Després de recórrer les zones rurals de Panga, Dex, uni mongi del te de cert renom, i Moixeró, un robot enviat a una recerca per determinar què realment necessita la humanitat, dirigeixen la seva atenció als pobles i ciutats de la petita lluna que anomenen casa. Esperen trobar les respostes que busquen, a la vegada que fan nous amics, aprenen nous conceptes i experimenten la naturalesa entròpica de l’univers. La nova sèrie de Becky Chambers continua preguntant-se: en un món on la gent té el que vol, importa tenir-ne més?
Recomanat si: tens ganes de sentir una abraçada literària, filosòfica i tendra.
Em va encantar aquest llibre i el seu predecessor. El que més em va agradar, sens dubte, va ser la filosofia i la utopia que planteja. Com és possible que, en una societat on sembla que els mals del capitalisme han sigut erradicats, encara pot quedar dolor i incomprensió davant de l'existència. M'encanta la parella que fan li Monji i en Robot, com es complementen en la seva cerca conjunta: el sentit de l'existència.
Similar to the first book, things happen without much tension. Which is a fascinating feeling! But this book doesn't push as hard on the introspection side -- or maybe I missed it? Felt much less quirky and unexpected compared to the first.
Been struggling a bit with starting new fiction, and have fond memories of reading the first of this sequence on a trip to the Isle of Skye a year and a half ago, so started this as a way to prime the pump for future reading. A satisfying, enjoyable read on its own merits, incorporating some great descriptive material, and more thoughtful than it had to be, adding depth to an otherwise light-touch bildungsrobot (sorry) plot. The ending is well-judged, breaching reader expectations while keeping things open, and I really appreciated being able to start and finish a book in a single sitting.
Kinda twee but quick escapist read with NB protagonist
4 stars
Finished this series during a multi-day power outage, and being in resource-management mode def made the cozy solarpunk world these books built feel closer at hand. It was kinda impressively fleshed out for being only 2 short novellas, but i think any more than that and the utopic vibes woulda been totally saccharine. I don't particularly care about solarpunk but I am a total sucker for robot-human friendship exploration stories so definitely enjoyed that aspect.
An enjoyable and thoughtful read as we discover, along with the robot, what humans may need.
4 stars
An enjoyable and thoughtful read about the continuing journeys of a tea monk and a robot who wants to know what humans need. Plot-wise, there isn't much; but in terms of musing over the condition of humans, nature and one robot, there is plenty.
Both the monk and the robot have returned to human civilization, with the robot eager to visit and discover more about the human area and various human communities (with one exception) eager to learn more about the robot.
Through their interactions, the robot (and us readers) learn more about the human society that rose after the robots achieve sentience and left the factories, and about how they now live in a more ecological sustainable manner while maintaining some technology.
But would it be enough to answer the question the robot first asked about what humans need and how it can help them?
At first I was low-key disappointed: Mosscap's candid questions slightly annoyed me, and I was dreading the answer. The moment where the story would answer its central question: when all your basic needs are met, what else do you need?
In other stories about the meaning of life (or adjacent themes), I could always relate to the part with the questions, and end up disappointed by the answer that the characters find, because the answer specifically works for them, and not for me. It's probably impossible to answer this kind of question in a way that will satisfy every reader, so why even try in the first place?
And... well, I like the direction that the book took, especially in its last chapter. It made me think of How to do nothing, except that Jenny Odell explains you what Becky Chambers makes you experience.
Also, I just …
At first I was low-key disappointed: Mosscap's candid questions slightly annoyed me, and I was dreading the answer. The moment where the story would answer its central question: when all your basic needs are met, what else do you need?
In other stories about the meaning of life (or adjacent themes), I could always relate to the part with the questions, and end up disappointed by the answer that the characters find, because the answer specifically works for them, and not for me. It's probably impossible to answer this kind of question in a way that will satisfy every reader, so why even try in the first place?
And... well, I like the direction that the book took, especially in its last chapter. It made me think of How to do nothing, except that Jenny Odell explains you what Becky Chambers makes you experience.
Also, I just read it at home, with closed blinds due to the heat, while preparing for the heat wave that will occur during the next two days and reading about fires, drought and our general inability to address climate change fast enough. Even though the utopian aspects of the book's world didn't always work for me, it made me emotional to read a story when things actually improved and the world turned out fine.
What do you need? Well, today specifically, I needed a story like that.
Like the first book in the series, I had a good laugh and paused to think a few times. An excellent novella for a warm summer night that offers a peculiar perspective on some of our real world problems.
