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Eros, Philia, Agape
Originally published on Tor.com, Rachel Swirsky's contemporary tale of love in all its forms and of one robot's quest to know it, and himself, on his own terms is a finalist for the 2010 Hugo Award and the 2010 Locus Award.
37 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2010
19 people are currently reading
726 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Swirsky
134 books196 followersRachel Swirsky holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop and is a graduate of Clarion West. Her work has been short-listed for the Nebula, the Hugo, and the Sturgeon Award, and placed second in 2010's Million Writers Award. In addition to numerous publications in magazines and anthologies, Swirsky is the author of three short stories published as e-books, "Eros, Philia, Agape," "The Memory of Wind," and "The Monster's Million Faces." Her fiction and poetry has been collected in THROUGH THE DROWSY DARK (Aqueduct Press, 2010). A second collection, HOW THE WORLD BECAME QUIET: MYTHS OF THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, is forthcoming from Subterranean Press.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
June 8, 2011
4.0 stars. Another beautiful and deeply emotional story by THE GODDESS OF SHORT FICTION, Rachel Swirsky. I have received multiple concussions falling head over heals for her previous stories, A Memory of Wind and The Monster's Million Faces. Now, with this one, she has hit the trifecta and again reduced my literary knees to jelly.
The story explores the nature of love, loss and pain through the lens of a lonely woman, Adriana, and her android companion, Lucian, who she acquired to live with and keep her company. Eventually, their relationship becomes intimate and they have a child named Rose (and YES, the woman and the android have a child).
As time goes on, Adriana, who loves Lucian grants him free will and the ability to ignore his programming and make his own decisions. This leads to unforseen consequences as Lucian must journey on the road of self-discovery to determine "who he is" beyond his programming. It is a brilliant piece of writing.
Rachel's stories have a way of being both elegant in their prose and devastating in their emotional impact. This is no exception. At this point, I think I would buy any of her stories sight unseen Highly Recommended!!!
Nominee: Hugo Award for Best Short Story
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Short Story
The story explores the nature of love, loss and pain through the lens of a lonely woman, Adriana, and her android companion, Lucian, who she acquired to live with and keep her company. Eventually, their relationship becomes intimate and they have a child named Rose (and YES, the woman and the android have a child).
As time goes on, Adriana, who loves Lucian grants him free will and the ability to ignore his programming and make his own decisions. This leads to unforseen consequences as Lucian must journey on the road of self-discovery to determine "who he is" beyond his programming. It is a brilliant piece of writing.
Rachel's stories have a way of being both elegant in their prose and devastating in their emotional impact. This is no exception. At this point, I think I would buy any of her stories sight unseen Highly Recommended!!!
Nominee: Hugo Award for Best Short Story
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Short Story
May 25, 2012
EROS, PHILIA, AGAPE
Rating: 2* of five
Adriana's father messed with her, and so she's all messed up, and she's rich so she buys herself a sex-slave robot and has the manufacturers make him look like her father.
Yuck.
A MEMORY OF WIND
Rating: 2* of five
The story of Iphigenia, sacrificed by her father to Aphrodite, so the fleet carrying the Greeks could leave port. She has a very modern sensibility, does this Iphigenia, demanding the right to be happy and marry someone she loves.
This is codswallop. I doubt anyone goes to their death happily, but demanding things no woman of the time was likely even to conceptualize because it wasn't part of the universe they knew? Hm.
Oh, and Achilles is straight.
THE MONSTER'S MILLION FACES
Rating: 3* of five
In a future time, perdaughterkind is able to heal your emotional wounds by making new memories that, like all memories, are not "real" (an unhelpful construct when it comes to memory anyway) but feel real to the healed. This is done to begin healing from traumas inflicted in the course of being alive. Then, as one would expect, it's down to therapy to integrate the new memories into the patient's worldview and begin to make life work better for them.
Of course, the abuser is a man. The victim is, too. It's clear but never stated that the abuse was sexual. Frankly, I'm sick of this.
Rating: 2* of five
Adriana's father messed with her, and so she's all messed up, and she's rich so she buys herself a sex-slave robot and has the manufacturers make him look like her father.
Yuck.
A MEMORY OF WIND
Rating: 2* of five
The story of Iphigenia, sacrificed by her father to Aphrodite, so the fleet carrying the Greeks could leave port. She has a very modern sensibility, does this Iphigenia, demanding the right to be happy and marry someone she loves.
This is codswallop. I doubt anyone goes to their death happily, but demanding things no woman of the time was likely even to conceptualize because it wasn't part of the universe they knew? Hm.
Oh, and Achilles is straight.
THE MONSTER'S MILLION FACES
Rating: 3* of five
In a future time, perdaughterkind is able to heal your emotional wounds by making new memories that, like all memories, are not "real" (an unhelpful construct when it comes to memory anyway) but feel real to the healed. This is done to begin healing from traumas inflicted in the course of being alive. Then, as one would expect, it's down to therapy to integrate the new memories into the patient's worldview and begin to make life work better for them.
Of course, the abuser is a man. The victim is, too. It's clear but never stated that the abuse was sexual. Frankly, I'm sick of this.
June 17, 2010
Nominated for a Hugo Award for novelette for 2010, and available for free for iPads and Kindles.
This was beautiful. Describing the plot can't communicate how emotional and touching this was - a robot leaves his human wife and child to figure out what his life is about. Set in a not too distant future where you pick out a child from genetic material matching and choose a companion from parts. :)
This was beautiful. Describing the plot can't communicate how emotional and touching this was - a robot leaves his human wife and child to figure out what his life is about. Set in a not too distant future where you pick out a child from genetic material matching and choose a companion from parts. :)
April 30, 2020
Though I don't really enjoy AI love stories, this one kind of felt too realistic, from Adrianna's part at least. I loved the way the story went back and forth by explaining what happened. The writing was beautiful too.
April 16, 2017
Lesson from this short story:
DO NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR LAPTOP, EVEN IF IT DOES HAVE PRETTY EYES!!!!
DO NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR LAPTOP, EVEN IF IT DOES HAVE PRETTY EYES!!!!
October 12, 2010
A short story about a woman who falls in love with a robot, who in being given his freedom, realizes that his capacity for love is an artificial, human thing. It explores the different kinds of love, and the line between love and possession, and it has many layers to examine, though the damaged Adriana and the selfish (however justified) Lucian are hard to like.
September 26, 2021
Another beautiful, painful, story by Rachel Swirsky. She gives you a slice of life, of understanding, it’s thought provoking without having a moral. My favorite of her stories was Grand Jeté (The Great Leap).
June 9, 2011
Eros, Philia, Agape is lovely. It's available, like the other short stories by Rachel Swirsky that I've been reading, on Tor.com, here. It's a lovely story, which reminds me a little of Isaac Asimov's The Positronic Man -- except more emotional, more evocative, more tender and more sad. Despite how short it is, it creates a world and characters I fully believe in, and the writing is lovely. My heart was in my throat while reading parts of it, just for the aching tenderness in it.
I think perhaps my favourite detail is that little Rose wants to be a robot like her father. Of course she does, it makes so much sense, and the way she insists on it is just -- ouch, my heart.
Oh, and I love that there's a gay couple in the background, matter of fact and loving.
(A warning, though: there are brief descriptions of childhood abuse and rape. They're very brief and not explicit.)
I think perhaps my favourite detail is that little Rose wants to be a robot like her father. Of course she does, it makes so much sense, and the way she insists on it is just -- ouch, my heart.
Oh, and I love that there's a gay couple in the background, matter of fact and loving.
(A warning, though: there are brief descriptions of childhood abuse and rape. They're very brief and not explicit.)
September 5, 2010
I'm a bit disappointed by this story compared to the last short story by Rachel Swirsky. The prose is these and the characters felt real enough, but something just didn't click for me.
In this long short, Adrianna, a single woman who just lost her sexually abusive father, decides she is too old for the single scene (mid thirties is too old?) and has a robot companion built for her instead. The android's name is Lucian. He is able to adapt and learn, like s human, and evolve mentally. They eventually marry, adopt, and then he has a midlife crisis of sorts and leaves them. I gurus he is more humans than most would give orbits credit for.
Cool story, but again, things just don't jive. Adrianna is told that the android's brain is made up of different genius's mental capacity for mathematics, science, art, etc. But he he has the mental capacity of a genius, why doesn't it come out in his work? Where the masterpieces in art, or the inventions, or, at least, the worlds best omelet? I don't see why this was mentioned in the story if the author wasn't going to use it. Having an android with that level of cognitive ability appear to act so mundane is bizarre.
Lucian eventually leaves Adrianna and their daughter, Rose, to go find himself. What he means by this is that he will essentially wander into the desert, wipe hid memory, and be reborn. Fair enough, but if he was such a genius, would he realize that A. He was essentially immortal, and B. Leaving would cause Rose and Adrianna a great deal of pain? He could have just waited for Adrianna to die of old age and for Rose to grow up and move on before doing this.
Equally as jarring is the last section of the story; not only I'd it written I'd prudent tense, where as everything else is past tense, but it doesn't even make sense. It talks about Lucian imagining himself going back to hid family once he finds himself, but hoe is that possible if he is basically wiping his mind and starting over so his mind can learn to see he world as a robot and not a preprogrammed human? Wouldn't all his memories be erased in the process?
I liked the story, the prose was good, and the characters came off the page. Given all that and the subject, I can see why this was worthy of a nomination. That being said, certain hints should have been removed from this story to make it more sound and believable. There are loose ends that just don't need to be there.
In this long short, Adrianna, a single woman who just lost her sexually abusive father, decides she is too old for the single scene (mid thirties is too old?) and has a robot companion built for her instead. The android's name is Lucian. He is able to adapt and learn, like s human, and evolve mentally. They eventually marry, adopt, and then he has a midlife crisis of sorts and leaves them. I gurus he is more humans than most would give orbits credit for.
Cool story, but again, things just don't jive. Adrianna is told that the android's brain is made up of different genius's mental capacity for mathematics, science, art, etc. But he he has the mental capacity of a genius, why doesn't it come out in his work? Where the masterpieces in art, or the inventions, or, at least, the worlds best omelet? I don't see why this was mentioned in the story if the author wasn't going to use it. Having an android with that level of cognitive ability appear to act so mundane is bizarre.
Lucian eventually leaves Adrianna and their daughter, Rose, to go find himself. What he means by this is that he will essentially wander into the desert, wipe hid memory, and be reborn. Fair enough, but if he was such a genius, would he realize that A. He was essentially immortal, and B. Leaving would cause Rose and Adrianna a great deal of pain? He could have just waited for Adrianna to die of old age and for Rose to grow up and move on before doing this.
Equally as jarring is the last section of the story; not only I'd it written I'd prudent tense, where as everything else is past tense, but it doesn't even make sense. It talks about Lucian imagining himself going back to hid family once he finds himself, but hoe is that possible if he is basically wiping his mind and starting over so his mind can learn to see he world as a robot and not a preprogrammed human? Wouldn't all his memories be erased in the process?
I liked the story, the prose was good, and the characters came off the page. Given all that and the subject, I can see why this was worthy of a nomination. That being said, certain hints should have been removed from this story to make it more sound and believable. There are loose ends that just don't need to be there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2023
Era parecchio tempo che non leggevo un racconto con questa delicatezza: Swirsky prende le mosse da un'idea in fondo semplice e la svolge piano piano in una storia di profonda (dis)umanità; il suo è un racconto che in poche pagine rinegozia confini tra mondi e si interroga sulle forme dell'amore, scavando fino all'osso di un rapporto (anzi più d'uno) partendo dalla fine, o forse da un inizio. Eros Philia Agape ci invita a uscire dalla nostra piccola dimensione antropocentrica per mostrarci quello che sta all'esterno della nostra bolla, e come prestarvi ascolto.
May 27, 2023
Questo libro è bello ma tradurlo è stato ancora più bello.
Parla di robot, divorzi, pappagalli gelosi e di cosa significa conoscere sé stessx e amare qualcuno liberx dal possesso. Leggetelo!
Parla di robot, divorzi, pappagalli gelosi e di cosa significa conoscere sé stessx e amare qualcuno liberx dal possesso. Leggetelo!
December 7, 2020
This one broke my heart, and I will say it again, it could be freaking perfect for a Black Mirror episode.
Definitely, one of my new favorites.
Definitely, one of my new favorites.
May 6, 2024
3,25 "He loved those things, and yet they were things. He had owned them. Now they were gone. He had recently come to realize that ownership was a relationship. What did it mean to own a thing? To shape it and contain it? He could not possess or be possessed until he knew."
Una storia veramente interessante ma cortissima su cosa vuol dire amare.
Lucian e Adriana sono due personaggi complessi: lui è un robot, lei è una donna che all'apparenza sembra avere tutto, ma entrambi devono ancora capire cosa rappresentano nel mondo.
L'amore che provano l'uno per l'altra è presente, ma per poterlo rendere ancora più reale devono, come prima cosa, iniziare ad amare e comprendere loro stessi.
Concetto molto carino, peccato che in quaranta pagine circa si possa solo iniziare a sfiorare la superficie del problema, senza nessun attaccamento emotivo per i personaggi. Nelle loro figure ho trovato caratteri ed esperienze interessanti, ma niente che mi portasse a sentirmi legato a loro a livello profondo.
Adriana, infatti, sembra inavvicinabile: ricca, sofisticata, traumatizzata, i muri che ha con il mondo esterno sono anche all'interno del suo cuore. Prova per la figlia quasi una sorta di distacco emotivo, come se la vita senza Lucian fosse ingestibile, perché lei per prima non sa come poter vivere senza di lui. Ignorerei poi che i suoi amici all'inizio, al posto di mandarla in terapia, le abbiamo detto "dai figa vai a spendere ventimila euro, togliti lo sfizio".
E i poveri muti.
Adriana, per prima cosa, deve lavorare su se stessa, poiché l'amore sfrenato che rigetta su Lucian è l'amore che vorrebbe lei. Un amore così sfrenato che coinvolge anche Fuoco, il pappagallo, un amore che la porta ad assumere nei confronti dell'animale atteggiamenti più intimi, così che lui non voglia più lasciarla. Perché la gelosia di Fuoco, la gelosia che lo porta alla morte, non è colpa dell'animale, ma della continua manipolazione emotiva di Adriana, and I will die on this hill.
Lucian che cerca di scoprire il senso della propria vita, non come l'umano che Adriana vuole che lui sia ma come il robot che lui è davvero, è un grande slay. Good for him. Anche se fra non so se la scelta migliore sia abbandonare tua figlia con una madre ubriacona senza dirle niente ma you do you ig.
Lo consiglierei? Sì, non è un capolavoro ma è una lettura interessante, soprattutto per la sua lunghezza.
Una storia veramente interessante ma cortissima su cosa vuol dire amare.
Lucian e Adriana sono due personaggi complessi: lui è un robot, lei è una donna che all'apparenza sembra avere tutto, ma entrambi devono ancora capire cosa rappresentano nel mondo.
L'amore che provano l'uno per l'altra è presente, ma per poterlo rendere ancora più reale devono, come prima cosa, iniziare ad amare e comprendere loro stessi.
Concetto molto carino, peccato che in quaranta pagine circa si possa solo iniziare a sfiorare la superficie del problema, senza nessun attaccamento emotivo per i personaggi. Nelle loro figure ho trovato caratteri ed esperienze interessanti, ma niente che mi portasse a sentirmi legato a loro a livello profondo.
Adriana, infatti, sembra inavvicinabile: ricca, sofisticata, traumatizzata, i muri che ha con il mondo esterno sono anche all'interno del suo cuore. Prova per la figlia quasi una sorta di distacco emotivo, come se la vita senza Lucian fosse ingestibile, perché lei per prima non sa come poter vivere senza di lui. Ignorerei poi che i suoi amici all'inizio, al posto di mandarla in terapia, le abbiamo detto "dai figa vai a spendere ventimila euro, togliti lo sfizio".
E i poveri muti.
Adriana, per prima cosa, deve lavorare su se stessa, poiché l'amore sfrenato che rigetta su Lucian è l'amore che vorrebbe lei. Un amore così sfrenato che coinvolge anche Fuoco, il pappagallo, un amore che la porta ad assumere nei confronti dell'animale atteggiamenti più intimi, così che lui non voglia più lasciarla. Perché la gelosia di Fuoco, la gelosia che lo porta alla morte, non è colpa dell'animale, ma della continua manipolazione emotiva di Adriana, and I will die on this hill.
Lucian che cerca di scoprire il senso della propria vita, non come l'umano che Adriana vuole che lui sia ma come il robot che lui è davvero, è un grande slay. Good for him. Anche se fra non so se la scelta migliore sia abbandonare tua figlia con una madre ubriacona senza dirle niente ma you do you ig.
Lo consiglierei? Sì, non è un capolavoro ma è una lettura interessante, soprattutto per la sua lunghezza.
February 4, 2015
Nice, emotional short explores love and humanity.
Rating 3.5
Truth be told, near the end I just wanted to punch someone (him or her). It wasn't my first read about the possibility of love between a human and a cyborg, but maybe I was more comfortable with the rendition in "The Mad Scientist's Daughter" by Cassandra Rose Clarke. Still Swirsky doesn't disappoint, and sure as hell doesn't leave you indifferent.
Link here:http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=c...
Rating 3.5
Truth be told, near the end I just wanted to punch someone (him or her). It wasn't my first read about the possibility of love between a human and a cyborg, but maybe I was more comfortable with the rendition in "The Mad Scientist's Daughter" by Cassandra Rose Clarke. Still Swirsky doesn't disappoint, and sure as hell doesn't leave you indifferent.
Link here:http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=c...
January 6, 2019
was i supposed to feel something for lucian? i know he wanted autonomy and to find himself but he left his family behind completely. he knew what would happen and just expected things to stay the same knowing full well he wouldn't remember them. i only liked adriana's parts. rose was a brat but she was a brat that was confused and in pain. beautiful cover though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2021
A male robot, given sentiency, longs to discover his true self, even if it means losing his sentience. His wife/owner, who has given him his freedom and capabilities to decide as a human being, is devastated.
July 24, 2019
that was heavy
Link: https://www.tor.com/2009/03/03/eros-p...
Link: https://www.tor.com/2009/03/03/eros-p...
October 14, 2021
Adriana loved her robot Lucian so much she gave him human rights but when their marriage falls apart, it leaves her distraught and Lucian struggling to redefine himself as an independent entity.
The title "Eros, Philia, Agape" refers to three forms of love, the passionate love of a partner, the friendship of equals and the adoration of a god. However, there are other Greek words for love which are perhaps more accurate for this story, storge is evident as Rose tries to come to terms with her father's departure and Adriana finally learns to love herself (philautia) again as she learns to live without her former partner. Swirsky has written a lovely story which will make people think about love outside the normative pattern.
The title "Eros, Philia, Agape" refers to three forms of love, the passionate love of a partner, the friendship of equals and the adoration of a god. However, there are other Greek words for love which are perhaps more accurate for this story, storge is evident as Rose tries to come to terms with her father's departure and Adriana finally learns to love herself (philautia) again as she learns to live without her former partner. Swirsky has written a lovely story which will make people think about love outside the normative pattern.
July 26, 2022
A short, beautiful story about the tyranny of possessions...
March 11, 2024
Beautifully told story, but it left out so many of the important things that I wanted to know more about. The emotions were visceral but somewhat unearned. I love short stories but this is one that might have been better if it was either shorter or longer. The reactions of the child to losing her father was a heartbreaking highlight.
March 2, 2024
Recensione per Leggere Distopico e Fantascienza Oggi !
Oggi vi presento un altro tassello che si aggiunge al mosaico della narrativa d’immaginazione che, racconto dopo racconto, Zona42, con la linea editoriale “42 nodi”, sta costruendo.
Stavolta tocca a una novelette di Rachel Swirsky – tradotta da Rosita Pederzolli.
Conoscevo già l’autrice per un suo racconto (Deviazioni nel cammino verso il nulla) presente all’interno dell’antologia “Le visionarie. Fantascienza, fantasy e femminismo: un'antologia” curata da Ann e Jeff VanderMeer. Ed è così che ho potuto cogliere un tema che sembra ricorrente nella sua produzione ovvero il rapporto con l’identità, in relazione alle persone con cui ci si confronta.
Continua qui:
https://www.leggeredistopico.com/2024...
Oggi vi presento un altro tassello che si aggiunge al mosaico della narrativa d’immaginazione che, racconto dopo racconto, Zona42, con la linea editoriale “42 nodi”, sta costruendo.
Stavolta tocca a una novelette di Rachel Swirsky – tradotta da Rosita Pederzolli.
Conoscevo già l’autrice per un suo racconto (Deviazioni nel cammino verso il nulla) presente all’interno dell’antologia “Le visionarie. Fantascienza, fantasy e femminismo: un'antologia” curata da Ann e Jeff VanderMeer. Ed è così che ho potuto cogliere un tema che sembra ricorrente nella sua produzione ovvero il rapporto con l’identità, in relazione alle persone con cui ci si confronta.
Continua qui:
https://www.leggeredistopico.com/2024...
June 5, 2023
Eros Philia Agape è un racconto breve di Rachel Swirsky che narra della relazione tra una giovane donna di successo, Adriana, con qualche trauma alle spalle e il suo compagno robot, Lucian.
In questa breve storia dal retrogusto poetico l’amore nelle sue varie declinazioni (appunto, Eros, Philia, Agape) tocca tutti i protagonisti: Rose, Adriana, Fuoco, Lucian. Rendendoli un'amorevole famiglia queer.
Il racconto procede a sprazzi, piccoli lampi, squarci, che gettano luce su alcuni aspetti delle relazioni umane, soffermandosi sulla sottile linea d’ombra che separa l’amore dal possesso e viceversa.
In questo senso, la scelta di Rachel Swirsky di affidarsi anche ad un punto di vista non umano è molto efficace: saranno Fuoco, un pappagallo, e Lucian, a portare nuovi sguardi e nuove riflessioni sulle relazioni tra umani e non umani.
Fuoco è un personaggio non umano dalle sfaccettature shaksperiane, racchiude dentro di sé, in modo portentoso, un sentimento devastante come la gelosia, tale da portarlo alla pazzia.
Lucian svilupperà la sua coscienza al pari di un essere umano e il rapporto a specchio tra lui e la figlia, Rose, diverrà il cardine che farà saltare certezze e sicurezze spingendolo sempre più a chiedersi cos’è l’amore, se lui sta amando nel modo giusto e cosa sia “veramente” prendersi cura degli esseri viventi: “finalmente capirà come amare i cucchiai dai manici decorati, e gli uccelli domestici, e la moglie, e la figlia, non come li amerebbe un umano, ma come lo farebbe un robot”.
Saranno due i momenti focali, le epifanie, in cui Lucian prenderà definitivamente coscienza della propria condizione, del suo sguardo sulle cose: “era uno sguardo colorato dal possesso”. Della consapevolezza che per accedere ad un sentimento come quello dell’amore incondizionato (Agape) bisogna andare alla ricerca di se stessi, conoscere il proprio sé, capire e comprendere per poi sapersi donare.
Di contro, Adriana, che pur venendo da un passato ricco di traumi, riesce a mettere tutta sé stessa in una relazione "non normale", andando contro ogni disprezzo familiare, aiutando Lucian e le altre intelligenze artificiali a lottare per i propri diritti, adottando Rose e, quindi, instaurando con il proprio partner un rapporto di complicità, affiatamento e comunità d’intenti.
Un breve racconto che riesce a infondere meraviglia e innescare riflessioni.
In questa breve storia dal retrogusto poetico l’amore nelle sue varie declinazioni (appunto, Eros, Philia, Agape) tocca tutti i protagonisti: Rose, Adriana, Fuoco, Lucian. Rendendoli un'amorevole famiglia queer.
Il racconto procede a sprazzi, piccoli lampi, squarci, che gettano luce su alcuni aspetti delle relazioni umane, soffermandosi sulla sottile linea d’ombra che separa l’amore dal possesso e viceversa.
In questo senso, la scelta di Rachel Swirsky di affidarsi anche ad un punto di vista non umano è molto efficace: saranno Fuoco, un pappagallo, e Lucian, a portare nuovi sguardi e nuove riflessioni sulle relazioni tra umani e non umani.
Fuoco è un personaggio non umano dalle sfaccettature shaksperiane, racchiude dentro di sé, in modo portentoso, un sentimento devastante come la gelosia, tale da portarlo alla pazzia.
Lucian svilupperà la sua coscienza al pari di un essere umano e il rapporto a specchio tra lui e la figlia, Rose, diverrà il cardine che farà saltare certezze e sicurezze spingendolo sempre più a chiedersi cos’è l’amore, se lui sta amando nel modo giusto e cosa sia “veramente” prendersi cura degli esseri viventi: “finalmente capirà come amare i cucchiai dai manici decorati, e gli uccelli domestici, e la moglie, e la figlia, non come li amerebbe un umano, ma come lo farebbe un robot”.
Saranno due i momenti focali, le epifanie, in cui Lucian prenderà definitivamente coscienza della propria condizione, del suo sguardo sulle cose: “era uno sguardo colorato dal possesso”. Della consapevolezza che per accedere ad un sentimento come quello dell’amore incondizionato (Agape) bisogna andare alla ricerca di se stessi, conoscere il proprio sé, capire e comprendere per poi sapersi donare.
Di contro, Adriana, che pur venendo da un passato ricco di traumi, riesce a mettere tutta sé stessa in una relazione "non normale", andando contro ogni disprezzo familiare, aiutando Lucian e le altre intelligenze artificiali a lottare per i propri diritti, adottando Rose e, quindi, instaurando con il proprio partner un rapporto di complicità, affiatamento e comunità d’intenti.
Un breve racconto che riesce a infondere meraviglia e innescare riflessioni.
June 9, 2011
It's alright, I guess. I understand that Swirsky had attempted to put into question the human concept of possession, and how that concept plays out in terms of familial relations and love. Swirsky's language is lovely in parts. Problem is that, although Lucian is interesting, protagonist Adriana is utterly unlikeable. Also, the idea of assembling a robot for a lover kinda creeps me out, and I can't get over the fact that robots aren't supposed to be relateable to humans in any way (i.e., love their adopted human children) - because, well, they're just simply not human, no matter how advanced such AI can be.
You can read the story here, it's not very long:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2009/03/er...
You can read the story here, it's not very long:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2009/03/er...
October 6, 2015
The story contains a very interesting concept of the plasticity of the brain and assembling a personality out of fragments. However, this is not enough if you don't follow the 3 sacred rules of writing:
1) Show, don't tell. If you can't show your very complex concept, it's better to save it until you become a more skilled writer. At this point we'd be looking at a 2 star rating buuuuuuuuuuuut:
2)If you are not trying to make your protagonist unlikeable and the reader would like nothing better than to slap her, you are in deep shit.
3)NEVER, and I repeat NEVER!!!! use child abuse to romanticize a character. I can't emphasize this enough.
March 5, 2011
Free short story found at Tor.com. Very well-written—in my totally unqualified opinion.
It's a bit sad and makes you think about love and its complications from a rather unusual perspective. It's great for those days when you're feeling a little introspective.
It's a bit sad and makes you think about love and its complications from a rather unusual perspective. It's great for those days when you're feeling a little introspective.
December 30, 2016
I had a hard time deciding whether this was a 3 or 4 star story, but I decided that some parts were so beautifully written, filled with intense emotions that it deserved a bump up. Eros, Philia, Agape is about love, possession, and robots. Adriana can't figure out what is missing from her life, decides it must be love, so she commissions a robot with self-awareness to fill this gap. Their life is beautiful, they adopt a child, but Lucian decides one day that love is merely an expression of possession, and he must leave in order to figure out who and what he is outside the confines of the human world. Where the story fails is that we don't get enough insight into Lucian's thoughts, but Adriana's side of the story is uncomfortable and heartbreaking. I would have liked some stronger commentary on love and possession by the end, but Swirsky has crafted an excellent short story.
January 1, 2018
I have had this on my to read list forever so I've forgotten why I put it there or even the fact that it is a short story and what I would classify as science fiction, not my favorite genre. I'm sure it was through reviews that it ended up there.
I enjoyed the story very much. The premise is a lonely wealthy woman upon the death of her father decides to establish a family, the husband being a customized robot with AI that evolves. When the relationship fails, she must deal with the reaction of her 4 year old daughter.
I will definitely be putting this authors other stories on my to read list.
I enjoyed the story very much. The premise is a lonely wealthy woman upon the death of her father decides to establish a family, the husband being a customized robot with AI that evolves. When the relationship fails, she must deal with the reaction of her 4 year old daughter.
I will definitely be putting this authors other stories on my to read list.
July 20, 2019
YMMV story. This is a beautifully written meditation on the different types of love as indicated by its Latin title. If you are looking for an action plot you won't care for it at all. As an example of literary SF I'm not surprised at it's nominations by Locus and the Nebula but was surprised at it's Hugo nomination as voters for that award tend to prefer more straightforward fiction. 4/5 stars for writing, 3 for entertainment.
February 16, 2025
Swirsky Swirls #1
Tor.Com #1
The trouble with short stories is you sometimes feel a bit cheated and want more fleshing out of a story, or characters.
This was good, but I did want more to be given in background, circumstances, and characters.
Still a decent tale, for what it was.
The use of the three words for love from Ancient Greek is inspired.
Tor.Com #1
The trouble with short stories is you sometimes feel a bit cheated and want more fleshing out of a story, or characters.
This was good, but I did want more to be given in background, circumstances, and characters.
Still a decent tale, for what it was.
The use of the three words for love from Ancient Greek is inspired.
October 24, 2019
This was a beautiful, moving story about love and what it means to be human. It felt both like Westworld, and a bit like an episode of Black Mirror. Just really atmospheric and beautiful and melancholy.
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