Scan barcode
A review by afi_whatafireads
Your Utopia: Stories by Bora Chung
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I need to sleep off for a bit before writing my full thoughts , or I will end up spiraling again.
But best to say, its so early in this year and I think I may found a top read already.
RTC.
Finally writing out my full thoughts here : Edited on 31/1/2024
Before I go in this review, suffice to say that these would be pretty much a very spoilery review - the spoiler part has tags so you have been warned - as I was going back and forth wether or not I should elaborate on each stories individually, and since this book had really reigned me in, I feel it would do injustice if I don't pan out my thoughts out on it, so please you have been warned.
Such intelligence written with brilliance
That's whats best described these short collection of short stories for me. And if you're going in right after finishing Cursed Bunny (which I adored), then go in with a different mindset as these collection are in a completely different league and in the best way as well. There is a quiet sense of horror that is still attached with Bora Chung's stories, but in ways that are more subtle and how eerily close to the world that we live in are now. Its a depiction of an intelligence that somehow exceeded human's capabilities and thrown in the mix is a stand of solidarity for what both the author and translators stands for, and mostly, its about being human - in every form possible. Even if its translated into a form of intelligence.
Some machines are happier than humans
And in what form in life that we seek to create a tangent of hope? Revisiting my notes that I scribbled in this book whilst reading this had revisited a whole array of emotions. Whilst Cursed Bunny had given the goth-horror-tales that stems from misogyny and capitalism, Your Utopia brings around the same themes but with more emotions and depth and possibly, with much anger that radiates from the connotations, depth and voice that each story holds. Its in the way of subtle criticism towards capitalism and in people of power by portraying the after-effects from the abuse towards the people that had been struggling to live. Its in the stories that might stake as dystopian and horror but is also portraying the effects of capitalism on the environment. And its in the way how emotions are not just entirely conformed to humans but it can extend to the machinery and intelligence that has been created. Its in the way how the word artificial intelligence itself exceeded its functions and becoming a form that is their own.
Its not often that I give a collection of short stories 4 stars and above for each and every one of them, but good lord, did these 8 short stories caught my heart in ways that I didn't know it could. Not only was I enamoured by each stories, Bora Chung's deep sense of dark humour had made this such an enjoyable read. There were a lot of moments that had loads of "wtfs" and "huhhh" and "good lord" in my notes to the point that it had made me chuckling at some. But in the mix of all that dark humour, there was also a deep sense of dread after some reflection from each stories.
And please, good lord Bora Chung can freaking write a sci-fi full novella and I will eat it up. One of the easiest 5 stars that I can give in the story was from The End of The Voyage where it depicts about a journey of a group of people that was sent to outer space to find a replacement for Earth as it has been infected by a form of virus that is non-traceable. Sounds familiar? That's whats eerie about this book. Its reflecting during the time of the lockdown and pandemic but taken with a twist that really made me went on a voyage of my own. I had to stop and breathe because it felt like I went on a full ride with that story alone and it gave me such a serotonin boost to read something THAT GOOD and satisfied both my fantasy and literary read cravings.
Whilst some stories like The Center for Immortality Research and A Very Ordinary Marriage had all the fun and games (read: horror-goth in its true and playful form), the centre theme that revolves around this book is the portrayal of intelligence that exceeds human expectations.
"When the world I was designed for has changed so much, in what ways must I myself change?"
The conformity of life and death. Expired through a disease? or being said to be malfunctioning?
The existential crisis that had me questioning the difference between human and machines. As we train machines and artificial intelligence to be trained to do human functions they also inhibit the emotions instilled too , in which surpasses what a machine was designated and supposed to do. And in which point did the limits of human and machines comes through? This was what I felt one of the main questions that is portrayed from Your Utopia - where loneliness is a disease, a malfunction that can affect anyone; even by the machines that were created by said humans; whilst A Song For Sleep had left me feeling void and got me thinking into the the kind of "malfunction" that is no different from humans and machines. Its very much unheard for an elevator to be able to sympathize and feel empathy for a human and being able to act on it.
The thin line between human intelligence and artificial intelligence? Where does it lie? Between the lines of black and white? Or is dulled due to it being it in the gray area?
And don't get me started on how misogyny towards women and of sexual discrimination has been portrayed in Maria, Gratia Plena and To Meet Her. These two stories shows the act of resistance from the author herself, in which both stories had got me sobbing as they are a tribute for real women that had been affected in real life. These stories of abuse and the cause of trauma by tyrants that is called society, had led to innocent lives being taken with brutal force. And in these stories lies a deep sense of solidarity with the author (in which she is an active activist herself).
"If God is a man, he could never understand the mundane threats women experience every single day of our lives.
The most unique story of all and one that had caught my heart unexpectedly was Seed and this story had not only rendered me speechless, its a form of beauty in the horrors as well; in which is a sign of resistance towards brutal capitalism and environmentalism. Its a sad and almost horrifying potrayal in which shows how the need for survival will lead to extremism.
At the end of the day, in celebrating loss and hope, Your Utopia had to be one of those reads that I will definitely revisit time and time again. Its a timeless piece that speaks of issues that stemmed from the human greed that can lead to a artificial intelligence maybe someday exceeding the lines of its existence. Its sci-fi and speculative fiction in its core but its also a parallel to the events of reality in which might happen if we choose to ignore and close our eyes to what's happening in the world now. Its of a small act of resistance told and written with such grace. And I for one had enjoyed every single page of this ride.
This author and translator duo - Bora Chung and Anton Hur continues to exceed my expectations. And I for one am happy to go in a ride with both of them for any books that they will put out in the future.
Highly recommended. It was definitely a thrilling ride.
Thank you so much to Honford Star for this copy, and Anton himself for the US gift copy. Might be one of the best gifts I can get this year.