foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
5.0
A good sci-fi book usually has two of the following three things: good ideas, good plot, or good characters. Rarely does any SF book have all three, but Halfway Human is an exception. It is full of compelling ideas, and is tightly written and believable.
Tedla is from an isolated alien world, and no one can understand how it has turned up in an alley on a populous human world. Tedla is suicidal and desperately frightened, but forms a connection with Val, an anthropologist, and her young daughter. Tedla's story is deeply traumatic, but as its connection with Val grows, it tells its story. This leads to an evocation of Tedla's home-planet, a world with three genders, male, female and bland. Tedla is a bland, and subject to terrible abuse at the hands of the other two genders. Though this is a book about gender, it's also about inequality, subjugation, and the meaning of freedom. Gilman's prose is considered and spare, and the plot is tightly controlled and full of tension. Tedla in particular is a well-evoked character, but the other characters make an impression too. Gilman is subtle in her exploration of ideas, such as eugenics, and she gives the reader space to draw conclusions. It's a moving and surprising work, and one I highly recommend.
Warning for graphic but not gratuitous scenes of rape.
Tedla is from an isolated alien world, and no one can understand how it has turned up in an alley on a populous human world. Tedla is suicidal and desperately frightened, but forms a connection with Val, an anthropologist, and her young daughter. Tedla's story is deeply traumatic, but as its connection with Val grows, it tells its story. This leads to an evocation of Tedla's home-planet, a world with three genders, male, female and bland. Tedla is a bland, and subject to terrible abuse at the hands of the other two genders. Though this is a book about gender, it's also about inequality, subjugation, and the meaning of freedom. Gilman's prose is considered and spare, and the plot is tightly controlled and full of tension. Tedla in particular is a well-evoked character, but the other characters make an impression too. Gilman is subtle in her exploration of ideas, such as eugenics, and she gives the reader space to draw conclusions. It's a moving and surprising work, and one I highly recommend.
Warning for graphic but not gratuitous scenes of rape.
morebedsidebooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
She smiled. “I think you overestimate how steeped in sexuality we are. It doesn’t dominate our waking thoughts you know.”
“You’re not even conscious of it, for the most part, but it’s always there. It’s very subtle: levels of formality, types of language, deference, rivalry, respect. Even your voices and the way you hold your bodies change, depending on which sex you’re with. I don’t know why you don’t find it oppressive, except that you’re so used to it.”
In 1998 American author Carolyn Ives Gilman made her striking debut with the science fiction novel Halfway Human.
When an unprecedented visitor from the currently closed off planet of Gammadis lands in one of the clinics on the moon Capella Two after a suicide attempt, xenologist Val is called in. A unique opportunity she finds much more than one could first imagine. The patient named Telda will slowly share not only a firsthand account of the culture of these genderless aliens, occurring with male and female on its planet, but of domestic slavery and sexual abuse at a tender age. Literally unspeakable in a society that doesn’t even have a word to express rape. Memories that have driven Telda into mental imbalance and desperate actions. Further political and capitalist interests swirl as the two find themselves in a fraught tug of war against the powers that be. One that pierces the veil of not only a mysterious planet but realisations about the Capellans as well.
Halfway Human is one of my favourite novels in the genre, if not in general of all time. Nominated for awards, even today a reader might see why this was such a buzzed about book. Themes examining gender, class, exploitation, and capitalism continue to resonate. Gammadis and Capella may be imaginary worlds but many of their aspects reflect and bore into uncomfortable truths of our own. Structures of oppression are maintained, human rights suffer, inequalities increase, everything including information becomes heavily restricted and a commodity.
Perhaps the best books while having us look at something also have us look at ourselves. I can’t fully express the power of reading this novel which deals in heavy matters. (Do give serious consideration to the content). Too how Halfway Human was something like an having an epiphany.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Pedophilia, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Xenophobia
Major themes are bigotry and discrimination along with instances of misgendering.jacalata's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed it and it had a bunch of interesting ideas (in a fairly well fleshed out universe) but it doesn't feel like something I need to read again. I would be interested in reading more of the same universe.
valsira's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
danprisk's review against another edition
5.0
A really fantastic book, with so much going on. I recommended this to an English teacher friend of mine right away as it's layered with so many different potential readings.
The primary reading is likely to always be a gender one, as one of the main characters in the book is asexual and comes from a planet where this is a normal third gender. This allows Gilman to talk about a lot of gender inequality issues in an indirect manner, and makes for some thoughtful points reading where I found I'd accidentally assigned genders to the asexual characters in my head without meaning to.
There's also race, slavery, caste, capitalism, ecology, etc all going on here. For instance, there's an interesting dichotomy setup between an info-capitalist culture living on a barren moon with relatively equal gender relations, and the ecologically founded culture living on a lush planet with a 3rd gender who are treated as a slave caste.
In terms of the actual story, it starts off feeling a lot like a classic science fiction - the manners of description and context of the story seem more like something from the 70s than the 90s. This is definitely present throughout the book, but get's pushed to the background by the fantastic themes that start coming to the fore. That said, some of the characters are a little wooden, and if you're really sensitive to this you might find it frustrating - for me, it was something I just noted in passing, but it didn't impinge upon my reading experience at all (and could be read as a homage to classic sci-fi in itself).
The primary reading is likely to always be a gender one, as one of the main characters in the book is asexual and comes from a planet where this is a normal third gender. This allows Gilman to talk about a lot of gender inequality issues in an indirect manner, and makes for some thoughtful points reading where I found I'd accidentally assigned genders to the asexual characters in my head without meaning to.
There's also race, slavery, caste, capitalism, ecology, etc all going on here. For instance, there's an interesting dichotomy setup between an info-capitalist culture living on a barren moon with relatively equal gender relations, and the ecologically founded culture living on a lush planet with a 3rd gender who are treated as a slave caste.
In terms of the actual story, it starts off feeling a lot like a classic science fiction - the manners of description and context of the story seem more like something from the 70s than the 90s. This is definitely present throughout the book, but get's pushed to the background by the fantastic themes that start coming to the fore. That said, some of the characters are a little wooden, and if you're really sensitive to this you might find it frustrating - for me, it was something I just noted in passing, but it didn't impinge upon my reading experience at all (and could be read as a homage to classic sci-fi in itself).
vasha's review against another edition
4.0
When I rate science fiction novels, I rate them relative to others in the genre, and this is definitely well up there. The basic situation, as it's revealed over the course of the book, doesn't have much subtlety, but the importance is in the details, and that is where the nuances come in that are worth thinking over. Gammadis is one of the more intriguing science-fictional cultures because Gilman's construction of it is so detailed. Capella isn't quite as vivid, but she spent some time developing it too. Plus, Tedla is such a well-drawn character.
indigonight's review
This book was pretty addictive and engrossing.
I thought the plot kind of unravelled in the last chapter though, unfortunately. However, the rest of it was excellent.
I thought the plot kind of unravelled in the last chapter though, unfortunately. However, the rest of it was excellent.
cindywho's review against another edition
3.0
This paperback inspired me to spend most of Sunday in bed, curled up and warm. A good story about love and luck at least momentarily overcoming the obstacles of slavery and abuse. Space travel, information as commodity, xenology, gender issues, a beautiful world with an ugly back door. Not a bad Sunday afternoon treat. (February 03, 2004)