice it won't cause me as much (or any) confusion, but for now, and this book, it definitely affected how I enjoyed the story.

Pleasantly weird. This is cosy SciFi, focusing on a monk going around serving tea to help people overcome their troubles and his encounters with a robot. In this world Robots have been emancipated from humans and gone to live in the wild, eschewing all contact with humanity. When our monk wanders off trail he has the first encounter with robots for centuries.

The worlds colliding idea is at the core of this, cultural divides and cultural understanding providing key motifs. Becky Chambers writes some of the most upbeat and uplifting Scifi out there - far more positive in outlook than anything you usually encounter in the genre. Always a pleasant read and break from the darker stories I usually frequent!

If you've ever struggled with the idea of meaning and purpose in your own existence, this story might be for you. The setting and characters are somehow very foreign, and immediately relatable. Best of all, this story pulsates with depth and heart. I will absolutely be reading much more Becky Chambers.

The last book I read made me fear technology in the hands of humans, but this book made me at ease with the fact. Perhaps I am being na??ve, but I hope one day human kind is as compassionate as the world is in this book.

It reminded me of the game Stray, it gave off the same calming feeling. Nature and technology intertwined and living in harmony. Although, I really do have to stop reading thought provoking books otherwise I'm going to have an existential crisis.

As for the book it didn't have me in the first half but it did have me in the second half. I loved the idea of the world but I didn't really understand it until later on in the novel. I loved the conversations between Dex and Mosscap, especially the one at the very end. It was a very satisfying ending. Even if there wasn't a second book I would be happy with it.

What a sweet, sweet book. This makes me want to curl up with a cup of tea and just - exist.

“Do you not find consciousness alone to be the most exhilarating thing?”

is

“Because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don't need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”

The Psalm for the Wild Built is a joy to read. There is no great antagonist to the battle except for your nagging inner voice, and only hope guides your journey through the lands.

“You're an animal, Sibling Dex. You are not separate or other. You're an animal. And animals have no purpose. Nothing has a purpose. The world simply is. If you want to do things that are meaningful to others, fine! Good! So do I! But if I wanted to crawl into a cave and watch stalagmites with Frostfrog for the remainder of my days, that would also be both fine and good. You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don't know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don't need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”

Hope is a pervasive emotion; if you let it, hope can seep into every crevice and neuron in your body. It gives you the belief that more can come and there are better days ahead. That is what Monk and Robot show with every step and roll of the tea cart, there is a low chanting sound that follows them as they travel singing “Hope. Hope. Hope.”

The story follows Sibing Dex and Splendid Speckled Mosscap. Dex is a tea monk. A traveling monk and a cart full of herbs and spices moving from town to town, healing the sick with their spicey creations and leaving comfort in their wake. As a character, Sibling Dex is battling the old thought of “am I doing what I should be doing.” and “Why aren't I happy.” I think that many readers will empathize with his thoughts and struggles, myself included. Happiness can sometimes feel like a slippery emotion; you grasp it and hold on, yet somehow it wriggles out of your hands and flies away.

“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don't know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don't need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”

Splendid Speckled Mosscap is a wonderfully depicted robot who meets up with Sibling Dex while walking the roads between camps. There is an honesty in Mosscap's character and a refreshing uncluttered view of what is essential in life and why.

Mosscap is the first robot to meet up with a human in centuries. This story has flavors of the “first contact” motif. Apparently, in this future world, when humans discover that the robots gained sentience, they let them go to be free people out in the world. There were no battles and bloody betrayal. No Arnold Schwarzenegger saying, “i'll be back.” The humans realized that the robots were people. This is such a wonderful hopepunk idea. Humans do what is ethically and morally right with no monetary compensation or power struggle. Humans are proper and sound, and to this reviewer, who reads 90% of grimdark novels, it was quite the change.

I do not want to spoil anything in this “warm cup of tea on a raining morning” book. The pair talked about philosophy and mindset that hit me hard. And I think readers will love it. A psalm of the Wild Built is lovely, the characters are beautiful people trying their best, and I can't wait to read more of their adventures.

This book felt like a warm embrace. It's cozy, cute and light. A traveling tea monk exploring the world coming in contact with a conscious robot. Robots were long forgotten by humanity, having fled to the wilderness to live their own lives. I loved the discussions about life purpose and consciousness. It made me want to continue reading the next one.

While there's nothing groundbreaking here, I breezed through this novella and it made for a very pleasant reading experience.

Chambers storytelling style is straightforward and without frills, but the overall result is quite affecting. I'm eager for future adventures with Dex and Mosscap and learning more about the world of Panga.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

This book is a charming story of an unlikely friendship between a non-binary monk looking for purpose in their life and a curious robot on a mission to meet and understand humans.

They live in a world where humans and robots have lived apart for generations after robots achieved sentience and freedom.

Becky pains a picture of a world that is slightly dystopian without being terrifying. Dex is initially afraid of the world beyond the safety of sealed roads and villages, but with the aid of the ever helpful and eager to understand the world, robot Mosscap, goes on a spiritual journey to find themselves.

Another lovely character driven story from Becky Chambers. Highly recommended

#JennyGuyColvin

I've had a really strong past read from Becky Chambers novella “To Be Taught if Fortunate” I consider it a favorite.

I didn't get along with the first book in her main series she's best known for and my reading experience was very similar with this one. Different stories but the tone so similar.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built felt overly child-like and whimsical. A pandering moral children story. I prefer books with such clear messages to be a bit more nuanced and less spoon fed when its marketed for an older audience. I really liked the concept of this but went too far in that direction that this slim novel went on too long for me.

I scratched my head for the first 64% of the book trying to figure out what the overarching message or storyline was but around there things started to make sense. About the time of the first reference to wild-built.I'm crossing my fingers this series does not go the way her Wayfarers series did for me. I loved the first book [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], but just couldn't get interested in any of the characters introduced in the next 2 books. Adding the next book to my tbr.

This is the most pleasant book I have ever read. It's just a joy, and so calming and thoughtful. It really wrestles well with many of life's questions in ways that bring about peace instead of existential dread, which I appreciated. Honestly, don't have too many thoughts on it right now, but, if I could only recommend one book to read, this is it. This is the book I recommend most. Anyway, absolutely looking forward to the sequel.