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ruxandra_grr's review against another edition
2.0
A very close call - finished this 77 minutes before book club. And I feel very mixed about it. I didn't know how I felt about it, but I do enjoy feeling challenged as a reader and in that, the book club picks are spot on. I really struggled with this. I was almost panicking (yes, I take book club that seriously!!) because the night before book club I was barely a third of the way through, after four days of trying. I did manage to finish it, happily.
And, even though I would not call this feminist-utopia-becomes-slow-painful-genocide-of-a peaceful-people a success as a novel. There are a million little worldbuilding tidbits that are fascinating and worth exploring - but then again, the worldbuilding is way too dense and the first 100 pages are a slog in trying to process and understand the world.
Examples of fascinating tidbits: an ocean moon that has no dry land, where humanoid 100% women called the Shora live in a sort of anarcho-communist paradise, where nobody goes hungry and everyone is cared for, emotionally or otherwise. The girls become women when they decide to selfname, which means they take a sort of nickname that represents the character trait that they will try to transcend for the rest of their lives (one of the main characters is Merwen the Impatient One and she is pretty cool, there's also The Deceiver, The Impulsive and so on). The science-fiction aspect is pretty tantalizing as well - the Shora basically fear anything that's inorganic, and that's why their laboratory equipment and medicine implements (like IVs and such) are all plant parts genetically modified to be containers for substances or chemistry sets and so on. There are clickflies, insects that can be used as long-distance communication among the rafts that are made of wood still growing (on which the Shora live as a community), but also can hold all kinds of information in their chromosomes.
And then, of course... the empire du jour arrives.
I particularly liked the verbs and other language aspects of this culture. Merwen is a wordweaver (sort of diplomat/ politician, she is good with words and convincing people of things), then their partners are lovesharers. Sharing (like learn-sharing as well) is a big part of this world. It acknowledges this mutuality between persons or a person and an object that we tend to reduce to a framing of subject vs object.
“What the devil is ‘word-sharing’? Does the word for ‘speak’ mean ‘listen’ just as well? If I said, ‘Listen to me!’ you might talk, instead.”
“What use is the one without the other? It took me a long time to see this distinction in Valan speech.”
Spinel thought over the list of “share-forms”: learnsharing, work-sharing, lovesharing. “Do you say ‘hitsharing,’ too? If I hit a rock with a chisel, does the rock hit me?”
“I would think so. Don’t you feel it in your arm?”
Unfortunately, these elements of worldbuilding and the whole utopia and conflict between the pacifist Shora and the imperialist forces are not fully explored in a nuanced sort of realistic way. It tries to make points on civil disobedience, dehumanizing the other & rehumanizing yourself in the eyes of others, empathy & understanding, but it never really goes anywhere with them and the conflict stalls for a while, because neither side is really really truly trying to understand each other. So we have the two sides keeping their positions with only the punishments escalating in truly painful ways.
At the same time, you can feel that the author is a scientist but doesn't have a lot of experience as a writer. The worldbuilding and scientific ideas are there, but the characters are inconsistent and are doing forever what the plot needs them to do. There is also a whole lot of headhopping in the same chapter, we just jump from close perspective to close perspective and still there isn't much to be said about the interiority of the characters. A lot of trauma happens but it is not really processed and the healing process feels like something we're gliding over as soon as possible.
One of the reviews calls this book gender-reductive and says that the women are associated with body and feeling, but not intellect and logic, but I would have to disagree with all of that. The male characters are built on a broad spectrum of masculinity (Spinel, the Seer, Siderite and Raelgar, just to mention the most important), and also the Shora are really not a monolith (we have like 30 Shora characters and they are distinct), Usha is quite a brilliant scientist, Merwen is the diplomat/ charismatic leader, we have engineers (not in the human way though, they engineer mostly organic matter, since that's the Shora spiel) and the population has a very deep understanding of how the ecosystem of the planet works and because of that it works with the planet to keep the balance alive - that is a very pragmatic, wise choice, even though it is not a choice that our supposedly rational world is making right now. And the fuck? What is wrong with feelings and being connected to your own body? Are us women to become intellectual machines because that's what the establishment considers to be intellectual? It feels like there are layers upon layers of preconceptions and faulty premises that the statement I'm ranting against contains.
I would maybe read some more Joan Slonczewski, curious if the actual writing of her scifi has developed further.
And, even though I would not call this feminist-utopia-becomes-slow-painful-genocide-of-a peaceful-people a success as a novel. There are a million little worldbuilding tidbits that are fascinating and worth exploring - but then again, the worldbuilding is way too dense and the first 100 pages are a slog in trying to process and understand the world.
Examples of fascinating tidbits: an ocean moon that has no dry land, where humanoid 100% women called the Shora live in a sort of anarcho-communist paradise, where nobody goes hungry and everyone is cared for, emotionally or otherwise. The girls become women when they decide to selfname, which means they take a sort of nickname that represents the character trait that they will try to transcend for the rest of their lives (one of the main characters is Merwen the Impatient One and she is pretty cool, there's also The Deceiver, The Impulsive and so on). The science-fiction aspect is pretty tantalizing as well - the Shora basically fear anything that's inorganic, and that's why their laboratory equipment and medicine implements (like IVs and such) are all plant parts genetically modified to be containers for substances or chemistry sets and so on. There are clickflies, insects that can be used as long-distance communication among the rafts that are made of wood still growing (on which the Shora live as a community), but also can hold all kinds of information in their chromosomes.
And then, of course... the empire du jour arrives.
I particularly liked the verbs and other language aspects of this culture. Merwen is a wordweaver (sort of diplomat/ politician, she is good with words and convincing people of things), then their partners are lovesharers. Sharing (like learn-sharing as well) is a big part of this world. It acknowledges this mutuality between persons or a person and an object that we tend to reduce to a framing of subject vs object.
“What the devil is ‘word-sharing’? Does the word for ‘speak’ mean ‘listen’ just as well? If I said, ‘Listen to me!’ you might talk, instead.”
“What use is the one without the other? It took me a long time to see this distinction in Valan speech.”
Spinel thought over the list of “share-forms”: learnsharing, work-sharing, lovesharing. “Do you say ‘hitsharing,’ too? If I hit a rock with a chisel, does the rock hit me?”
“I would think so. Don’t you feel it in your arm?”
Unfortunately, these elements of worldbuilding and the whole utopia and conflict between the pacifist Shora and the imperialist forces are not fully explored in a nuanced sort of realistic way. It tries to make points on civil disobedience, dehumanizing the other & rehumanizing yourself in the eyes of others, empathy & understanding, but it never really goes anywhere with them and the conflict stalls for a while, because neither side is really really truly trying to understand each other. So we have the two sides keeping their positions with only the punishments escalating in truly painful ways.
At the same time, you can feel that the author is a scientist but doesn't have a lot of experience as a writer. The worldbuilding and scientific ideas are there, but the characters are inconsistent and are doing forever what the plot needs them to do. There is also a whole lot of headhopping in the same chapter, we just jump from close perspective to close perspective and still there isn't much to be said about the interiority of the characters. A lot of trauma happens but it is not really processed and the healing process feels like something we're gliding over as soon as possible.
One of the reviews calls this book gender-reductive and says that the women are associated with body and feeling, but not intellect and logic, but I would have to disagree with all of that. The male characters are built on a broad spectrum of masculinity (Spinel, the Seer, Siderite and Raelgar, just to mention the most important), and also the Shora are really not a monolith (we have like 30 Shora characters and they are distinct), Usha is quite a brilliant scientist, Merwen is the diplomat/ charismatic leader, we have engineers (not in the human way though, they engineer mostly organic matter, since that's the Shora spiel) and the population has a very deep understanding of how the ecosystem of the planet works and because of that it works with the planet to keep the balance alive - that is a very pragmatic, wise choice, even though it is not a choice that our supposedly rational world is making right now. And the fuck? What is wrong with feelings and being connected to your own body? Are us women to become intellectual machines because that's what the establishment considers to be intellectual? It feels like there are layers upon layers of preconceptions and faulty premises that the statement I'm ranting against contains.
I would maybe read some more Joan Slonczewski, curious if the actual writing of her scifi has developed further.
literarysara's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
My ecofiction book club selected this 1986 feminist sci fi classic. I had a little trouble getting into it at first–the writing style of the era is so different from what I’m used to–but we found it a really rich and interesting text to discuss. In this story, most of the planets and moons in the galaxy have been assimilated into a Space Empire (with a heavy dose of Space Capitalism, emphasis on metals and gems). Traders have only recently made contact with the ocean moon Shora, populated by the all-female, purple-tinged, web-fingered Sharers, but now the Space Empire is interested in mining this moon for its scientific knowledge more than its herbs and silks. Sharer language and culture is reflexive and cooperative: they carefully steward the sea resources they use for food and floating habitats, they have no leader, and every action implies its equal and opposite reaction (if you hit, you are hit; if you deceive, you are deceived; and so on). It’s not a perfect femtopia–there are disagreements, conflicts, and losses in the challenging ocean environment–but it was really interesting to read this shortly after seeing the Barbie movie, and considering how each woman-led society subverts what we take for granted in patriarchal capitalism. We also were really interested in the depiction of nonviolent resistance and disruption, even when confronting a Space Empire with so little regard for sentient life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Xenophobia, and War
evelikesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Though I hadn't heard of it before discovering it on Goodreads, this certainly reads like classic feminist sci-fi. The peaceable Sharers live on the planet Shora, which has no land at all, only ocean on which floats their living rafts. The Sharers are human, albeit somewhat adapted to their marine life, and they have very sophisticated science around genetics and biology. They are all female, reproducing by gene splicing, and their worldwide culture communicates via coded messages using certain insects and sea creatures which broadcast their messages.
Shora's twin planet, Valedon, is a more traditional militaristic world, which has several countries with somewhat different characters, but all using military might.
A lot of the book is straight-up colonial narrative. Contact with Shora starts with trading, and then when the Sharers realize that this trading is damaging to them and stop the trade, armies are sent to pacify them. I only threw the book on the floor once, but I wanted to several other times. The second half is rage-inducing.
The ending felt a bit rushed. I think the author wanted the story to end differently from other historical colonial narratives, and having the sea swallowers be the eventual downfall of the armies was fitting, but everything seemed hopeless and then suddenly turned around, with very little input from the people involved. Still, I was relieved that the military commanders didn't follow through on their threat to wipe out the population of the planet.
Shora's twin planet, Valedon, is a more traditional militaristic world, which has several countries with somewhat different characters, but all using military might.
A lot of the book is straight-up colonial narrative. Contact with Shora starts with trading, and then when the Sharers realize that this trading is damaging to them and stop the trade, armies are sent to pacify them. I only threw the book on the floor once, but I wanted to several other times. The second half is rage-inducing.
The ending felt a bit rushed. I think the author wanted the story to end differently from other historical colonial narratives, and having the sea swallowers be the eventual downfall of the armies was fitting, but everything seemed hopeless and then suddenly turned around, with very little input from the people involved. Still, I was relieved that the military commanders didn't follow through on their threat to wipe out the population of the planet.
jmaddren's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book SO DANG MUCH. I am so fortunate to have got my hands on my very own copy after first reading it 12+ years ago from the library.
A Door into Ocean encompasses every single thing I adore about science fiction. And the fact that it still remains so relevant today, especially in the face of all the genocide that is happening around the world, just proves the expert level of writing and critique of human nature. Joan Slonczewski is criminally underrated.
A Door into Ocean encompasses every single thing I adore about science fiction. And the fact that it still remains so relevant today, especially in the face of all the genocide that is happening around the world, just proves the expert level of writing and critique of human nature. Joan Slonczewski is criminally underrated.
audiobook_obsession's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I love the universe with its flourishing biology, the language and the characters. The sharers inability to be scared is fascinatin. But some characters like Realgar are too much only bad.
carina_z's review against another edition
5.0
On the ocean-covered moon Shora lives an all-female society, called the „Sharers“, who inhabit rafts on the sea’s surface. Their community is a peaceful one; violence and murder are nearly unheard of and words for it don’t exist in Sharer language. Their lives are also deeply intertwined with their environment: They live of and with the ocean and the creatures, big and small, that inhabit them, without ever exploiting them. The web of life is honoured and protected by Sharers and they know their part in it. However, they are not primitive, but highly advanced in “life sciences”, being able to decode genomes within days, heal lethal wounds and more.
There has been interest from the planet Valedon in the resources on Shora for some time and a trade between the planets has been established, which the Sharers accept, although the traders’ activities negatively impact the ocean ecosystem. In time, however, a much more powerful figure, the Patriarch who rules over hundreds of planets, develops an interest in the life sciences of Shora. But when armed forces are sent to Shora in order to control the population, they face the unyielding resistance of the Sharers. Their pacifistic refusal to obey is soon met with ruthless violence by the colonial forces. The Sharers must make a difficult choice: Stay true to their peaceful way or use the hidden power of their life-shaping science to save themselves and their planet?
Joan Slonczewski has built an intricate and expansive world. Especially the Sharer community, their language, culture and way of living is fascinating and mesmerizing to read and so is the description of the ecosystem of Shora, which is clearly informed by Slonczewski’s extensive knowledge of biology. It’s a world that will swallow you up whole and feel incredibly real and vivid. “A Door into Ocean” is a rumination on environmental destruction and colonialization of indigenous peoples, but also on humanness, environmental protection and the strength of nonviolent resistance. It is full to the brim with wise quotes and interesting thought-experiments, while at the same time delivering a captivating story.
I’ve had this book on my radar for years and it took me a while to really get into it, once I started reading. But eventually it captivated me and my thoughts and has stayed with me after finishing it. Plus, it made for a really good book club read and discussion! I am very glad I finally read this classic SF story that – I can tell already – will develop into one of the more influential reads of my life and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.
There has been interest from the planet Valedon in the resources on Shora for some time and a trade between the planets has been established, which the Sharers accept, although the traders’ activities negatively impact the ocean ecosystem. In time, however, a much more powerful figure, the Patriarch who rules over hundreds of planets, develops an interest in the life sciences of Shora. But when armed forces are sent to Shora in order to control the population, they face the unyielding resistance of the Sharers. Their pacifistic refusal to obey is soon met with ruthless violence by the colonial forces. The Sharers must make a difficult choice: Stay true to their peaceful way or use the hidden power of their life-shaping science to save themselves and their planet?
Joan Slonczewski has built an intricate and expansive world. Especially the Sharer community, their language, culture and way of living is fascinating and mesmerizing to read and so is the description of the ecosystem of Shora, which is clearly informed by Slonczewski’s extensive knowledge of biology. It’s a world that will swallow you up whole and feel incredibly real and vivid. “A Door into Ocean” is a rumination on environmental destruction and colonialization of indigenous peoples, but also on humanness, environmental protection and the strength of nonviolent resistance. It is full to the brim with wise quotes and interesting thought-experiments, while at the same time delivering a captivating story.
I’ve had this book on my radar for years and it took me a while to really get into it, once I started reading. But eventually it captivated me and my thoughts and has stayed with me after finishing it. Plus, it made for a really good book club read and discussion! I am very glad I finally read this classic SF story that – I can tell already – will develop into one of the more influential reads of my life and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.
thankyougabs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
itsyourpaldave's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
fishface's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hit all the right notes for me with beautifully described ocean world filled with alien fauna and flora, and an exploration of how linguistic and conceptual differences effect relationships (a topic that one of my favourite novels, Embassytown, also explores). Message of pacifism was cool and something I haven't read in much other science fiction.