Desde las fronteras de la mente femenina

by Jen Green (Editor), Sarah Lefanu (Editor), Gwyneth Jones

Ciencia Ficción escrita por mujeres sobre problemas específicamente femeninos, presentando provocativas imágenes feministas del futuro que ofrecen una alternativa a la visión de la ciencia y de la tecnología, desafiando el dominio masculino que tradicionalmente impera en este género.

Zoe Fairbairns, Mary Gentle, Gwyneth Jones, Tanith Lee, Naomi Mitchison, Joanna Russ, Josephine Saxton, Racoona Sheldon, Lisa Tuttle, Pamela Zoline.

Prodigios, portentos, mitos y microchips de autoras clásicas de ciencia ficción y un deslumbrante cortejo de nuevas escritoras. Desde extensos y remotos planetas hasta la proximidad de nuestros barrios y ciudades, desde futuros lejanos hasta la inmediatez del presente cotidiano, estos relatos exploran las miriadas de variantes que presenta la existencia femenina: mujeres sometidas a afrentas y ataques, mujeres que detentan el dominio y el control, mujeres solas, mujeres agrupadas, Con historias situadas en sociedades apenas reconocibles, o en circunstancias por desgracia bien conocidas, esta colección nos llega de allende las fronteras para ofrecernos una visión de lo que puede existir más allá”

Incluye los siguientes relatos:
”Gran Operación en Altair Tres”, Josephine Saxton
”Las hilanderas del bosque”, Margaret Elphinstone
”Tópicos del espacio exterior”, Joanna Russ
”La intersección”, Gwyneth Jones
”Turno largo”, Beverly Ireland
”El amor se altera”, Tanith Lee
”Cíclopes”, Lannah Batley
”Instrucciones para desalojar este edificio en caso de incendio”, Pamela Zoline
”Un sol en el desván”, Mary Gentle
”Atlantida 2045: No hay amor entre planetas”, Frances Gapper
”En un naufragio”, Lisa Tuttle
”El despertar”, Pearlie McNeill
”Palabras”, Naomi Mitchinson
”Reliquias”, ZoÉ« Fairbairns
”Mab”, Penny Casdagli
”Carne de probada moralidad”, Racoona Sheldon
”Manzanas de invierno”, Sue Thomason

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Feminism

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Jen Green is a British author of over 300 non-fiction books for children and adults. She earned a doctorate in English literature from Sussex University and became a full-time writer after a career in publishing. She lives near the Sussex Downs.

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection features stories about women's lives and especially what those lives could be like in various futures, some plausible, but most just hypothetical.

As with any short story collection there are going to be stories that resonate differently with different people. Here are some of the ones that I liked:

* Spinning the Green - (1985) Margaret Elphinstone - Told in fairy-tale style, a merchant with three daughters sets out for a conference and on his way back is waylaid by a group of mysterious green-clad women. When he offends them, his punishment is to send a daughter to join them.
* The Cliches from Outer Space - (1984) Joanna Russ - While visiting an editor friend, a misogynistic cliché-spewing being hitches a ride from the slush pile to the protagonist’s typewriter. The protagonist hopes to exorcise the spirit by getting its stories published.
* A Sun in the Attic - (1985) Mary Gentle - In the late 18th century a woman searches for her possibly kidnapped husband and discovers why the shipping guild has stifled invention so ruthlessly.

There are a few more that I really liked and some that are still digesting (like Raccoona Sheldon's "Morality Meat"). I highly recommend this as not only a glimpse into feminist science fiction 30 years ago, but also as a repository for some great stories.

P.S. If you're like me and sometimes get irritated at what authors have to say about the politics of their stories, read the stories first and then read the intro to that story. I enjoyed things a lot more once I started doing that.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT.

I didn't know this book existed until this year. It was published in 1985.

The list of contributors is just... I mean:

Joanna Russ (the only reprint)

Gwyneth Jones

Tanith Lee

Pamela Zoline

Mary Gentle

Lisa Tuttle

Raccoona Sheldon! ...

and that's just the names that I immediately recognised.

It's nearly 40 years old, so some of the stories have aged, I guess? But honestly the general issues in discussion still feel pretty real. Zoline's "Instructions for Exiting this Building in Case of Fire" - children kidnapped and swapped to stop a nuclear apocalypse - still feels like a chillingly appropriate concept. Josephine Saxton's view of advertising is hideous and, again, not as laughably far-fetched as I might like (it is ridiculous, but also... ads...). Beverley Ireland's "Long Shift" is remarkable for its focus on a single woman, just doing her job; I wouldn't have been surprised to see this published today. Pearlie McNeill is (was?) Australian, and I've never heard of her! Apparently this was her only piece of fiction? - SF, anyway. And this is where Raccoona Sheldon's "Morality Meat" was first published, which is... a moment.

There are very few poor stories here. This is an amazing anthology.

[Mireia Crusellas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Segueix el camí que va iniciar, crec, Pamela Sargent amb el recull "Mujeres y maravillas", tot i que aquest fa un pas més i, a part de recollir contes de gènere escrits per dones, tots els relats tracten aspectes que tenen a veure amb el gènere femení. Si només valorem la qualitat literària, es mereix 3,5 estrelles perquè tot i que els temes són molt interessants, a vegades l'execució no és la millor, i no tots els contes tenen el mateix nivell. Però per mi és molt important reivindicar aquests reculls, ja que ens condueixen a recuperar i descobrir moltes autores, i normalment els pròlegs són una meravella. Crec que poques coses em farien tan feliç com que es publiqués un recull de contes escrits per autores clàssiques de gènere en català. Gràcies a aquest llibre puc afirmar que estic reconciliant-me amb la narrativa de la Joanna Russ i la de la Alice B. Sheldon aka Raccoona Sheldon.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm reading this primarily as a period piece--that is, taking it as a primary source doc for both feminist SF and British feminism ca. 1985--makes me enjoy it a lot more than I would just on the story level.

I'm just weird that way.

It does contain the first Gwyneth Jones piece I've actually enjoyed (outside of her YA work as Ann Halam) in ages, though, and a good earlyish piece by Mary Gentle, along with the first appearance of Raccoona Sheldon (that's James Tiptree/Alice Sheldon to you)'s harrowing Morality Meat.

[keres · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of stories published in 1985 by The Women's Press. I found all the stories to be very good; not all the stories were to my liking but even those were at least of an interesting (or horrifying, in some cases) premise and/or thought-provoking.

Contents:
"Introduction" by Jen Green and Sarah Lefanu;
"Big Operation on Altair Three" by Josephine Saxton;
"Spinning the Green" by Margaret Elphinstone;
"The Clichés from Outer Space" by Joanna Russ;
"The Intersection" by Gwyneth Jones;
"Long Shift" by Beverley Ireland;
"Love Alters" by Tanith Lee;
"Cyclops" by Lannah Battley;
"Instructions for Exiting this Building in Case of Fire" by Pamela Zoline;
"A Sun in the Attic" by Mary Gentle;
"Atlantis 2045: no love between planets" by Frances Gapper;
"From a Sinking Ship" by Lisa Tuttle;
"The Awakening" by Pearlie McNeill;
"Words" by Naomi Mitchison;
"Relics" by Zoe Fairbairns;
"Mab" by Penny Casdagli;
"Morality Meat" by Raccoona Sheldon;
"Apples in Winter" by Sue Thomason

[Santiago Gª Soláns · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

Diecisiete relatos firmados por autoras que vienen a demostrar que la lucha contra la discriminación por género, al menos dentro de la ciencia ficción, lleva ya unos cuantos años en el candelero, aunque, desgraciadamente, también signifique que el camino recorrido no ha sido tanto como sería deseable. Algunos de los cuentos,a pesar de que su mensaje siga plenamente vigente, no han envejecido demasiado bien, pero en general el nivel es muy satisfactorio, con unas cuantas propuestas realmente memorables. Una lectura, a día de hoy, todavía necesaria.

[fromcouchtomoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Russ and Sheldon (Tiptree) stories are well worth the occasional speed bumps that drag down what could have been an important addition to science fiction history. More importantly, these stories and their intro blurbs highlight the diversity of '80s feminist sensibilities, including Mitchison's surprisingly conservative statements.

[Chris Jones]

Feminist SF anthology from 1985. Never less than interesting, though some of it is very much of its time. Two clear highlights: The Cliches from Outer Space by Joanna Russ, and Raccoona Sheldon’s Morality Meat. The latter story, depressingly, more relevant than ever.

[Yedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relatos destacados de Raccoona Sheldon (Alice B. Sheldon), Penny Casdagli, Sue Thomason, Tanith Lee y Lannah Batley.

[Andrea V · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esta antología funciona como un ejercicio de estimulación mental, la mirada femenina en la ciencia ficción refresca las concepciones establecidas del género, pero se torna tediosa por la obviedad de algunos cuentos.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mix of creative and thought provoking stories.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly, this anthology was more politics than story. It doesn't matter if I agreed with the political viewpoints--for the most part, I did--it was the lack of story that made this painful to get through.

The Mary Gentle story was the best, and it's been recently reprinted in the Steampunk anthology Tachyon put out (in '08) so if you want to read that only, go have fun with the steampunk instead.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed reading this collection of stories, though to be honest there were one or two which I completely failed to understand, and a few were a bit stream-of-consciousness and more descriptive than story/action.

Next task is to find a complete story from one of the authors for summer09 challenge

[Wolverina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stories.

Joanna Russ's satire being the standout of the book, absolutely hilarious.