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324 pages, Paperback
First published February 19, 2021
‘But you can’t fix everything with cake.’
————
But if it’s Becky Chambers’ book, then she’ll at least try.
“It wasn’t perfect, but it would make most people happy. Roveg had the feeling that was the underlying aim with everything in this place.”
“You had to pause in the face of reflex, ask yourself if the narrative you attached to the knee-jerk was accurate. Once she’d grasped this, she could never again see life as a static thing, something with one immutable definition. The universe was not an object. It was a beam of light, and the colours that it split into changed depending on whose eyes were doing the looking. Nothing could be taken at face value. Everything had hidden facets, hidden depths that could be interpreted a thousand ways – or misinterpreted in the same manner. Reflexes kept a person safe, but they could also make you stupid.”
* Now, the horrified reaction of all those aliens to the mere concept of cheese almost got this book an extra star. Almost.
“What a strange day it was, she thought. She’d had a fancy meal with a Quelin, told an Aeluon to fuck off, and was now on her way to teach a Laru how to make her mother’s custard recipe.”
(Exciting 🥱)
The Lovers' Farewell
Think of home when you are far from here.
Let it be your comfort.
Think of us when you are alone.
Remember always our bright days,
Remember song,
Remember joy.
Remember the purple sky.
Remember dark faces, old and beloved.
Remember children, their shells still white.
“‘But you're correct. Our species - no, forgive me, our cultures - aren't the same at all. Quelin fear outsiders because we use them as scapegoats for the things we fear about ourselves. We bar cultural exchange because change frightens us. Whereas your people…’
He looked at her. ‘You fear outsiders because they gave you no choice in the change they forced upon you.’”