A Psalm for the Wild-Built

In theory, I should love this, but it annoys me in the same way the Murderbot series does. It tries to be relatable with obstacles the main character faces, but then it also ignores the long but necessary process of struggling to overcome said obstacles.

For example, Dex (they) face an interesting challenge at the start of the book, but then there's a time jump and suddenly they're a master of this new, complicated skill. Why? What's the point of skipping this? At the end of the book, they have a mini breakdown, but it feels shallow because we never got to see them struggle, fear and evolve. We recognize the words they're saying as something we relate to, but we don't feel them with our heart because we didn't get to bond over our struggles at the start of the book. I get that the author wanted to write a cozy, feel good book, but come on...

I don't plan to tell write about plot details, but about my takeaway from the book. This can often be done without spoilers. An exception for this story is necessary due to the evolution of Dex, our main protagonist. 

Chambers has a writing style that has a natural flow that is a pleasure to read and lends itself well to audiobooks. Listening to her stories feels like being in a room with a natural storyteller who is relating something that they've experienced for themselves. 

That being said, it is sometimes a bit too comfortable. I can find my mind wandering as I'm listening and find I've missed some important bits. Perhaps reading the text would be a better experience in this case. 

Chambers paints the portrait of the characters that grows and develops organically to bring the reader to the point of the story. A person does not have to have a mandated purpose for their life. We can be most satisfied and at peace when we find ways to enjoy life without putting pressure on ourselves to accomplish something great or find a way to become an outstanding person in a particular field who will be remembered through the annals of time for our greatness. This is a lesson that I need to be reminded of regularly. 

The reason I went with three stars instead of four boils down to the middle of the book where I found my mind wandering in the story. I have a thought to revisit this one some time and read the text rather than listen. I think the point will shine all the brighter when I see the contrast of the life lived in this story.

Becky Chambers is an unpredictable author, at least from my point of view. I like at least two of her books enough to reread them regularly. Another one, I found so tedious that I couldn't finish it.

This one is amiable and pleasant enough, but it's short (a novella) and rather aimless. Not a lot happens. It feels rather like reading the first half of an Arthur Ransome novel.

When I started it, I immediately found that the third-person protagonist, Sibling Dex, is very frequently referred to as ‘they', despite being apparently singular. I found this so distracting and irritating that I had to stop reading.

After a while, I decided that Dex is suffering from a personal peculiarity, a delusion of being plural. And I've been reading sf all my life, so I can cope with characters more peculiar than that, surely? OK, I managed to finish the story. I still found Dex's peculiarity pointless and somewhat irritating, but indeed, I could cope with it; and in fact the frequency of ‘they' diminished as the story went on.

After a while Dex encounters a sentient robot named Mosscap—full name Splendid Speckled Mosscap (taken from the name of a mushroom). Mosscap is referred to as ‘it', to which it has no objection, and I have no objection. I think I prefer Mosscap to Dex. It seems equally friendly and more sensible.

A quick read but a sweet story about a tea monk and a robot. Unexpected gender-neutral character was great, and Mosscap was a lovely robot haha.

The only ‘negative' comment I have is that for the audiobook, there seem to be sections where it was recorded over by another narrator or a different ‘set' of audio, so it made it sound kind of choppy and weird. Besides that, it was a good listen!

This was the first book where I annotated my feelings as I read with colorful tabs, and set aside my disgust to write thoughts and comments in the margins. In the end I have a stained glass window of tabs, and I feel like I had a conversation with the book. I have a deeper understanding of the relationship between Dex and Mosscap and a deeper understanding of my own internal fights and struggles to find my “purpose”. There were many passages, or whole damn pages, that seemed to speak to me personally. I am happy to see that there is a second book to this, and I have an incredible urge to go to the bookstore to continue the feelings I currently have.

We are all built of remnants from our ancestors, pieces of us coming from each of them. But maybe we can make the most of that, be better than they could ever be, overcome their weaknesses. This is just one of A Psalm For The Wild Built's ideas, it has many more packed into such a short space. But it all works incredibly well, immersing the reader into this lush, futuristic world and leaving them wishing to spend more time with these characters.

I was expecting a cozy little story about a monk and a robot going on an adventure so I was pleasantly surprised by how this book made me feel and think. Everyone has times where they feel like they've lost their purpose in life and go into a downward spiral struggling to understand what to do next to give their life meaning. And this book answers that question brilliantly, just be. That's it. Go on one adventure at a time even if it's as simple as learning to make a cup of tea.

“What's the purpose of a robot, Sibling Dex?” Mosscap tapped its chest; the sound echoed lightly. “What's the purpose of me?”

“You're here to learn about people.”

“That's something I'm doing. That's not my reason for being. When I am done with this, I will do other things. I do not have a purpose any more than a mouse or a slug or a thornbush does. Why do you have to have one in order to feel content?
[...] You don't, if you believe that. 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.”

This is by far the nicest dystopian?? - Nah! as someone said, a cozypunk book I've read. I've become a fan of this writing. All along this book made me think, made me happy, and made me curious about future volumes. I ❤️ Mosscap and Sibling Dex!

The main character is referred to as They/Them is also a great refreshing take!

This was a solid 4 stars, was enjoying the world and these characters and the prose a lot until the last chapter and then it suddenly was bumped up to 5. I can't explain how closely it mirrored what I'm going through at the moment. It didn't give me an answer, nor did I expect it to, but seeing what was inside me being resonated on the page gave me a certain sense of solace.

A fun, short read. My biggest qualm with this was that it felt like only half of a whole story which to be fair is literally true–a sequel to these characters and their story exists and I am looking forward to seeing their story to the end. I listened to the audiobook of this and I found the narrator's depiction of both main characters to be incredibly charming, especially in illustrating a level of neurodivergence from both characters, it seemed. The world they lived in seemed very interesting and not fully fleshed out but when those details did peek through I was intrigued enough to stay listening. Unfortunately, I did not feel the ending was particularly impactful nor was the message, but I did appreciate having read this and the story that was told here, so while not loving this book I did enjoy it just enough.

Kinda a gorgeous book. The descriptions and the prose were beautiful and every sentence was vivid. It was succinct without making me feel like something was missing and it was just long enough to deliver its message. I also felt like the message was pretty neat and the way the book “shows not tells it” worked well for me. It was also the first book that I've read that was so deliberate about pronouns! I appreciated that the book did it without being super like “HEY LOOK WHAT IM DOING” about it.

Spoilerish Alert

There were a couple things that annoyed me though. There was a bit of “manic pixie dream girl” energy with the relationship between the robot, Mosscap, and our protagonist, Dex. Dex kept broadening his expectations and horizons thanks to their relationship and it just felt like sort of formulaic in that regard.

This book is a total delight. It is the second I've read of this author and has what I imagine is her characteristic quirkiness coupled with a deeply optimistic humanity.

The setting is a far post-robot future. The robots did not take over the world but have left to live their own lives and the humans have them only as a distant history.

Sibling Dex is a Tea Monk who travels around nearby towns and sets up shop, listening to people's troubles and blending them soothing tea. Dex has no gender - Sibling replaces Brother or Sister. Dex is restless and decides to travel to a distant pilgrimage shrine that might no longer exist. Somewhere along the abandoned road a robot approaches and says, 'What do you need?'

And so begins an unexpected friendship. The genderless human and the robot who sees itself as an 'it'. Without any socially constructed identities and in an abandoned shrine the troubled Dex learns to listen to himself and find inner peace. The monk learns meaning in life from the robot and the robot's first question, 'What do you need?' is not so strange after all.

To be honest, the pronoun usage was a bit difficult to get used to, but it got easier with time. I understand how important representation is, so I'm not holding a slight inconvenience against this book. Still, I'm not quite sure what to make of the book. The philosophical ponderings would have had an impact on me if I was in high school - I'm not sure if that is the target audience. The setting raises a lot of questions - for instance, it made no mention of how the robots have souls if they're recycled; I feel like that's a big thing to leave unanswered. And why would the robots believe in the same gods that the people did; why did all people believe in the same gods? Were there any people who didn't believe in gods? Does this mean there has been contact with gods? Also, it was a baffling decision to make the robot feel so human, and the human feel so robotic; that is to say, the human was extremely unlikeable. It also felt weird for a monk to be so sex-forward. I don't know. Great cover art though.

Equal parts delightful and existential. A wonderful read with stunning descriptions of scenery and exploration of philosophical themes relevant to us all. I underlined SO MUCH in this book. I now understand why it's such a beloved book. I have a feeling I'll come back to it often.

“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.”
― Becky Chambers, A Psalm for the Wild-Built

This book is dedicated to “anyone who could use a break” and I think that's about everyone right now. It's the perfect book to cuddle up with a hot drink - tea would be best, I think - and read in one sitting. It's a lovely exploration of humanity and robot-anity and I cried over these sweet friends.

Oh my goodness!

This is perfect. Becky has created a wonderful world I want to be part of. SO much so that I want to wander in the wilderness and built a hermitage there... and it can take all the time it takes, and then I will be there, offering tea and a listening ear and open arms to everyone who arrive...
This book is so good, kind, warm, nice, gentle, beautiful... absolutely perfect.