So, I just finished the Solarpunk novella A Psalm for the Wild-Built by American author Becky Chambers. It is the first book officially categorized as “Solarpunk” that I’ve read (although I read a few others that predate the Solarpunk movement) and I genuinely enjoyed it a lot!
The story takes place in a fictional moon called Panga, a lush green planet that undergoes rewilding. We learn that a few centuries ago, the robots of Panga gained consciousness and decided to leave the factories, finally coming into an agreement with Humanity were they left for the unexplored woods of the planet, never to return. Humans still have high technology on Panga, solar energy, wind energy and generally alternative energy sources are the norm (oil having disappeared as an energy source long ago), pocket computers (something like an IPhone) are in regular usage and generally computers and high technology are a backbone of Pangan life.
The book follows Dex, a young garden-monk who lives in a monastery in the City (the only major city on the planet), who at the start of the book decides to change their vocation and become a tea-monk, essentially travelling around different regions of the planet, custom-blending tea and talking with their costumers about their thoughts and misgivings, more or less as a form of therapy. A few years after the start of their travels, Dex will delve into the unexplored forests of Panga, where the robots went many centuries ago, and will meet Splendid Speckled Mosscap (or just Mosscap for short), a self-aware robot that will become Dex’s companion in his travels, with the two trying to understand each other’s world.
The story is rather philosophical, really delving into questions like “what is the nature of life?” “what do we mean by living?” “what is our purpose in this world anyway?”, with all of these questions culminating in just one: “what do people need?”. Dex and Mosscap discuss these and other questions, trying to understand each other and to find answers. They understand that one of their purposes is to help others, but they don’t know what those others really need from them. Dex found happiness as a tea-monk, helping others by discussing their problems with them, until they realize that they just don’t anymore (at least not as much as in the beginning).
Other than the philosophical musings of the two main characters, the book describes the adventures Dex and Mosscap have, which generally include travelling around Panga, meeting and talking with different people, seeing different places and at the second part of the story travelling into the unexplored forests of the planet and discovering many secrets there.
The book can certainly be seen as an example of cozy fiction, other than Solarpunk. Most of it is made up of wonderful descriptions of life in Panga, Sibling Dex’s everyday life as a travelling tea-monk and his discussions with different characters, including Mosscap. There isn’t much of traditional action as we would expect from a fiction piece, but that is a feature of the Solarpunk genre in general. Panga is a lush, peaceful world, where there isn’t really anything we would usually describe as “conflict”, so conflict revolves around the main characters’ philosophical discussions and personal anxieties.
Panga as a setting is very interesting as well. The whole planet undergoes rewilding and with the robots that previously made human lives easier no longer around, humans have to find other ways of living. Other than the City, there isn’t really any other major settlement on the planet, with most people living in small towns and villages. The rest of the planet is left to Nature. Technology is used in great lengths, but that doesn’t mean simpler ways of doing things are forgotten (Dex’s ox-bike moves just by pedals for example). There seems to be a blend of high-tech and low-tech life that I personally find really enjoyable.
In conclusion I’d say that A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a short but sweet book. It isn’t really action-filled but it is very warm and cozy, which makes it particularly enjoyable as a read. Its length isn’t frightening for someone who may not be accustomed to reading that much, so I think it is a good book for anyone, experienced reader or not. I have ordered the sequel, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, and I’ll write a similar review for it when I finish it.
by A_Guy195