You Have Arrived at Your Destination

Couple go to 21st c. fertility lab where they can tweak their creations according to the type of child one would like to raise. They were given three options, none of which Daniel liked. Walked out, got drunk, reflected on his life, realized his wasn't so great (and neither was the book in terms of enjoyment). Meh. But there is a moral to the story for anyone who wants to ponder it. I did not.

I liked this one! It's more litfic than sci-fi, but that's okay. I see reviews going into detail about the plot, so I won't do that.

I'm still thinking about the Jemisin story in this collection, and these two work really well together. If we decide there is an ideal life, whose ideals are we upholding? Both stories raise that question, but this one is much subtler. I could probably write a lot about it and it isn't very long. I'll just talk about one thing.

I noticed that all the Daniels had to figure everything out for themselves, with no family support post-college, while the bartender's (unfinished) story ends with his family helping the daughter with whatever she's going through. Sam, in contrast, because of having to help his own father, seems to have rejected the whole concept of being there for his family; he doesn't even know why his wife chose Daniel 2 as one of the options.

It's a really interesting story. I have been meaning to read this author's novels, so maybe I'll do that soon.