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A review by owlette
Arrival by Ted Chiang
5.0
One of my favorite books of this year. Here's my quick-and-short review of each story.
Tower of Babylon: 3/5. To be honest, the first time I tried reading this short story collection, I was thrown off by this first story and DNF'ed the book. After some googling, I came across a very helpful diagram of the Tower, and that motivated me to give the book another try.
Understand: 5/5.
Division by Zero: 4/5.
Story of Your Life: 10/5. The star of this collection. I had seen the movie adaptation and also watched this Youtube video that gave me a pretty good idea of how the story differs from the movie, which is why I'm surprised how much I loved and enjoyed the original story. I can't choose between the two. Personally, the story's use of Fermat's Priniciple of Least Time was more interesting to me than the movie's use of Sapir-Wharf theory because Fermat’s Principle more directly relates to the question of why humans think in sequence of chained events while heptapods take in their world teleologically. On the other hand, I kind of agree with the movie's screen writer, that it’s more convincing to challenge Louisa’s choice by having the daughter die from incurable disease rather than die in a mountain-climbing accident.
Seventy-Two Letters: 6/5. It's an interpretation of how human DNA would be conceptualiser in a steam-punk sci-fi setting. Loved it.
The Evolution of Human Science: 4/5. Reminds me of T.S. Eliot's "East Coker."
Hell is the Absence of God: 3/5.
Liking What You See: A Documentary: 10/5.
Tower of Babylon: 3/5. To be honest, the first time I tried reading this short story collection, I was thrown off by this first story and DNF'ed the book. After some googling, I came across a very helpful diagram of the Tower, and that motivated me to give the book another try.
Understand: 5/5.
Division by Zero: 4/5.
Story of Your Life: 10/5. The star of this collection. I had seen the movie adaptation and also watched this Youtube video that gave me a pretty good idea of how the story differs from the movie, which is why I'm surprised how much I loved and enjoyed the original story. I can't choose between the two. Personally, the story's use of Fermat's Priniciple of Least Time was more interesting to me than the movie's use of Sapir-Wharf theory because Fermat’s Principle more directly relates to the question of why humans think in sequence of chained events while heptapods take in their world teleologically. On the other hand, I kind of agree with the movie's screen writer, that it’s more convincing to challenge Louisa’s choice by having the daughter die from incurable disease rather than die in a mountain-climbing accident.
Seventy-Two Letters: 6/5. It's an interpretation of how human DNA would be conceptualiser in a steam-punk sci-fi setting. Loved it.
The Evolution of Human Science: 4/5. Reminds me of T.S. Eliot's "East Coker."
Hell is the Absence of God: 3/5.
Liking What You See: A Documentary: 10/5.