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A review by foiblesandfiction
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
5.0
Do you have a book that makes you feel good and seen and held? A book that, like a good friend, helps you gently crack open the armor constricting your chest so that your breath and heart can open up, even for just a little bit. A Psalm for the Wild-Built was that for me. I didn’t know it until I started reading but this book was the lift that my heart and spirit needed.
Now if sci-fi and fantasy aren’t your typical genres, please prepare yourself for this plot summary. Stay with me. We’re in this together. It’ll be okay.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built follows the journey of Sibling Dex, a monk in a futuristic sci-fi Earth city who leaves their settled life to travel the land in search of some unknown thing that will bring them peace. Eventually called to the wild places that humans no longer inhabit, where robots escaped to after gaining self-awareness and leaving the work of humans behind, Sibling Dex encounters one of these robots of legend which poses to them the question “What do people need?” The unlikely duo of monk and robot began traveling together, discussing and exploring and getting to know each other’s worlds in search of their answer to this question.
“I’d say you’re more than just an object,” Dex said.
The robot looked a touch offended. “I would never call you just an animal, Sibling Dex.” It turned its gaze to the road, head held high. “We don’t have to fall into the same category to be of equal value.”
This book is a philosophical exploration set in the framework of a futuristic sci-fi story, and it is a delight. Optimistic. Warm. Kind. Tender. It meets you in your human condition of questioning - What is this all for? Am I alone? What is my purpose? And it gives you companionship and a warm cup of tea and the wisdom that we are never, ever alone and it is never, ever too late. I’ve heard this book referred to as hopeful science-fiction and couldn’t agree more.
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”
This will be one of the books that has a permanent place on my bookshelf and in my thoughts. A forever reread. And I hope it will have an influence on how I live my life and interact with the world around me. May we all live as if we know we’re wonderful.
Now if sci-fi and fantasy aren’t your typical genres, please prepare yourself for this plot summary. Stay with me. We’re in this together. It’ll be okay.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built follows the journey of Sibling Dex, a monk in a futuristic sci-fi Earth city who leaves their settled life to travel the land in search of some unknown thing that will bring them peace. Eventually called to the wild places that humans no longer inhabit, where robots escaped to after gaining self-awareness and leaving the work of humans behind, Sibling Dex encounters one of these robots of legend which poses to them the question “What do people need?” The unlikely duo of monk and robot began traveling together, discussing and exploring and getting to know each other’s worlds in search of their answer to this question.
“I’d say you’re more than just an object,” Dex said.
The robot looked a touch offended. “I would never call you just an animal, Sibling Dex.” It turned its gaze to the road, head held high. “We don’t have to fall into the same category to be of equal value.”
This book is a philosophical exploration set in the framework of a futuristic sci-fi story, and it is a delight. Optimistic. Warm. Kind. Tender. It meets you in your human condition of questioning - What is this all for? Am I alone? What is my purpose? And it gives you companionship and a warm cup of tea and the wisdom that we are never, ever alone and it is never, ever too late. I’ve heard this book referred to as hopeful science-fiction and couldn’t agree more.
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”
This will be one of the books that has a permanent place on my bookshelf and in my thoughts. A forever reread. And I hope it will have an influence on how I live my life and interact with the world around me. May we all live as if we know we’re wonderful.