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A review by mar
Mission Child by Maureen F. McHugh
challenging
reflective
slow-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
5.0
I don't think I've read a sci-fi book that felt this thoroughly human in a while.
I originally picked it up because I had the vague notion it had some interesting stuff going on with gender, and I was certainly not disappointed - Jan/Janna, the protagonist, is what I'd call genderqueer, by the end describing themselves interchangeably as both & neither a man or a woman; their journey to that realization is portrayed with a thoughtfulness and authenticity I did not expect from a 1998 science fiction book.
There's so many more fascinating themes explored beyond just gender, though, with some of the ones I found most resonant being cultural frictions, language, and things lost in translation; longing for a nonexistent home, what it feels like to be a stranger/foreigner everywhere you go, and how those impact your sense of self.
It brought to my mind Ursula K. Le Guin's Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction - the novel as a medicine bundle, holding many things amonst which conflict is just one of the many ways they can relate to one another, a place for the untold life story rather than the Hero's story. This is one of those, this is a life story. There is no traditional plot, there's just Jan's life, sometimes grim and brutal, often slow and aimless. Won't be for everyone, I'm sure, but it touched something within me in a way I can't quite put into words.
I originally picked it up because I had the vague notion it had some interesting stuff going on with gender, and I was certainly not disappointed - Jan/Janna, the protagonist, is what I'd call genderqueer, by the end describing themselves interchangeably as both & neither a man or a woman; their journey to that realization is portrayed with a thoughtfulness and authenticity I did not expect from a 1998 science fiction book.
There's so many more fascinating themes explored beyond just gender, though, with some of the ones I found most resonant being cultural frictions, language, and things lost in translation; longing for a nonexistent home, what it feels like to be a stranger/foreigner everywhere you go, and how those impact your sense of self.
It brought to my mind Ursula K. Le Guin's Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction - the novel as a medicine bundle, holding many things amonst which conflict is just one of the many ways they can relate to one another, a place for the untold life story rather than the Hero's story. This is one of those, this is a life story. There is no traditional plot, there's just Jan's life, sometimes grim and brutal, often slow and aimless. Won't be for everyone, I'm sure, but it touched something within me in a way I can't quite put into words.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Blood, and War
Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury
a graphic birth-giving scene; sexual/gender-based violence comes up a lot, but is mostly discussed/implied rather than directly depicted