The Word for World is Forest

By Liz
Book Review: The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
Official FC Rating: 

My partner, Sean, and I have a lot in common, but an area where we definitely differ is the genre of sci-fi. Sean loves sci-fi. When he isn’t reading something non-fiction, his fiction genre of choice is frequently of the sci-fi variety. Me? Not so much. As much as I enjoy weird elements in the novels I read, with limited exceptions, I’ve never really gravitated towards sci-fi.

Sean highly recommended I read The Word for World is Forest by Ursula LeGuinn, who is a renown sci-fi writer. He told me some of the themes of the novel, and I decided I’d give it a shot. This may sound odd, but I did enjoy the themes of the novel, but I didn’t really like the novel itself.

The Word for World is Forest takes place in the distant future where humans are colonizing other planets in the galaxy. It is implied that we essentially destroyed Earth’s natural resources and thus rely on resources from planets far from Earth (referred to as Terra, in the future). As a logging military branch from Terra colonizes the planet, Athshe, they terrorize, enslave, torture and destroy the habitat of the natives, Athsheans, who are described as being like small men, but covered in green fur and hair. Before the humans, referred to as “yumens” by the Athsheans, arrived, Athshe was known for its peacefulness and was covered in a luscious forest. Led by the Athshean Selver, the Athsheans are eventually left with no choice but to abandon their peaceful nature and strike back against their bloodthirsty masters. The story follows through the war that ends up taking place on Athshe.

A clear commentary on the evils of colonialism, greed, racism, and environmental destruction, the themes of this novel are important, and I very much agreed with Le Guin’s perspective. However, I felt that the execution of the novel itself fell flat for me. It was just too strange for my taste, and I always struggle with novels when I can’t get close to any particular character. Maybe I just don’t get sci-fi, but what frustrated me most was just the odd setting of this novel. I feel like the messages Le Guin gets across loud and clear in this novel could have been made in a setting that was slightly less bizarre.

Ursula Le Guin is a respected sci-fi novelist, and while I didn’t particularly enjoy this novel, I entirely respect Le Guin’s writing and skill. This brand of sci-fi might just not be for me; however, for those that are socially conscious and are also sci-fi fans, this book will be a perfect fit for you. 

Murder on the Orient Express

By Liz

Book review: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Official FC rating: 

My first Agatha Christie novel was And Then There Were None, and it was fantastic! It was your perfect mystery- a bit scary, difficult to predict, and atmospheric. Dame Agatha Christie isn’t called the “Queen of Crime” for nothing, after all.

Both Charlotte and my partner, Sean, love Agatha Christie, so Sean stocked me up with a few of her novels from his collection, and I decided a mystery novel would be perfect to read in October. Thus, I chose Murder on the Orient Express.

Wikipedia summarizes the novel as follows (I’d summarize it myself, but I am a lazy mother effer this evening):

Upon arriving at the Tokatlian Hotel in Istanbul, private detective Hercule Poirot receives a telegram prompting him to cancel his arrangements and return to London. He instructs the concierge to book a first-class compartment on the Orient Express leaving that night. After boarding, Poirot is approached by Mr. Ratchett, a malevolent American he initially saw at the Tokatlian. Ratchett believes his life is being threatened and attempts to hire Poirot but, due to his distaste, Poirot refuses. "I do not like your face, Mr. Ratchett," he says. 

On the second night of the journey, the train is stopped by a snowdrift near Vinkovci. Several events disturb Poirot's sleep, including a cry emanating from Ratchett's compartment. The next morning, Mr. Bouc, an acquaintance of Poirot and director of the company operating the Orient Express, informs him that Ratchett has been murdered and asks Poirot to investigate, in order to avoid complications and bureaucracy when the Yugoslav police arrive. Poirot accepts.

Murder on the Orient Express didn’t grab me as quickly as And Then There Were None. And Then There Were None had a chilling element to it that I loved, but Murder on the Orient Express lacked that completely. I felt that the beginning of the novel sort of dragged, but I pushed through (Sean insisted that it got better). I would say the book finally caught me not long before the actual murder takes place.

Once the murder happens, it’s a whirlwind of information. As I was reading I was thinking to myself, half seriously, “should I be taking notes? Is this like ‘Clue’?” I’m terrible at solving mysteries, so naturally my first instinct is to suspect everybody, or to suspect the one person one would assume is the least likely to have committed the crime.

SPOILERS AHEAD. DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU PLAN TO READ THIS BOOK.

I should’ve just continued to suspect everyone because, Agatha Christie, looking to fuck with us all, made EVERY SUSPECT GUILTY OF THE CRIME. Almost every suspect stabbed Ratchett, except, of course, the person with the best motivation to kill Ratchett.

I literally laughed at the ending. It was great. I enjoyed that the novel has humor now and then at various parts. For example:

Such sass, Poirot.

“I DON’T LIKE YOUR FACE.” Man. I just need to channel that in my daily life. #PoirotGoals?

Christie’s character descriptions are both a great strength of hers, but also a great flaw. She creates unique characters that are easy to envision, but she also relies heavily on racist and anti-Semitic descriptors. I noticed this in both And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express. In Murder on the Orient Express she type-casts the lone Italian character as brusque, thick, burly, and mafia-like. There is at least one Jewish character in Murder on the Orient Express, but, thankfully, I did not see any overt anti-Semitism. In And Then There Were None, however, the character, Lombard, describes a young boy as “Jew-Boy,” and characterizes him as sneaky and conniving.

To be honest, when I noticed Christie’s anti-Semitism in And Then There Were None, I almost put the book down vowing to never read her books again. Of course, that didn’t happen. I enjoy her writing, and her books are easy reads. However, Christie is undoubtedly one of those authors that I could never be friends with. In fact, I’d probably hate her.

In summary, I enjoyed this novel, and I’m looking forward to reading another novel of Christie’s. I’d recommend her books to someone, but I would always be sure to let them know that Christie is a racist, anti-Semitic piece of trash.