The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Stone Gods
Book Review: Winterson returns!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best book I've read from Winterson in quite a while. It's much more science-fiction than her other works. Think of an Asimov plot with Winterson's style and language. And queer characters. The middle sections threw me off at first, but it comes together at the end. btw, for anyone who wants to learn more about easter island, check out collapse by Jared Diamond.Book Review: a fast and fun read with aspects of depth and brilliance
Summary: 3 Stars
a pleasant and enjoyable book with powerful ideas sprinkled through that make it well worth reading. while the political issues are timely as the world slides further into the destructive ideology of violence, these are not treated with much depth, nor are the characters very thoroughly crafted. great pushing of conceptual boundaries of sexuality for those who do not live in metropolises where we've seen (done? ;-) it all perhaps. implausible plot points occasionally bordering on silly. that said i'd still recommend it for the interwoven aspects of truly deep, touching, and thought provoking associations between characters and existential concepts.Book Review: answer to "when will they ever learn"? Never!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Planet Blue". Orbus is dying; some will say died. The planetary residents destroyed their home by polluting everything. However, led by Captain Handsome and with Billie Crusoe and robo sapien Spike as part of the crew, they escape their madness by discovering a perfect blue planet, but must rid this new earth of its dominant species. While the humans plan on their usual mass destruction to solve a problem, Billie and Spike fall in love. They send an asteroid to crash planet-side, destroying the dinosaurs that would have made colonization difficult.
"Easter Island". In 1774 the longboats arrive to be greeted by the giant monuments, but first they must control the natives before they explore. As is the human way, the newcomers plan on mass destruction to restrain the islanders even as Billie and Spike fall in love.
"Wreck City". The 3 War along with previous out of control pollution to keep the economy strong has left many places like Wreck City as no zones. These unfit places are expanding as pollution and war has wrecked the once blue planet turning it into a sickly gray. Those with wealth know it is time to escape this dying world and find a new earth to colonize even as Billie and Spike fall in love.
This poignant cautionary tale focuses on the theory that humans as a species or as individuals never learn from previous mistakes; if a person as a child touches a hot stove, his or her child will not heed their advice and touch the hot stove. With little hope, Jeannette Winterson provides a withering condemnation of mankind who she asserts cannot help it that our DNA contains pandemic (as a society) and localized (as a person and family) destructive genes. As Zager and Evans say in 2525: "He's taken everything this old Earth can give. And he ain't put back nothing". However, instead of Judgement Day, we leave behind our mess for those struggling to survive and cannot afford escape.
Harriet Klausner
Book Review: love stories that repeat are pretty
Summary: 5 Stars
the poetry and the stories and the love and the examples of human life that compose this book are wonderfully matched and brilliant to read.Book Review: samsara from all angles
Summary: 4 Stars
Despite a mere 200 pages you too can experience what seems like an epic, multi-volume heap of guilt vomited upon the vulgar vanity with which us humans tuck ourselves in each night. We describe ourselves as civilized, perhaps even progressive, yet in her book The Stone Gods, Jeanette Winterson skillfully reiterates what what we humans are so good at, and obliterates such vanity like a bear would to a sausage pinata.
The problem with us, Winterson reminds, is that for all our abilities, we just can't seem to learn anything from history. This recurring idea is the theme of 3 and 1/2 short stories, vignettes maybe, all intertwined within The Stone Gods. The first story, centering around the newly discovered Planet Blue, deals with a very advanced "civilization" coming to terms with its interplanetary recolonization, or at least it's inevitable effect upon colonization. The second story, a historical speculative taking place on Easter Island, illustrates the more aged impulses involved in worshiping your chosen god while sacrificing your home in the process. The third + 1/2 story deals with our near-future hubris after the inevitable Post-3 War, or a not-so-subtle hint at World War III.
This novel is a brilliantly conceived yet complex mix of science fiction and dramatic literature. It's up to the reader to discern what worlds, time periods, even places Winterson is alluding to, and she does fantastic job of speculating human behavior, if it is indeed human, within each. She grapples with relevant concepts of today such as war, artificial intelligence, global warming, cosmetic enhancement, all the stuff we humans turn toward when we we turn away from ourselves. Our nuance is that we accept how flawed as a species we are, yet we still are too lazy to do anything about it.
Because of this, Winterson unleashes three apocalyptic scenarios upon the reader, both with beauty and inanity. It's a profound exposition on what it means to be human; dare I say it's vividly gonzo. Although it's an excellent book, for me it tended to degrade a bit at the third + story, amounting to more an effort of stream-of-consciousness than a coherent storyline. Here she also gets a little too complex in referring to the book within the story itself.
In any case, this is an imaginative and important work, good for both China Mieville and Cormac McCarthy fans.