false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178028160m/750524.jpg 750524 3 Earth is ailing, and Quakers from various countries band together for a brave mission: build a self-sustaining spaceship, and travel to the stars to find another home. <I>The Dazzle of Day</I> chronicles the lives of people who grew up on the <I>Dusty Miller</I> and lived to see it reach its destination. <p> Spiritual, steady Kristina plays the middle note in Gloss's triadic exploration of the inner lives of women; Verano begins the journey from Earth, and Vintro's story comprises the finishing notes after the journey's end. Onboard the <I>Dusty Miller</I>, a depressive malaise spreads throughout the colonists, and Kristina's daughter-in-law Juko witnesses a suicide by a co-worker while mending the ship's solar sails. Other players include Juko's son Cejo, her quiet ex-husband Humberto, and her husband Bjoro, a scientist who visits the new planet's inhospitable surface and lives to bring back reports. The colonists, who've lived their entire lives on a small climate-controlled ship, must decide whether to adjust to life on the chilly planet, prepare to terraform a section on its surface, or continue on to search for a more suitable home. <p> Gloss's lyrical and leisurely prose describes the lives of the spacefarers: religion and politics, quarrels and friendships, love and despisal, illness and death. At times this science fiction feels homespun as the gentle but human Quakers strive for consensus in their community during a time of wrenching change. 1812805 1997 The Dazzle of Day total:54|5:5|4:20|3:12|2:15|1:2| 54 173 92 16 4 2 false false Sat Nov 08 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 06 11:15:22 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 09 11:29:25 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 20 14:24:12 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 18:56:38 -0700 2009
The second half of the book is also slowly paced and has a distant,...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Oct 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 20:22:47 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 23:11:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Oct 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 17:31:25 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 15:44:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Jun 29 14:24:20 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 14:32:59 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 08:23:07 -0700 2009 Sat May 30 23:53:02 -0700 2009
Quakers...in space!

Okay, here's the thing. Somehow this book manages not to have a beginning, an end, or much action at all--and what action there is is generally, um, uncomfortable, to say the least. And yet, this is one of the better books of "...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Nov 23 20:52:33 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 11:36:20 -0800 2008 First chapter knocks my socks off every time I read it. Like this group of Quakers, haven't we all wanted to push away from Earth and start again?

Interesting exploration into decision making and reliance on technology even while trying to escape a planet overrun by its effects.
...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 22 11:06:58 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 22 11:13:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Oct 12 13:56:58 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 08:20:48 -0700 2008 Gloss only advances the plot tangentially, rumors and hearsay from other characters, ne...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Tue Jan 29 10:57:04 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 29 11:08:37 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 21 17:48:23 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 21 18:03:30 -0700 2007 Still Forms on Foxfield, but I finished it with a feeling of disappointment. (Still, I did finish it, which is something of a recommendation.)

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