While it is not the first science fiction book to be covered in 2024, Marie-Helene Bertino's Beautyland is the first book to be covered on DSN that was published in the new year. I was drawn to the idea of a seemingly ordinary person being tasked with reporting their observations to another civilization somewhere far out in space, while living out their life here on Earth. What kind of observations would they make? And would whoever they are reporting to find them interesting, or even care?
The Situation: Adina Giorno is born on the same day that Voyager 1 is launched in early September of 1977. Though the birth almost kills her mother, both of them make it through safely, and continue their lives as best they can in Philadelphia. Adina understands that she is different, even without the observations of the people around her telling her so. She is somehow aware of life on a distant planet, but when a fax machine appears, she is able to tell them everything she observes about human beings and how they operate. The communication is not one way, but the responses she does receive are short, and somewhat unhelpful. In this way, Adina will continue to live her life, and report as much as she can, while understanding little of it.
The Problem: Growing up as the only child of a single mother in the heart of Philadelphia would be hard enough without also being an extraterrestrial. Fitting in is difficult, and while Adina knows she is not like her classmates and the people she is growing up around, it does not change her desire to belong. As she moves from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, the human experience continues to confuse and astound her, and soon, simply sharing her findings with the beings back home is not enough. Are there others like her here on Earth? And how would human beings react if they were to know the truth? Would they even believe it?
Genre, Themes, History: This is a science fiction novel set mostly in Philadelphia and New York City, and beginning in 1977 when Adina is born. As the story progresses and Adina grows up, the passing years are marked by important moments in history and what Adina observes as the humans' react to them, as opposed to actual dates. There are no chapters necessarily, but the book is divided up into five sections, with the narrative in those sections broken up and divided in small chunks, most of which are less than a page long. Even though she is not human, Adina experiences the very real human emotions of love, joy, the need to fit in and be accepted, sorrow, disappointment, despair, and grief. The book answers the question of what would a being from another planet think about the way we live here on Earth?
My Verdict: This book fits into the science fiction category simply because Adina is not of this Earth, but has been tasked with reporting on what she observes as she grows up around humans. Other than her communications with the beings on her home planet, her experience is not too different from what most experience living in North America. The character of Adina is making observations about humans that she finds interesting or confusing, but while she is making them as someone of a different species, they entail many things that human beings have wondered about themselves. For me, I related intensely to her observations of how humans communicate with each other, endlessly saying one thing while meaning another. It is an original look at the human experience that both critiques it, and asks honest questions about it.
Favorite Moment: *spoiler alert* Adina loses out on an acting scholarship for college to another student, who them ends up becoming a lawyer, and not an actor...because of course she does.
Favorite Character: While Adina may not quite understand it herself, I can see why her strangeness and aloof nature would draw some people in. Her inability to understand most human behaviors causes her to meet most interactions with a refreshing honesty and unintentional humor.
Recommended Reading: I recommend Erin Swan's Walk the Vanished Earth, though it is a very different type of science fiction novel that looks at a possible future for Earth as human beings race to find an alternative, while life on the planet becomes more difficult.
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