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The Necessary Beggar (Palwick)
Jul. 18th, 2013 01:56 pm3+/5. I really, really liked this book, and at the same time there were parts about it that really bugged me, and these things are actually somewhat closely related.
It's about a family that comes here (is forced to come here) from another reality (the city of Lemabantunk), a reality that doesn't work quite the way this reality does. And so it's about making a new life and letting go and reaching out and one's children growing away from the roots of one's traditions and growing closer to the roots of one's traditions and… And this is a story I feel a special affinity for, because it's what my parents did. And this story I really, really liked. I very much like Palwick's lyrical writing style, I love the strangeness of the culture she imagines.
Embedded in this story is a critique of the US, and a warning not-really-dystopia near-future where current trends become, well, just a little more pronounced than they are now. The near-future extrapolation I also liked, although it doesn't hit my buttons the same way the immigrant story did.
The parts where these stories intersected, I… had issues with, and I think this has to do with the worldbuilding not quite being strong enough to support the critique. ( Mild spoilers. )
I mostly liked the ending, but I also had a couple of big issues with it.( Spoilers for the ending. )
But, you know, I really liked the book despite these issues, and thought it was well worth reading, and it obviously made me think.
It's about a family that comes here (is forced to come here) from another reality (the city of Lemabantunk), a reality that doesn't work quite the way this reality does. And so it's about making a new life and letting go and reaching out and one's children growing away from the roots of one's traditions and growing closer to the roots of one's traditions and… And this is a story I feel a special affinity for, because it's what my parents did. And this story I really, really liked. I very much like Palwick's lyrical writing style, I love the strangeness of the culture she imagines.
Embedded in this story is a critique of the US, and a warning not-really-dystopia near-future where current trends become, well, just a little more pronounced than they are now. The near-future extrapolation I also liked, although it doesn't hit my buttons the same way the immigrant story did.
The parts where these stories intersected, I… had issues with, and I think this has to do with the worldbuilding not quite being strong enough to support the critique. ( Mild spoilers. )
I mostly liked the ending, but I also had a couple of big issues with it.( Spoilers for the ending. )
But, you know, I really liked the book despite these issues, and thought it was well worth reading, and it obviously made me think.
