The Quick Read: Murderbot and Foster

06/05/2024

I'll admit, I'm not usually a big consumer of novellas. Pick a lane, author! I've been known to scoff (silently, in my head, and mostly just kidding). When I'm searching for my next read, I usually want something meatier than a novella. I want to spend a lot of time in a story. On the other hand, if I'm looking for a text to share with students, I tend to opt for something shorter. Novellas can certainly be great craft exemplars, but if I want to study something with students a short story is easier to discuss in full.

However, I've recently fallen in love with two quick reads, both on a personal and a professional level.


Novella the First: The Murderbot Diaries

Ok, this is really a series of novellas, plus a full length novel. I'm a big sci-fi fan, and Murderbot is one of my recent favorites. It's an unremitting joy from start to finish. Murderbot is a sentient security unit, made from machine and biological parts. At the start of the series it has disabled its governor module, allowing it to think and act freely and, more importantly, watch all the TV soap operas it can get its hands on. The novellas have several elements I really love: firstly, the writing is witty, fun, and fast-paced. It's the perfect mix of technical world-building and interpersonal characterization. Next, the Murderbot has a huge capacity to multitask, using drones to be in many places at once and multiple neural systems to solve complex problems simultaneously. So the point of view is split between many tasks, and often involves action and reflection simultaneously. And finally, the heart of the story is the Murderbot's struggle to interpret and deal with its fledgling emotions, interpersonal connections, and its role in a human society. This struggle is surprisingly nuanced, with Murderbot both hating and being drawn to humans, grappling with the prejudices and assumptions about who gets to be sentient, and charting a path through morally murky situations.


Novella the Second: Foster

Ok, I read this about a year ago for the first time, but I just recently read it with students so it's fresh on my mind. Claire Keegan is "as good as Chekov" according to David Mitchell. Foster was recently published in the US as a novella, though it was originally billed as a short story. Basically it's a very cute little book with a very big font size. I loved it when I first read it, and I love it even more after discussing it with my students. Teaching is best when you learn a lot yourself (ugg– did I just make a coffee mug motto?) and I delved a lot deeper into the text with the help of my AP Literature class. Foster follows a young girl as she spends a summer with relatives, basically farmed out because her own parents are too busy to take care of her. It inspired the movie The Quiet Girl, which I haven't seen but is supposed to be good. It's the sort of book that I can't even talk about without tearing up. Becoming a parent has made it that much more poignant. I don't want to say too much because turning each page is like uncovering buried treasure. There's a pool of water. Horses swimming in the sea. A dead child. A gut-wrenching race to the mailbox. Keegan's writing is simple and laden with symbolism and allusion. The story smolders slowly before bursting into flame in the last pages. Read it.


Perhaps this seems like TWO cool things, but it's all about spin. The quick read: It's one cool thing.


Ellen Parent - Writer & Teacher
All rights reserved 2021
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