Paige's Lit Blog 🔥

  Reaction to the Text This is the first story that I read that dealt with aliens that were not in some way humanoid. T’Gatoi and her kind felt like a very fun species to write and worldbuild from, and I am kind of astonished how much Butler conveyed to the reader in such a short story. Not only was she able to show the reader a snapshot into this world, she made it read natural, too. Writing exposition is hard to feel natural in a story without having some plot contrivance to make a character oblivious to the world they live in, therefore needing the exposition. Being a short story, I didn’t expect it to be so tight, yet it felt like it neither overstayed its welcome nor ended too abruptly. I really need to read more of Octavia Butler’s work in the future.  Connections to the Story It was kind of difficult to connect fully to anything in the text, but I definitely did feel for the main character Gan. I am also currently in a stage of my life where I’m close enough to my “...

     An Unkindness of Ghosts was kind of a weird one for me. On one hand, I loved Aster as a character. She’s the type of person I would have never thought would be such a compelling protagonist. Her relationships with Griselle, Theo, and Mesuline felt extremely natural, more than anything I’ve really read before. The way that Rivers Solomon talks about and handles gender in both Aster and Theo feels like the exact opposite of my last read, Left Hand of Darkness. The way that Aster explains herself as an amalgamation of man, woman, and witch feels more natural and real than a strictly scientific look at gender. Rivers uses they/them pronouns in their bio, so I know that they way gender is handled is from an insider’s perspective. The world of Matilda feels like the cross between the Handmaid’s Tale and Wall-E in a very convincing way, and the way race is approached is rooted in first hand experiences and study. Really, this should be at the top rankings of books I have re...

     I was kicking myself for not reading Earthsea the week that we could. I had heard great things about Ursula K Le Guinn’s writing and representation and really should have started there. So, to make up for it, I read The Left Hand of Darkness. Honestly, I did not know what I was expecting. A race of nonbinary winter hobbits who go into heat was definitely not on my list. Despite that, I thought that the examination of a world without gender norms was fascinating and a little bit hilarious. I tend not to be too vocal about my sexual and gender orientation because of various social taboos, but I think that my interpretation as both asexual and gender-questioning is relevant.      The planet of Winter feels closer to a utopia than any other setting I have experienced. As a result of the Gethenians having their cycle of kemmer, the constant measuring up and scrutinizing that comes with having a sexual drive is basically non-existent. I have known that I hav...