A review by foggy_rosamund
Halfway Human by Carolyn Ives Gilman
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.