Daughter of Elysium by Joan Slonczewski (October 2014)

[Taylor]

This is a loose sequel to Joan's 1986 novel A Door Into Ocean, but can be read on it's own. What are your thoughts?

[Taylor]

I'm a little behind in my reading this month, but I'll be starting this very soon!

[Alexa]

I just started this again. I think this might be the third time I've read this. I had actually forgotten just how much I loved it. Just in the first five pages she throws out so many intriguing ideas!

[Alexa]

I'm particularly enjoying the way she just so casually has her protagonists simultaneously raising children along with all the rest of their very full lives. She is clearly playing with gender roles too, and that's fun!

[Taylor]

Some interesting things happening right out the gate for sure! I love the idea of having children playing such a big part of the lives of the protagonists (It's like Brown Girl in the Ring!), as well as some of the other feminist-y things like the Clicker women being referred to as "goddess" instead of "woman". *wicked grin*

[Alexa]

And the scene with extended breastfeeding is fun! I love that sort of casual integration of child-rearing and child-bearing into daily life (even if Blackbear is doing most of the rearing).

[Alexa]

To what extent is it important that feminist literature discuss issues around child-bearing, feeding, and raising?

[Kathleen]

I LOVED this book! Loved all the characters and the story line.. see my regular Goodreads review. Excellant writing, this book was such a treat, I read it slowly to savor every chapter. Highly recommended.

[Alexa]

Yes it was really fun, wasn't it?! I loved the way she could so superbly tell a well-plotted multi-layered science fiction tale, yet at the same time have so much of it be relevant to today's life. Really, so many of the various issues of child-raising that they face are being dealt with, one way or another, by parents of today.

[Alexa]

So some rather unconnected thoughts I had:
I thought this was much more engaging than A Door Into Ocean.
While she plays with gender in some rather simple-minded ways, the characters are still fully fleshed.
The tension between the different forms of sentience and their needs is nicely drawn.
The whole radiates around the morality of and need for having children and caring for those children. Still, some things are never resolved. Blackbear, who is first of all a child-nurturer, never has to face the morality of his fetal experimentation.