Stories of Your Life: And Others - Softcover

Chiang, Ted

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1931520720 ISBN 13: 9781931520720

Publisher: Big Mouth House, 2010

Synopsis

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Amy Adams. This new edition of Ted Chiang's masterful first collection, "Stories of Your Life and Others," includes his first eight published stories plus the author's story notes and a cover that the author commissioned himself. Combining the precision and scientific curiosity of Kim Stanley Robinson with Lorrie Moore's cool, clear love of language and narrative intricacy, this award-winning collection offers readers the dual delights of the very, very strange and the heartbreakingly familiar. "Stories of Your Life and Others" presents characters who must confront sudden changethe inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of alienswhile striving to maintain some sense of normalcy. In the amazing and much-lauded title story, a grieving mother copes with divorce and the death of her daughter by drawing on her knowledge of alien languages and non-linear memory recollection. A clever pastiche of news reports and interviews chronicles a college's initiative to "turn off" the human ability to recognize beauty in "Liking What You See: A Documentary." With sharp intelligence and humor, Chiang examines what it means to be alive in a world marked by uncertainty and constant change, and also by beauty and wonder. Ted Chiang is one of the most celebrated science fiction authors writing today and is the author of numerous short stories, including most recently "Exhalation," which won the Hugo, British Science Fiction, and Locus awards. He lives near Seattle. "

About this title

Review

"Shining, haunting, mind-blowing talesthis collection is a pure marvel. [Ted] Chiang is so exhilarating so original so stylish he just leaves you speechless. I always suggest a person read at least 52 books a year for proper mental functioning but if you only have time for one, be at peace: you found it."Junot Diaz "Meticulously pieced together, utterly thought through, Chiang s stories emerge slowly . . . but with the perfection of slow-growing crystal."Lev Grossman In Chiang s hands, SF really is the literature of ideas it is often held to be, and the genre s traditional sense of wonder is paramount. But though one reads Stories of Your Life with a kind of thematic nostalgia for classic philosophical SF such as that of Asimov and Theodore Sturgeon, the collection never feels dated. Partly this is because the wonder of these stories is a modern, melancholy transcendence, not the naive 50s dreams of the genre s golden age. More important, the collection is united by a humane intelligence that speaks very directly to the reader, and makes us experience each story with immediacy and Chiang s calm passion. China Mieville "Ted is a national treasureeach of those stories is a goddamned jewel."Cory Doctorow, "BoingBoing" "Confirms that blending science and fine art at this length can produce touching works, tales as intimate as our own blood cells, with the structural strength of just-discovered industrial alloys.""Seattle Times" "Chiang derides lazy thinking, weasels it out of its hiding place, and leaves it cowering.""Washington Post" Science fiction is a genre that often works well off the page. Spaceships and robots are just as thrilling on screen as in books. But Mr Chiang s approach is irreplaceable. His stories mirror the process of scientific discovery: complex ideas emerge from the measured, methodical accumulation of information until epiphany strikes. . . . The best science fiction inspires awe for the natural properties of the universe; it renders the fundamentals of science poignant and affecting. Mr Chiang s writing manages all of this. He deserves to be more widely read. "The Economist, " Prospero blog Throughout all his work, though no more so than in Story of Your Life, you can feel his months of removing sentences from his stories. Perhaps that he writes so little does something good for him, or maybe it s just that he doesn t write enough. Choire Sicha, "The Millions" "Essential. You won t know SF if you don t read Ted Chiang."Greg Bear Newly reissued by Small Beer Press, the stories range widely in time, subject and style but are united by a patient but ruthless fascination with the limits of knowledge. Ed Park, "Los Angeles Times" Chiang is the real deal. His debut collection, Stories of Your Life and Others is one of the finest collections of short fiction I have read in the last decade. These tales possess the imaginative frisson that is a trademark of the best conceptual fiction, but, also bespeak a confident prose style and a willingness to take chances in tone and narrative structure. Ted Gioia, "Conceptual Fiction" This collection of short stories deserves constant re-introduction. Ted Chiang narrows the broad line between fiction and science fiction by taking a scalpel to normal, transforming it in ways that will blow your mind and challenge your beliefs. It s a breathless ride. Capitola Book Cafe Chiang writes seldom, but his almost unfathomably wonderful stories tick away with the precision of a Swiss watchand explode in your awareness with shocking, devastating force. "Kirkus Reviews" (Starred Review) The first must-read SF book of the year. "Publishers Weekly" (Starred Review) He puts the science back in science fictionbrilliantly. "Booklist" (Starred Review) " "Shining, haunting, mind-blowing tales...this collection is a pure marvel. [Ted] Chiang is so exhilarating so original so stylish he just leaves you speechless. I always suggest a person read at least 52 books a year for proper mental functioning but if you only have time for one, be at peace: you found it."--Junot Diaz "Meticulously pieced together, utterly thought through, Chiang's stories emerge slowly . . . but with the perfection of slow-growing crystal."--Lev Grossman "In Chiang's hands, SF really is the 'literature of ideas' it is often held to be, and the genre's traditional "sense of wonder" is paramount. But though one reads Stories of Your Life with a kind of thematic nostalgia for classic philosophical SF such as that of Asimov and Theodore Sturgeon, the collection never feels dated. Partly this is because the "wonder" of these stories is a modern, melancholy transcendence, not the naive '50s dreams of the genre's golden age. More important, the collection is united by a humane intelligence that speaks very directly to the reader, and makes us experience each story with immediacy and Chiang's calm passion."--China Mieville "Ted is a national treasure...each of those stories is a goddamned jewel."--Cory Doctorow, "BoingBoing" "Confirms that blending science and fine art at this length can produce touching works, tales as intimate as our own blood cells, with the structural strength of just-discovered industrial alloys."--"Seattle Times" "Chiang derides lazy thinking, weasels it out of its hiding place, and leaves it cowering."--"Washington Post" "Science fiction is a genre that often works well off the page. Spaceships and robots are just as thrilling on screen as in books. But Mr Chiang's approach is irreplaceable. His stories mirror the process of scientific discovery: complex ideas emerge from the measured, methodical accumulation of information until epiphany strikes. . . . The best science fiction inspires awe for the natural properties of the universe; it renders the fundamentals of science poignant and affecting. Mr Chiang's writing manages all of this. He deserves to be more widely read." --"The Economist, " Prospero blog "Throughout all his work, though no more so than in "Story of Your Life," you can feel his months of removing sentences from his stories. Perhaps that he writes so little does something good for him, or maybe it's just that he doesn't write enough." --Choire Sicha, "The Millions" "Essential. You won't know SF if you don't read Ted Chiang."--Greg Bear "Newly reissued by Small Beer Press, the stories range widely in time, subject and style but are united by a patient but ruthless fascination with the limits of knowledge." --Ed Park, "Los Angeles Times" "Chiang is the real deal. His debut collection, Stories of Your Life and Others is one of the finest collections of short fiction I have read in the last decade. These tales possess the imaginative frisson that is a trademark of the best conceptual fiction, but, also bespeak a confident prose style and a willingness to take chances in tone and narrative structure." --Ted Gioia, "Conceptual Fiction" "This collection of short stories deserves constant re-introduction. Ted Chiang narrows the broad line between fiction and science fiction by taking a scalpel to "normal," transforming it in ways that will blow your mind and challenge your beliefs. It's a breathless ride." --Capitola Book Cafe "Chiang writes seldom, but his almost unfathomably wonderful stories tick away with the precision of a Swiss watch--and explode in your awareness with shocking, devastating force." --"Kirkus Reviews" (Starred Review) "The first must-read SF book of the year." --"Publishers Weekly" (Starred Review) "He puts the science back in science fiction--brilliantly." --"Booklist" (Starred Review)

Book Description

A tantalising collection of modern science fiction by a multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner

About this edition

• Publisher: Big Mouth House
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1931520720
• ISBN 13: 9781931520720
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 320