A rare foray into pure science fiction for me and one I ultimately adored. I came to this one blind, on a recommendation and with no sense of Becky Chambers’ reputation. It turned out to be exactly the kind of book that recommendation exists for.
Plot in a Nutshell
On the moon of Panga, humanity has built a gentler civilisation than the one it left behind. One that is smaller and quieter, more attuned to nature and is shaped by a reckoning with the damage earlier dalliances with automation has created.
Dex is a tea monk, travelling between settlements to offer comfort and a good cup of tea to whoever needs it, but increasingly unsure of what they’re actually for. Restless, they head out into the wilderness beyond human settlement. They navigate land abandoned generations ago when the robots, once built to serve, were granted freedom and consciousness and simply walked away. No one has seen one since. Then Dex meets Mosscap.
Thoughts
On the moon of Panga, humanity has built a gentler civilisation than the one it left behind. One that is smaller and quieter, more attuned to nature and is shaped by a reckoning with the damage earlier dalliances with automation has created.
Dex is a tea monk, travelling between settlements to offer comfort and a good cup of tea to whoever needs it, but increasingly unsure of what they’re actually for. Restless, they head out into the wilderness beyond human settlement. They navigate land abandoned generations ago when the robots, once built to serve, were granted freedom and consciousness and simply walked away. No one has seen one since. Then Dex meets Mosscap.
Thoughts
This is science fiction that barely feels like science fiction. Sure there is a robot, and it’s set on an unknown moon but I was struck by how human the whole thing feels. It’s a gentle, thoughtful book. One that I found to be profound without being heavy handed.
The world-building is a big part of why this works. The religion that underpins Dex’s service is well formed and we get a sense of history and the relationship the people have with it and the environment. However, this is done deftly and is so light you barely feel the world forming as you read. You understand that this is a culture that has learned from mistakes around fossil fuels, high levels of industrialisation and the ecological harm both can create, but the book never once turns into a lecture about it. Setting the story off Earth helps: it creates just enough distance that questions about capitalism, technology and environmental exploitation can be explored without ever feeling pointed at the reader.
Dex is a genuinely interesting central character; unlike any I have read before. They are non-binary; a monk, addressed as “sibling” by the people around them . The book never stops to explain this; it simply is how things are which I enjoyed and hope signposts to a less judgemental and more accepting time. Whilst Dex is in constant motion their real exploration is more internally focused. They are driven by a desire to seek purpose that really resonated with me. Their dissatisfaction even as they work incredibly hard to be successful, and the sense of searching for more sits at the centre of the book and feels very of the moment as we see more people seeking joy and purpose in their work.
The introduction of the robot Mosscap is also enjoyable. Dex takes real pride in the fact that their society did right by the robots. They were given freedom and we are led to understand that Dex’s people learned from history and endeavoured to built something more compassionate. But the robot’s presence complicates that story rather than confirming it. Humanity gave the robots their independence and then left them entirely alone, in essence continuing to make choices for them. In the interim the robots have created their own deep world, fascinated by nature but separate from their original creators. Mosscap, excitable and intrigued by the human world forces us to see that the society has offered freedom but still within the confines of what society thought was best.
“I appreciate the intent. I really do. But if you don’t want to infringe upon my agency, let me have agency.”
This is a novella and is written in a very accessible way, sentences are short and ideas unfold gently. I would have loved to see more of the world. The villages Dex travels through with their tea route are tantalising. So too is Mosscap’s descriptions of some of the other robots, all with their idiosyncrasies and all following their interests wherever that make take them.
For a short novel, it leaves a lot of ideas and thoughts. In today’s increasingly angry and digital world, a technologically advanced yet peaceful, quieter and kinder future is hopeful. Questions about purpose, choice, what it means to let another being be free are thought provoking and none of this is delivered as argument.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a small book that asks big questions in an unshowy and quiet way. It’s one I wish I’d read with a book club to better discuss and think about it. I might have finished it in an afternoon but will be thinking about for quite a bit longer.
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to just exist in this world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”
A Final Note
Whilst very different in style and tone I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacquline Harpman asks some similar, albeit darker questions about purpose, solitude and what makes a meaningful life.