Contact

Stories about the future are rarely about the future; they're usually about here and now. That is also often true about first contact stories as well - they're about how we see ourselves, rather than about aliens, and have been since HG Wells wrote War of the Worlds. In Contact, Sagan seems to acknowledge both of those maxims, and tells a story imperceptibly into his future and featuring aliens that are mostly absent from the narrative. Instead, he tells a story about first contact and what it would do to our culture to learn, with absolute certainty, that we are not alone - how it would frighten us, but also inspire us to grow, and to appeal to us to put aside the differences that divide us and work together for a common goal. Perhaps that - the idea of Cold War enemies coming together in 1985 - was the most fantastical element of the story. Perhaps it still is.

This was beautiful and sublime in ways that I didn't expect. I knew the story of course (I loved the film that came out in 1997), but for some reason I had low expectations of the novel. Given that the world outside our windows feels chaotic and doom-filled right now, the message of optimism and hope was very refreshing for me.