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A review by bigteo
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
adventurous
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I just really didn’t like this book. Which is surprising, because I love sci fi and especially a robot character. But this was a completely empty and bland experience with no conflict or plot to speak of.
As a side note, both main characters (the robot and the human) use non-binary pronouns which didn’t bother me or cause me to misread passages like some other people have stated in their reviews. I don’t mind having the characters have alternate takes on gender, but I’d like there to be maybe a deeper discussion on gender in a book which is meant to supposedly be this amazingly philosophical experience.
For starters, let’s talk about the lack of plot. The main character, Dex, is a non-binary monk that decides they’re sick of tending to the gardens and decides they want more, so they become a tea monk instead, which is sort of just a therapist I guess? There is no conflict in their decision to do so. None of the other characters challenge them. In fact, they are given a wagon for free. There are mentions of a currency system, but apparently that doesn’t matter in this utopian society (more on that later). Dex struggles once on their quest to become a tea monk and then there’s a two year time skip and suddenly they’re the best tea monk in the world. They then discover they’re still unsatisfied so they decide to trek off into nature to an abandoned hermitage, in which they discover a robot named Mosscap. Supposedly, they’re the first human to have contact with a robot since several hundred years ago the robots suddenly gained consciousness and then left humanity to be in the wilderness. This is a cool concept I suppose, and I can’t help but feel like Mosscap is the more interesting character. As in, Dex has literally no character to speak of. They are as plain as a blank slate. They have no struggles or conflicts and they come off as petulant and immature. Mosscap POV probably would’ve made the book a lot more interesting to me.
One of the things that made Dex really unlikable for me is the constant swearing in their internal monologues. This book feels like it wants to be read like a folktale cozy ghibli-esque take on nature in the distant future. So when Dex swears, it feels so deeply out of place and almost anachronistic. Why would a monk on a moon in a different solar system think the very American sounding phrase “whole-ass tree”? It’s stupid and it made me angry whenever it happened. It makes the book feel like it was written in the past several years and not like the timeless classic it seems to want to be.
The world building felt so strongly lacking. The religion of the world takes centre stage quite obviously because the main character is a disciple of one of the gods of which they have an established pantheon of. That lead me more to question than what the author provided, however. What about other religions? What about atheism, does that exist? Why or why not? I think it’s telling that an abandoned hundreds-of-years-old monastery situated up a remote mountain has the exact same way of worshipping the gods that the modern inhabitants do. It feels so vapid and lazy. Consider something like Christianity which has countless sects within it who all disagree on different aspects despite being the same religion. It might have been interesting for the author to at least allude to something like that existing here. Why does Mosscap also know seemingly everything about the religion? Imagine if we had a robot that had its own set of gods or beliefs or whatever that challenged Dex, that would’ve perhaps served as interesting character conflict. There are other little things too, like Dex not wanting to walk through a trail in the wilderness for fear of damaging nature, but then they’re completely fine with hunting and butchering animals. Humans don’t use technology, but they use pocket computers?
I’ve seen people point out that the fact that humans simply let the robots go is a major flaw. I don’t mind this as much as I do the fact that currently the characters exist in a utopian eco-friendly society where everyone is peaceful and happy. We start off in a setting where every possible conflict has already been resolved except for interpersonal and internal struggles. I get that it’s meant to almost be a slice of life style book, but for that to work I’d actually have to like Dex as a character. The world is too nice. There’s no crime or poverty even though humans have to suddenly not rely on technology.
The core messaging of this book is centred around very westernised and modern takes on what it means to be alive. Because of this, the conclusions that the author reaches by the end of the book are extremely shallow and surface-level interpretations of these difficult concepts. Nothing in what the characters said challenged me or got me to think about a differing perspective, because there was nothing new that was being said. The statements themselves that the book was making was so inoffensive and agreeable that I think it was to their detriment. I think some modern authors seem almost afraid of putting controversial messaging in their books even when framing these concepts as a bad thing. Tackling difficult subject matters, especially ones as universal as what it means to be alive, requires some difficult thoughts on the matter (at least in my opinion). The back and forth between Dex and Mosscap feels more like an interview rather than a conflict of thoughts and ideals. Again, a wasted opportunity.
As for the positives, the way the author writes about nature is nice and I like some of the concepts (the robots naming themselves after the first thing they see upon gaining consciousness is sweet. The buildings made out of mycelium is cool too, as an example).
As a side note, both main characters (the robot and the human) use non-binary pronouns which didn’t bother me or cause me to misread passages like some other people have stated in their reviews. I don’t mind having the characters have alternate takes on gender, but I’d like there to be maybe a deeper discussion on gender in a book which is meant to supposedly be this amazingly philosophical experience.
For starters, let’s talk about the lack of plot. The main character, Dex, is a non-binary monk that decides they’re sick of tending to the gardens and decides they want more, so they become a tea monk instead, which is sort of just a therapist I guess? There is no conflict in their decision to do so. None of the other characters challenge them. In fact, they are given a wagon for free. There are mentions of a currency system, but apparently that doesn’t matter in this utopian society (more on that later). Dex struggles once on their quest to become a tea monk and then there’s a two year time skip and suddenly they’re the best tea monk in the world. They then discover they’re still unsatisfied so they decide to trek off into nature to an abandoned hermitage, in which they discover a robot named Mosscap. Supposedly, they’re the first human to have contact with a robot since several hundred years ago the robots suddenly gained consciousness and then left humanity to be in the wilderness. This is a cool concept I suppose, and I can’t help but feel like Mosscap is the more interesting character. As in, Dex has literally no character to speak of. They are as plain as a blank slate. They have no struggles or conflicts and they come off as petulant and immature. Mosscap POV probably would’ve made the book a lot more interesting to me.
One of the things that made Dex really unlikable for me is the constant swearing in their internal monologues. This book feels like it wants to be read like a folktale cozy ghibli-esque take on nature in the distant future. So when Dex swears, it feels so deeply out of place and almost anachronistic. Why would a monk on a moon in a different solar system think the very American sounding phrase “whole-ass tree”? It’s stupid and it made me angry whenever it happened. It makes the book feel like it was written in the past several years and not like the timeless classic it seems to want to be.
The world building felt so strongly lacking. The religion of the world takes centre stage quite obviously because the main character is a disciple of one of the gods of which they have an established pantheon of. That lead me more to question than what the author provided, however. What about other religions? What about atheism, does that exist? Why or why not? I think it’s telling that an abandoned hundreds-of-years-old monastery situated up a remote mountain has the exact same way of worshipping the gods that the modern inhabitants do. It feels so vapid and lazy. Consider something like Christianity which has countless sects within it who all disagree on different aspects despite being the same religion. It might have been interesting for the author to at least allude to something like that existing here. Why does Mosscap also know seemingly everything about the religion? Imagine if we had a robot that had its own set of gods or beliefs or whatever that challenged Dex, that would’ve perhaps served as interesting character conflict. There are other little things too, like Dex not wanting to walk through a trail in the wilderness for fear of damaging nature, but then they’re completely fine with hunting and butchering animals. Humans don’t use technology, but they use pocket computers?
I’ve seen people point out that the fact that humans simply let the robots go is a major flaw. I don’t mind this as much as I do the fact that currently the characters exist in a utopian eco-friendly society where everyone is peaceful and happy. We start off in a setting where every possible conflict has already been resolved except for interpersonal and internal struggles. I get that it’s meant to almost be a slice of life style book, but for that to work I’d actually have to like Dex as a character. The world is too nice. There’s no crime or poverty even though humans have to suddenly not rely on technology.
The core messaging of this book is centred around very westernised and modern takes on what it means to be alive. Because of this, the conclusions that the author reaches by the end of the book are extremely shallow and surface-level interpretations of these difficult concepts. Nothing in what the characters said challenged me or got me to think about a differing perspective, because there was nothing new that was being said. The statements themselves that the book was making was so inoffensive and agreeable that I think it was to their detriment. I think some modern authors seem almost afraid of putting controversial messaging in their books even when framing these concepts as a bad thing. Tackling difficult subject matters, especially ones as universal as what it means to be alive, requires some difficult thoughts on the matter (at least in my opinion). The back and forth between Dex and Mosscap feels more like an interview rather than a conflict of thoughts and ideals. Again, a wasted opportunity.
As for the positives, the way the author writes about nature is nice and I like some of the concepts (the robots naming themselves after the first thing they see upon gaining consciousness is sweet. The buildings made out of mycelium is cool too, as an example).
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol