This isn't the first time that Queered Science has read a Samuel Delany novel. Last year we attempted Troubles on Titan. I say attempted because a good number of us didn't get through the book.
By and large, we've been reading plot-driven novels about the people whose actions make a difference in at least one of the worlds they belong to. Troubles on Titan is a character study of an asshole.
Bron Helstrom is a self-important, affected, misogynistic, opinionated, jaded protagonist who fills a role of petty authority within a socially libertarian society. The character frequently claims 'personal growth' that is never reflected by the protagonist's behavior.
Yet for all of this, I personally felt that Titan was well worth the read...
By and large, we've been reading plot-driven novels about the people whose actions make a difference in at least one of the worlds they belong to. Troubles on Titan is a character study of an asshole.
Bron Helstrom is a self-important, affected, misogynistic, opinionated, jaded protagonist who fills a role of petty authority within a socially libertarian society. The character frequently claims 'personal growth' that is never reflected by the protagonist's behavior.
Yet for all of this, I personally felt that Titan was well worth the read...
First of all, Bron Hestrom's faults serve a purpose. His impulsive actions reflects the entitlement and petty malice reflect the acts of someone with unexamined privilege - but instead of these actions being treated as par for course, he gets called out on his BS. At the same time his tendency to fault-find helps highlight that there are pitfalls in the alternatives.
Here are a few of the other highlights:
Bron falls for a woman named Spike. She is a state sponsored itinerant artist that Bron wants to treat like his own personal Magic Pixie Dream Girl. However, she rejects that narrative - and eventually demonstrates what she has said all along, that she (and all people) is a human and not a 'type.'
The world of Titan accepts (on a societal level) all manner of different living arrangements, while simultaneously acknowledging that the individuals within that society can be incredibly opinionated about anyone who does not chose to live as they do. And I personally enjoyed getting to see a future world structured along the lines of the goðorð system (a medieval form of libertarian governance contemporaneous to the feudal system which is usually adopted by space operas).
As for queerness - it is almost a non-issue. Everyone has a different familial, romantic, and gender history. It is Bron's determinedly heterosexual outlook that serves to highlight how these histories differ from what dominates contemporary America. And again it is Bron's tendency to thing about everyone as a 'type' which highlights the stereotypes which might be imposed upon such an individual today. However, the sheer variety serves to highlight the diversity of life experiences and perspectives within the real-world queer communit(ies), and helps put the lie to Bron's shallow perspective.
Even though I had to force myself forward in places – I consider Trouble on Trition to be a worthwhile read that highlights the dangers of considering oneself 'benevolently enlightened' about the experiences of others without letting that enlightenment inform one's actions.
I am looking forward to seeing what Delany has to say in Stars in My Pockets Like Grains of Sand.
Here are a few of the other highlights:
Bron falls for a woman named Spike. She is a state sponsored itinerant artist that Bron wants to treat like his own personal Magic Pixie Dream Girl. However, she rejects that narrative - and eventually demonstrates what she has said all along, that she (and all people) is a human and not a 'type.'
The world of Titan accepts (on a societal level) all manner of different living arrangements, while simultaneously acknowledging that the individuals within that society can be incredibly opinionated about anyone who does not chose to live as they do. And I personally enjoyed getting to see a future world structured along the lines of the goðorð system (a medieval form of libertarian governance contemporaneous to the feudal system which is usually adopted by space operas).
As for queerness - it is almost a non-issue. Everyone has a different familial, romantic, and gender history. It is Bron's determinedly heterosexual outlook that serves to highlight how these histories differ from what dominates contemporary America. And again it is Bron's tendency to thing about everyone as a 'type' which highlights the stereotypes which might be imposed upon such an individual today. However, the sheer variety serves to highlight the diversity of life experiences and perspectives within the real-world queer communit(ies), and helps put the lie to Bron's shallow perspective.
Even though I had to force myself forward in places – I consider Trouble on Trition to be a worthwhile read that highlights the dangers of considering oneself 'benevolently enlightened' about the experiences of others without letting that enlightenment inform one's actions.
I am looking forward to seeing what Delany has to say in Stars in My Pockets Like Grains of Sand.