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December story choice - Story of Your Life / Arrival
A bonus for December 2020 - two variations of a story.
Story of Your Life is a short story by Ted Chiang, in the collection Stories of Your Life and Others. Blurb about the story says
Story of Your Life is a science fiction short story written by Ted Chiang. It was first published in 1998. The story revolves around a renowned linguist and how she makes a breakthrough in communicating with the aliens that have landed all over the world in massive spaceships.
“Despite knowing the journey and where it leads, I embrace it and welcome every moment.”
What would you do if you somehow chance upon the ability to be able to see your future?
Will that scare you, or will you be hopeful? Or both?
In 2016 the film Arrival was released, based on this story. Blurb about the film says
Linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all of mankind.
Link for the book is https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stories-Your-Life-Others-Chiang-ebook/dp/B00L2EQODK (Kindle, £5.99)
Link for the film is https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arrival-Amy-Adams/dp/B08289YB2J (Rent £3.49, Buy £7.99)
(or similar in other national Amazon sites)
I'm hoping that our discussion will cover both stories and how they are both similar and dissimilar. I am taking the book as the definitive version and the film as a variation thereof, but others might feel that the film should take precedence.
You might enjoy some of the other short stories in the book version, and if there's enthusiasm I'm sure we can briefly include some chatter about them. The blurb about the whole book runs
With Stories of Your Life and Others, his masterful first collection, multiple-award-winning author Ted Chiang deftly blends human emotion and scientific rationalism in eight remarkably diverse stories, all told in his trademark precise and evocative prose.
From a soaring Babylonian tower that connects a flat Earth with the firmament above, to a world where angelic visitations are a wondrous and terrifying part of everyday life; from a neural modification that eliminates the appeal of physical beauty, to an alien language that challenges our very perception of time and reality. . . Chiang's rigorously imagined fantasia invites us to question our understanding of the universe and our place in it.
Comments
Sounds good, I loved the movie and look forward to reading the short story.
Will do.
The discussion category can be found here: https://www.ttrpbc.com/categories/95-(december-2020)-stories-of-your-life-arrival-by-ted-chiang
I don’t see anything there, not even an empty forum.
That's because the threads posing the questions haven't been started yet.
Glad there's still time to read/watch this! FWIW, I read the first story in the book (Tower of Babylon) and thought it was brilliant, so I've got high hopes)
I've read Story of Your Life, and a couple of the others. I'd suggest you read Story… before diving into too many of the other stories in the collection.
But it'll be fun to hear what other people think of the collection as a whole, if anyone wants to. That's in addition to the discussion of Story…
I'm not sure I would say, as it could pre-empt the discussions. I'll happy say why when discussion starts, we've all read it, and formed our own opinions.
If there's general enthusiasm I'll post some discussion thoughts on Sunday... or would people like a bit longer given the holiday season? (Or tier 2/3/4 restrictions, depending on geography)
Any time for me!
I'm ready.
I’m ready.
OK I'm about to post discussion starters. Hopefully there's something for everyone. The last two are more markedly geeky than the first few (but hey, why not in a New Year). Please do feel free to pick and choose among them, or as usual start separate threads if there's something you'd like to talk about which is not in my selection.
Geeky is good.