I've anticipated reading this book for a long time. Dorsey's Black Wine was a book that I seriously loved, and kept recommending to people for years. Sadly, this book not only didn't live up to the expectations created by Black Wine, it frankly just wasn't very good. The premise sounds intriguing - an alien comes to earth to learn about humanity, and ends up in a co-op household full of non-conformists and artists. I liked a lot of the concepts - how the main character explores different types of love for different people through sexuality, etc. And some of the language and imagery is lovely. Still, maybe it has something to do with its near-contemporary setting (rather than the remote world of Black Wine), but the book felt more like a socio-political lecture than a novel. The messages, rather than working smoothly through the metaphors of fantasy, were very in-your-face and clunky. The characters felt like their traits were imposed on them by using a checklist (black, gay, disabled, lesbian, dancer, artist, etc.), rather than stemming from the experiences of real people. The protagonist's emotions were spoken of at great length, but didn't feel convincing. The antagonist was even more mystifying - with motivations which were nearly completely opaque, and unconvincing when admitted in an awkwardly-stuck-in, cliched confessional. The plot lacked tension, even when dramatic events were occurring. This may sound harsh, and it's probably much harsher than it would have been if I hadn't fully expected to be giving this book 5 stars - but I can't even come close to doing so.
Wow. Dorsey is once again astounding - even more so than Black Wine. For as much as I love to read, it is the rare book that holds my attention for prolonged stretches of time. I read this one in two days.Beautifully written, wonderful characters, great story, thematic depth, this book has everything. Dorsey's style is delightful, and would be enjoyable to read even if she didn't have much to say. It is well-crafted, well-paced, and sprinkled with captivating images and wonderful turns of phrase. It is also rife with allusions to other works, which is quite fun (though I'm sure I missed a lot of them). And she has a lot of interesting things to say on top of it. Morgan is a fully-realized person, laid bare in such a way that her story is compelling. The story itself is a fascinating take on "first contact." It's a bit like Stranger in a Strange Land meets Rent.
Do You like book A Paradigm Of Earth (2002)?
'A paradigm of Earth' is set in Canada, in a dystopian near-future. It's not the type of dystopia where children have to fight each other to the death, but a rather more humdrum and believable one where social progress has gone backwards, and homosexuals are treated like deviants once more.The main plot involves an alien who has landed on Earth to learn about humanity, and ends up being taught by a bisexual woman and her housemates, all of whom exist on the fringes of this stiflingly conservative society. The main idea is not a particularly novel one, and there were parts where it felt rough, like a bit more editing was needed, but overall it was a thoughtful and engaging book.
—Flexanimous
Not sure I will finish this one. The first few chapters are wading through the narrator's introspection and depression. It is starting to pick up a little bit now that the alien has made an entrance, but it still isn't very captivating or thought provoking. OK, The library asked for the book back. I took that as a sign that I wasn't going to finish it. After 90 pages I could see where the book was going. We weren't ever going to learn anything about the aliens. Just as Morgan was reflecting on her own life, we the readers were to reflect on our life on Earth, not on life beyond Earth. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) I moved on to the next book in Kage Baker's "The Company" series. I know I'll enjoy that. In fact, I've read more in once day than I did of "Paradigm" in a week .
—David
SPOILERSProblematic but original.Morgan Sue is a little hard to take; it's inevitably going to be tricky to write from the POV of a person with depression, and the book does critique her self-involvement, a little, but not much. And the other characters are forever telling her what an inspiration she is to them or what peace she has or whatever.I have a problem with the antagonist, John -- we're told that he does various things wrong (doesn't do his share of the chores, is very rude to Jakob the gay dancer, etc.) but we don't see this happen, and I never did see any reason for John to commit the murders he commits, nor did I see any reason for him not to just start at the center and kill Morgan, the alien, or both.The alien, Blue, is nicely realized, as is the police officer who watches over them (thus I was especially disappointed to see him take advantage of the new repressive laws to torture a suspect and to hold a spying co-worker indefinitely without trial).
—Res
