Audiobook10 hours
Stories of Your Life and Others
Written by Ted Chiang
Narrated by Todd McLaren and Abby Craden
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
This new edition of Ted Chiang's masterful first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, includes his first eight published stories. Combining the precision and scientific curiosity of Kim Stanley Robinson with Lorrie Moore's cool, clear love of language and narrative intricacy, this award-winning collection offers listeners the dual delights of the very, very strange and the heartbreakingly familiar.
Stories of Your Life and Others presents characters who must confront sudden change-the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens-while striving to maintain some sense of normalcy. In the amazing and much-lauded title story (the basis for the 2016 movie Arrival), a grieving mother copes with divorce and the death of her daughter by drawing on her knowledge of alien languages and non-linear memory recollection. A clever pastiche of news reports and interviews chronicles a college's initiative to "turn off" the human ability to recognize beauty in "Liking What You See: A Documentary." With sharp intelligence and humor, Chiang examines what it means to be alive in a world marked by uncertainty and constant change, and also by beauty and wonder.
Stories of Your Life and Others presents characters who must confront sudden change-the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens-while striving to maintain some sense of normalcy. In the amazing and much-lauded title story (the basis for the 2016 movie Arrival), a grieving mother copes with divorce and the death of her daughter by drawing on her knowledge of alien languages and non-linear memory recollection. A clever pastiche of news reports and interviews chronicles a college's initiative to "turn off" the human ability to recognize beauty in "Liking What You See: A Documentary." With sharp intelligence and humor, Chiang examines what it means to be alive in a world marked by uncertainty and constant change, and also by beauty and wonder.
Editor's Note
The story behind ‘Arrival’…
Chiang is a sci-fi master capable of making the alien feel entirely human — his characters and worlds read like fantasy but feel like truth. Each story in this collection begs a momentary meditation on the meaning of life before going on.
Author
Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang was born in Port Jefferson, New York, and currently lives outside Seattle, Washington. In 1990 he won the Nebula Award for his first published story, 'Tower of Babylon'. Following this triumph, his stories have won him numerous other awards, making him one of the most honoured writers in contemporary SF. The title story from his first collection of short stories, Stories of Your Life and Others, was the basis for the Academy Award nominated film Arrival.
Reviews for Stories of Your Life and Others
Rating: 4.05449398443029 out of 5 stars
4/5
1,413 ratings108 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Arrival by Ted Chiang is an ebook I picked up from the library because everyone was talking about the movie and I wanted to watch it but I like to read the books before seeing the movies, I have a thing about that. I didn't know this was a book of short stories. Again, I have a thing about not reading blurbs if I can help it in books I have already. (If I am looking for a book, that is different.) This book is not a novel but a lot of short stories. Each one is drastically different and each make the reader really think, think deep. I like that. The one that became the movie, wow. I enjoyed it too. I am glad someone told me about the movie so I tracked down this talented author. I really enjoyed these short stories. My emotions and brain was all over. It was stretched and it felt good. Now, I can't wait to go watch the movie! Can't wait to see how they made this short into a full length movie! I hope it did story justice.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Truly remarkable collection of speculative shorts first gathered together over 15 years ago and some dating back to the early 90s. I came to this through Arrival and while the title story in this collection is very different from the movie, it's clear they share DNA. I read so little science fiction these days that this was a treat. Great ideas, explored with compassion.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A mixed bag of short stories with variable results. However, when Chiang scores a goal, it is resounding and surprisingly great. The Tower of Babylon, Understand, and the titular story are all great ones-- the rest I found missed their mark. Nevertheless, this is some great new development in the realm of science fiction, and I surmise that Chiang is a writer to watch for.3.5-- well worth it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I loved how Chiang uses concepts of maths, science, physics and linguistics as a basis on his fiction. I came to this book from the movie Arrival, which was based on one of these stories. I didn’t know I would like it so much. A good way to finish the year. :)
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cinematic and philosophical...my favorite combo!
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I was really hoping I would love this, and I just didn't really like any of the stories. I think I didn't enjoy the writing style at all, and felt detached from every narrative. There were some really interesting topics explored, and I enjoyed the perspectives presented, but overall, this had no lasting effect on me. I just feel disappointed.