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Writer's pictureThe Bossy Bookworm

Review of To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

This slim book tells the story of a small crew of astronauts in the twenty-second century who are searching for alien life--and who must come to terms with their purpose and their uncertain future when they lose communication with Earth.

I could not have predicted each version of me that I shifted into, but through my history, one constant has always remained true: change itself.

It's the twenty-second century, and in Becky Chambers's novella To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Ariadne O'Neill and her three crewmates are exploring a planetary system many light years from Earth. They're working to determine whether human life can be sustained on one of the four planets there.

Through a technique called somaforming, human space flight has been revolutionized; synthetic supplementations allow humans to travel to otherwise deadly environments.

Nothing was ever enough on Mirabilis. Every discovery made, every hour spent in someone else's sheets, every conversation and collaboration and new vista taken in made me want more, more, more. We were alive on that world. We were kings without enemies, children removed from time.

As Ariadne documents the dangers and promise of her mission, she and her crewmates consider their impact on the worlds they visit; lament a disruption in communication from earth and wonder at its causes and impact; and wait and wonder about who has the authority to determine their next steps--and what they should be.

This book is quite short, and I wished for more time with and development of the characters. The ending felt somewhat abrupt, and the story is without a clear resolution. This fits the dilemma that faces the crew near the close of the book, yet I found it unsatisfying.

The book's unwieldy title comes from this quote that Chambers provides within the book, from former UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim in 1977, as recorded on the Voyager Golden Record: "...We step out of our solar system into the universe seeking only peace and friendship--to teach, if we are called upon; to be taught, if we are fortunate...."

I love a space setting (feel free to check out these other Bossy reviews of novels set in space), and I really enjoyed the glimpses of this space crew working together, coping with setbacks, and making discoveries.


I'd love to hear your Bossy thoughts about this book!

Becky Chambers is also the author of A Psalm for the Wild-Built, the wonderful The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and other books.

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