a book I love: Contact
So, yeah, a man writes a book and describes a woman, and yes, you can tell sometimes that the writer was definitely a dude. Having said that, Carl Sagan still treats Ellie Arroway as a fully-realized character. I have adored her and this book since I was a teenager, and every time I come back to it, I enjoy and understand it a little more. (I haven't the mathematical knowledge to understand astrophysics, but I understand a lot of the concepts.)
Here's my review at Goodreads, which pretty much sums it up:
I first read this when I was a teenager -- maybe four years after it was first published -- and Ellie's story has always resonated with me. Not just being a stargazer and science fan (though she's a pro, while I'm a self-taught amateur), but also being puzzled by the contradictions in science and religion. I certainly don't have the answers, and the book gets a tiny bit saccharine towards the end, but it's a good message and an enjoyable story.
Go read. It's a bit dated, with a Soviet Union still existing in the late 1990s. It was especially bittersweet when I read it last month, and I ache a little every day due to the trash that is in the White House despite getting a significantly smaller popular vote. (I try not to dehumanize people, but Trump and his entire family are among the few exceptions.) Reading about the first female POTUS hurts, because of the what-have-beens that I find much more appealing than reality in September of 2018.
Finding the deeper meanings in books and films is difficult, and they often pose as many questions as they answer. Think about the potential paradoxes in time travel stories, such as Prisoner of Azkaban and the first Terminator film. Think about the agency-versus-fate theories in Arrival (Ted Chiang's beautiful Stories of Your Life). How often have I got the plot but not even comprehended that there was a meaning? I read an article last week about The Matrix being a story about being transgender, and I was a bit taken aback. I hadn't had a clue.
Here's my review at Goodreads, which pretty much sums it up:
I first read this when I was a teenager -- maybe four years after it was first published -- and Ellie's story has always resonated with me. Not just being a stargazer and science fan (though she's a pro, while I'm a self-taught amateur), but also being puzzled by the contradictions in science and religion. I certainly don't have the answers, and the book gets a tiny bit saccharine towards the end, but it's a good message and an enjoyable story.
Go read. It's a bit dated, with a Soviet Union still existing in the late 1990s. It was especially bittersweet when I read it last month, and I ache a little every day due to the trash that is in the White House despite getting a significantly smaller popular vote. (I try not to dehumanize people, but Trump and his entire family are among the few exceptions.) Reading about the first female POTUS hurts, because of the what-have-beens that I find much more appealing than reality in September of 2018.
Finding the deeper meanings in books and films is difficult, and they often pose as many questions as they answer. Think about the potential paradoxes in time travel stories, such as Prisoner of Azkaban and the first Terminator film. Think about the agency-versus-fate theories in Arrival (Ted Chiang's beautiful Stories of Your Life). How often have I got the plot but not even comprehended that there was a meaning? I read an article last week about The Matrix being a story about being transgender, and I was a bit taken aback. I hadn't had a clue.
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