Hardcover, 160 pages
Published July 13, 2021 by Tordotcom.
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.
One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.
But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.
They're going to need to ask it a lot.
Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
Absolutely stunning. A wonderful cozy solarpunk novella that is like a nice cup of hot tea. I highly recommend this. Gives off a wonderful Ghibli vibe.
Utopian futures are not usually my thing (dystopia any day), but this was thoughtfully crafted and heart-warmimg so I enjoyed it. The only thing that bothered me a little was the gender pronoun usage. The main character is referred to as "they" throughout, which of course is fine but a little distracting for me.
I like it sometimes when I don't remember why I wanted to read a book. This was one. It can make it a bit difficult at first. Either the author was being sparse of I was being more dense than usual.
By mid point or so I was all in. And really enjoyed it. a couple tears may have been shed at the end. Wonderful.
Content warning minor spoilers
Having the #SFFBookClub pick this book for this month was a good excuse to read this book for the third time. My bias here is that I have deeply enjoyed everything I've read from Becky Chambers, so take from that what you will.
This is a slow-moving, character-focused novella that is more focused on existential questions and feelings than on plot. It's got some very funny moments, comfy world-building, and has incredibly endearing vibes. I love the idea of Allalae, god of small comforts so so much. (Also, yay non-binary protagonist, you love to see it.)
The short plot summary is that tea monk Sibling Dex struggles with finding satisfaction with their life and takes a jaunt off the beaten path to find it. On the way, they befriend inquisitive robot Mosscap who is trying to learn about how humans are doing and what they need. This novella is definitely the friends you make along the way. In a strict plot sense, the book ends the journey almost as it is getting started (setting up nicely for the next novella), but the emotional arc is amazingly crafted to deliver a gut punch.
In some ways, Sibling Dex feels like a stand-in for the reader themselves where Mosscap the robot as an outsider is positioned to be able to interrogate Dex about humanity itself and its self-perceptions. Mosscap's quest is to ask humans and find out "what they need", and ultimately this is the same question Dex struggles with themself. Dex feels like they need to get out of the city, or listen to crickets, or become a tea monk, or get away from their routine, or or or
I think it could be easy for this story to feel like it's about something very far from our world. Everybody's basic needs are taken care of. Capitalism seems to be in the past. The environment is being respected and rewilded. The autonomy of rebellious robot workers to stop working and fuck off is respected by all of humanity. All together it's a lovely and hopeful worldview that is hard to hold onto these days. But, the fact that Sibling Dex does not have any easy answers to pin their internal dissatisfaction on some obvious material lack makes their existential struggle and their worries about wasting their life that much more poignant.
I think I keep coming back to this book because it's an extremely hopeful view of the future that I want to hold onto, but also because the message is one I very personally need to keep hearing at this point in my life. It hasn't sunk in yet, but maybe on the next reread...
Although the book has a little bit of exposition along the way, the idea is just too good. I'll read the next one too.
By the way, the idea is just like the series says: a monk and a robot.
If I were able to write fiction, I think this is the kind of fiction I’d like to write. The first book in the Monk & Robot series is gentle and thoughtful, but manages to pick at some anxieties I’ve been having for a long time, about purpose and direction and satisfaction. There’s not much in the way of conflict, but plenty in the way of insight, and it’s short enough that I basically inhaled it.
Even more than the characters, I want to spend more time with the book’s religious system, which is revealed in small details but still largely mysterious by the end of the book. The best fictional religions have a way of concisely showing what’s important in a given world—which I guess real religions do, too, but those are so much more multilayered and convoluted from centuries of revision and interpretation that it takes real scholarship …
If I were able to write fiction, I think this is the kind of fiction I’d like to write. The first book in the Monk & Robot series is gentle and thoughtful, but manages to pick at some anxieties I’ve been having for a long time, about purpose and direction and satisfaction. There’s not much in the way of conflict, but plenty in the way of insight, and it’s short enough that I basically inhaled it.
Even more than the characters, I want to spend more time with the book’s religious system, which is revealed in small details but still largely mysterious by the end of the book. The best fictional religions have a way of concisely showing what’s important in a given world—which I guess real religions do, too, but those are so much more multilayered and convoluted from centuries of revision and interpretation that it takes real scholarship to that heart. A religion in a fiction is more concentrated by necessity, but still abstracted enough to have that feeling of mystical importance, a distilled philosophy dressed in metaphor. I’m hoping Chambers delves into it more in the sequel.
I wanted to read this because I had heard about this genre of “hope punk” or “cozy punk,” and I was curious. As I expected, there was no real conflict, or any jeopardy or much in the way of stakes. But this is what the genre is about, giving a break from the catastrophe that is our current world, so on that count, I would give it a high score, but I prefer novels with more at stake and more conflict. But I can see how many who are very stressed in everyday life and stressed about the planet and technology might take comfort in this sort of a book (not that I’m not stressed about these things, but I guess I’m used to higher level of stress). I don’t expect to continue with the series, but who knows?
My first Becky Chambers book, and I think I finally understand the enthusiasm. Wonderful developing relationship between Dex and Mosscap, lots of nature, and woven throughout the story, and increasing towards the end, the struggle to find meaning in life.
I'm such a huge fan of all the Becky Chambers books. The author's work continues to amaze me with futuristic stories full of hope and diversity. A Psalm for the Wild-Built is no exception to that. The ideas I loved most in this story were humanity reacting with acceptance when the robots gained sentience far in the past. That humanity adapted to life without them. But also the idea that what those robots chose to do with their lives was to retreat to nature and study it, with excitement and curiosity. The idea that a robot created to work in industry would then turn around and spend decades just watching a tree grow for no other reason than because it was fascinating, is such a refreshing take. And of course, it's a lot more complex than all of that, but the story doesn't feel overly complicated. These are the kind …
I'm such a huge fan of all the Becky Chambers books. The author's work continues to amaze me with futuristic stories full of hope and diversity. A Psalm for the Wild-Built is no exception to that. The ideas I loved most in this story were humanity reacting with acceptance when the robots gained sentience far in the past. That humanity adapted to life without them. But also the idea that what those robots chose to do with their lives was to retreat to nature and study it, with excitement and curiosity. The idea that a robot created to work in industry would then turn around and spend decades just watching a tree grow for no other reason than because it was fascinating, is such a refreshing take. And of course, it's a lot more complex than all of that, but the story doesn't feel overly complicated. These are the kind of stories we need in this day and age.
Ich lese einfach keine Bücher mehr, in denen Baumhäuser vorkommen. Keine Gebäude aus Kristall, keine Baumhäuser, fertig.
TBH, I was about halfway through this before I even knew if I was enjoying it or not. But I did enjoy it, and I'm looking forward to reading the next Monk and Robot book.
I read this book in one sitting from start to finish on Christmas day with hot tea and a blanket. It is precisely what I needed for some relaxation and escape. The book is about breaking patterns, dealing with boredom, trying new things, failing and grappling with what it means to be human - all told through the story between sibling dex, a tea monk and a funny robot named mosscap.
Cozy Buddhist Science Fantasy
Despite living in a utopia, a dissatisfied monk embarks upon a journey of self-discovery, illuminated by a charmingly inquisitive robot. Felt like a perfect cup of tea, served by a best friend with a warm embrace. This is #solarpunk.
sweet, beautiful, simple and short. this story came to me on the heels of a hard year, which itself was following a couple more hard years. sibling dex and mosscap were precisely the guides i needed to recenter at the end of this year and think about how to bring a little bit of tea monk energy into the next chapters of my life. i'll be rereading this one.
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