This is a science fiction book in translation, written by the only Chinese woman to win a Hugo award. The basic premise is that years from now a small group of humans has colonized Mars, and is slowly restoring diplomatic relations with Earth after a war for control of the planet. At the time the novel opens a handful of Martian students are returning to Mars after having spent five years on Earth. Luoying, granddaughter of the consul of Mars, is one of them.
After their return the students see the contrast between the Martian (collectivistic) way of life and Terran (individualistic) way. All of the “vagabonds” struggle to reintegrate into Martian society as they now see the ways that service to the collective can stifle the individual. At the same time none of the vagabonds believe that unrestrained capatalism and worship of the individual is ideal. This tension is the basis of the novel. Along the way Luoying also unearths secrets from her own family’s history that paint Mars in a less than favorable light.
While I found the premise and philosophical tension in the book interesting, I also got bored. It takes 300 pages before Luoying takes action to seek out answers to her questions about her parents’ death, for instance. There was a also a distance in the writing between the characters and the reader. The experience of reading this book was like listening to two people talking on the far end of an echoing hallway. You can hear them but there’s a lag. At the very end of the book— the last 50-75 pages, a lot is explained. I really think about 200 pages could have been cut from about the middle and the book would have been much better.
This book was interesting but way too long.
After their return the students see the contrast between the Martian (collectivistic) way of life and Terran (individualistic) way. All of the “vagabonds” struggle to reintegrate into Martian society as they now see the ways that service to the collective can stifle the individual. At the same time none of the vagabonds believe that unrestrained capatalism and worship of the individual is ideal. This tension is the basis of the novel. Along the way Luoying also unearths secrets from her own family’s history that paint Mars in a less than favorable light.
While I found the premise and philosophical tension in the book interesting, I also got bored. It takes 300 pages before Luoying takes action to seek out answers to her questions about her parents’ death, for instance. There was a also a distance in the writing between the characters and the reader. The experience of reading this book was like listening to two people talking on the far end of an echoing hallway. You can hear them but there’s a lag. At the very end of the book— the last 50-75 pages, a lot is explained. I really think about 200 pages could have been cut from about the middle and the book would have been much better.
This book was interesting but way too long.