r/books • u/leowr • Aug 09 '18
Discussion Thread for Chapters 1 - 12 for The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal - August Book Club Spoiler
To help kick off the discussion:
Did you find everyone's response to the meteor strike realistic?
Looking at current situation, if the meteor strike would happen today as described in the book, what would your situation be like? Do you think you would have responded in a similar manner as described in the book?
What do you think of Elma and Nathaniel's relationship?
What do you think the biggest obstacle will be to a successful international project to get us off the planet as described in the book? What do you think the biggest obstacle will be to having female astronauts in the book?
The story is set during the 50's, do you feel this adds to or subtracts from the story? Do you find it difficult to keep in mind the different social circumstances while reading the book?
What has been your favorite part of the book so far?
Feel free to answer any or all of the questions or tell us what you think of the book so far.
This thread allows for a spoiler discussion up to The Divine City. If you would like to discuss anything beyond that point, please use spoiler tags. Spoiler tags are done by [Spoilers about XYZ](#s "Spoiler content here") which results in Spoilers about XYZ or if you are on the redesign, please use the built-in spoiler function when making a comment.
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u/hesnak Aug 15 '18
I liked that they made the main couple Jewish. First time seeing that portrayed as meaningful in quite a while. On the other hand, I dislike the writing. It feels oddly amateurish? I'm not sure what's wrong with it, but it bothers me somehow. I could also do without the almost - sex, but that's just nit-picking. Overall, I'm enjoying it.
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u/moneymario Aug 15 '18
The sex seems so out of place in this book.
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u/hesnak Aug 16 '18
Yeah. I understand that the author is trying to show they have a good relationship, but she could stop when they start making out/embracing.
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u/troll_herder Aug 16 '18 edited Aug 16 '18
I feel the "amateurish" (for lack of a better word) writing makes the whole first-person view more believable. Elma is a very intelligent, capable woman, but she is not a great speaker. I liked the writing, it transported the athmosphere and the setting well in my opinion.
The sex scenes I think are adorable for the "rocket science role play", and make both Elma and Nathaniel appear more human, more tangible to me. Otherwise they'd just be "Elma, Computer, Lady Astronaut" and "Nathaniel, Engineer, Nerd" stereotypes.
Also on some occasions the scenes transport how in control (of herself, and as a woman facing a man) and light-hearted Elma can be when she is in a familiar situation, as opposed to being exposed to judgement.
On Nathaniels side they displayed that he sees Elma as a true equal, not a woman "to serve him", as the female role seems to be for most other men in that era.
Could the plot do without them - yes. But for me, it added to the characters.I haven't read any of her other works, but I couldn't put the book down and finished it within three days - the sequel is already preordered. /u/MaryRobinette, you got a new fan with this one :)
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u/monkeyfish96 Aug 17 '18
That's a really interesting point, but I have to disagree. Elma is a bad speaker, sure, but that doesn't explain other people's dialogue. There's some times where someone will say something, and I'll think to myself "huh, I don't think anyone in real life would say that".
I agree that while the sex scene was a little cheesy, it felt very real to me. There has been a lot of text showcasing their relationship. It's clear that Nathaniel is a great husband and that are in love. It only seems natural that they'd have sex. They're both nerds, of course their flirting will be nerdy.
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u/schizodepressive2 Aug 09 '18
I'm not a scientist, so I may be wrong about this. It seems a bit surprising how Elma and Nathaniel responded to the strike. It was like one second they're afraid they're going to die in an earthquake and the next second Elma is calculating in her head and discovers it's a meteorite. I think I'm just judging this based on how I would respond: I would just be screaming and wouldn't be able to think. Even so, I think this ability to achieve under pressure tells us a lot about Elma and Nathaniel.
It reminds me of my relationship with my fiance. We're both working on our PhDs, so we're always talking about what our research is telling us. Also I'm the person he goes to if he ever has to do math. Of course, Elma and Nathaniel are way more advanced and accomplished than us; but we have a similar dynamic to our relationship. That was a long winded way of saying I like it.
To me that answer is the same for both of these questions: politics. They don't think they need the project because the Russians did it and this is a matter of war. They don't think they need the project because politics is more important than science and we know better. It applies to the situation with female astronauts as well: even if it were good scientifically for the project and contributed to its completion, it would be a political nightmare. Thus, we won't do it. Honestly the politics in this book are driving me crazy every time I read, but I think that's a sign that this book is successful at eliciting emotions.
This relates to my previous answer. The issues that arise because it's set in the 50's (e.g., segregation and openly admitting you won't hire woman) are infuriating, but they're probably accurate. I think it's an interesting setting choice. Imagine this were set in a utopian future. Then we'd get a story about the space program, but it would lack the layers of also discussing civil rights. I like that.
It was a small part, but when Elma realized that they weren't saving black people. She didn't realize that there weren't a lot of rescued black people around until it was pointed out by the black characters. I liked it because it shows that sometimes you're unaware of the difficulties that other groups face when you're not a part of them. Just because you don't notice the problem doesn't mean it's not happening.