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mar's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
dude.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma
Moderate: Confinement, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Cannibalism, and Murder
le_mur's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Pedophilia and Acephobia/Arophobia
rorikae's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-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
'The Membranes' by Chi Ta-wei is a fascinating and deeply introspective sci-fi novella set in a future where society lives under the sea.
The story centers on Momo, a young woman who works as a dermal care technician taking care of her clients skin. Estranged from her mother, Momo lives a very quiet and isolated life, working and occasionally interacting with people outside of work. Reflecting back on her childhood and a surgery that she went through at a young age, Momo looks at her own life and how she has gotten to this point. When her mother resurfaces in her life, hoping to get in contact and meet, Momo will have to decide if she wants to see her or if she will refuse the offer.
Wow, this is a fascinating book. Not only does Chi Ta-wei create a fascinating future where all of humanity lives underwater but he also has written a fascinating story that looks at gender, personhood, and more. Momo is a flawed but deeply human character and it is interesting to watch as she goes about her daily life while also reflecting back on the strange occurrences of her childhood. There are lingering questions and a strangeness to the novella that is answered quite concretely at the end. I also really appreciated that the version I read had an essay in the back that explored the themes of the novella, especially in the light of the time that it was written and other works. I think this would be perfect for a book club to discuss as there are some quite shocking elements and reveals that turn the story on its head while also asking the reader to look back and evaluate what they have read.
The story centers on Momo, a young woman who works as a dermal care technician taking care of her clients skin. Estranged from her mother, Momo lives a very quiet and isolated life, working and occasionally interacting with people outside of work. Reflecting back on her childhood and a surgery that she went through at a young age, Momo looks at her own life and how she has gotten to this point. When her mother resurfaces in her life, hoping to get in contact and meet, Momo will have to decide if she wants to see her or if she will refuse the offer.
Wow, this is a fascinating book. Not only does Chi Ta-wei create a fascinating future where all of humanity lives underwater but he also has written a fascinating story that looks at gender, personhood, and more. Momo is a flawed but deeply human character and it is interesting to watch as she goes about her daily life while also reflecting back on the strange occurrences of her childhood. There are lingering questions and a strangeness to the novella that is answered quite concretely at the end. I also really appreciated that the version I read had an essay in the back that explored the themes of the novella, especially in the light of the time that it was written and other works. I think this would be perfect for a book club to discuss as there are some quite shocking elements and reveals that turn the story on its head while also asking the reader to look back and evaluate what they have read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Pedophilia
sunshinelace's review against another edition
Clunky writing, too much info dumping, description of sexual experiences of Momo as a child made me uncomfortable (both with young Andy and the male Andy in the park)
Content Warnings
Minor: Pedophilia
spookfish's review against another edition
There is one thing I cannot read of, and that is paedophilia. I’m so sad because otherwise I was finding the discussion in this book interesting, though uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Cancer and Blood
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Super fascinating setting and themes around bodily autonomy and privacy, intimacy, identity, and reality and perception. The writing style is a bit stilted and heavy on telling (Heinrich's translation of Last Words from Montmartre reads very differently, so I'm inclined to think this is also a quirk of the original); I think it generally suits the narrative but does make the twist come off a little overexplained. Heavier on philosophy than hard science, and definitely shows its age at certain points, neither of which I say as particular negatives -- overall, very interesting read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Viral infection. Climate change/pollution in the setup.asleepyreader's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Medical trauma
Moderate: Pedophilia
nannahnannah's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The Membranes, a Taiwanese sci-fi classic, was first published in 1995, about a decade after martial law was lifted and people began to experiment with art and literature and, according to the translator, create a kind of punk culture. I strongly recommend reading the translator's notes after finishing the novel — they gave me a much greater appreciation for the book, not only because I then had the background information, but because some of the novel's structural and stylistic choices were explained and discussed. It all kind of came together. In the most clichéd of expressions, my mind kind of exploded. This book is good.
Content warnings:
- almost every character is part of the LGBT community
- Momo can strongly be read as being aromantic
- Momo is also disabled, the survivor of a deadly childhood virus, during which she needed several surgeries and organ transplants
- Momo can also strongly be read as being trans ("it was just an annoying bit of flesh")
In the late 21st-century, Momo is the best dermal care technician in T City, one of the many undersea domed cities humanity has now retreated to in the face of climate change. Corporations run the world and function on cyborg slavery. Momo keeps to herself and prefers it that way, but when she meets the mother she hasn't heard from in years, her sense of self, and the world around her, unravels.
I'll be honest, in the beginning and throughout much of the middle, I thought the writing was a bit clumsy, especially the dialogue. But the ideas were haunting. In my notes I have written, "My eyes are wide open, and I'm just over-examining everything, thinking 'what could that mean??'" Even though the book was written in the 90s, the author predicted so much about our current society and technologies correctly, it's wild.
And then in the second half I was convinced the text needed a bit more refining, because it read like a bunch of notes instead of prose — and then I was convinced it was the translation that was clumsy. But reading the translator's notes (because, unfortunately, I blamed the author and the translator for things I should've picked up myself in the text) cleared up why the prose began to unravel into this sort of stream-of-consciousness kind of messy narration, and I began to see the genius of it. While it doesn't seem that way, every detail in this book is very deliberate. It's so difficult not to spoil everything in this review! I'm not even sure what more I can say.
I guess, if you can get a hold of this book, read it!
Content warnings:
- almost every character is part of the LGBT community
- Momo can strongly be read as being aromantic
- Momo is also disabled, the survivor of a deadly childhood virus, during which she needed several surgeries and organ transplants
- Momo can also strongly be read as being trans ("it was just an annoying bit of flesh")
In the late 21st-century, Momo is the best dermal care technician in T City, one of the many undersea domed cities humanity has now retreated to in the face of climate change. Corporations run the world and function on cyborg slavery. Momo keeps to herself and prefers it that way, but when she meets the mother she hasn't heard from in years, her sense of self, and the world around her, unravels.
I'll be honest, in the beginning and throughout much of the middle, I thought the writing was a bit clumsy, especially the dialogue. But the ideas were haunting. In my notes I have written, "My eyes are wide open, and I'm just over-examining everything, thinking 'what could that mean??'" Even though the book was written in the 90s, the author predicted so much about our current society and technologies correctly, it's wild.
And then in the second half I was convinced the text needed a bit more refining, because it read like a bunch of notes instead of prose — and then I was convinced it was the translation that was clumsy. But reading the translator's notes (because, unfortunately, I blamed the author and the translator for things I should've picked up myself in the text) cleared up why the prose began to unravel into this sort of stream-of-consciousness kind of messy narration, and I began to see the genius of it. While it doesn't seem that way, every detail in this book is very deliberate. It's so difficult not to spoil everything in this review! I'm not even sure what more I can say.
I guess, if you can get a hold of this book, read it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Pedophilia and Cannibalism
also: forced sexual reassignment surgery, organ harvestingwormgirl's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Pedophilia and Medical content
Minor: Chronic illness
ireadinbed's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book is so hard to rate!
I can't say i 'enjoyed' it? But i was very interested and invested. And i told a ton of people about it!
I think the fact that skin care is so central to the story makes it feel very timely! But the ozone hole bit makes it feel more dated to its time.
The dichotomy of the many Andies was my fave part
I can't say i 'enjoyed' it? But i was very interested and invested. And i told a ton of people about it!
I think the fact that skin care is so central to the story makes it feel very timely! But the ozone hole bit makes it feel more dated to its time.
The dichotomy of the many Andies was my fave part
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment