Books: Stories of Your Life and Others

I spent much of the Thanksgiving weekend immersed in Ted Chiang's short story collection, "Stories of Your Life and Others." I thought it was a very solid read, though perhaps not quite what I expected. The anthology is marketed as "science fiction," but there are only a few real sci-fi tales here ("Understand," "Division by Zero"). A great deal of the book is pure fantasy ("Tower of Babylon," "Hell Is the Absence of God").

As some reviewers have noted, there is a certain strain of nihilism running through the stories. Whatever you think of that, it's beyond argument that the pieces in the book are well-written and lucid. My favorite was "Story of Your Life," the basis for the movie "Arrival." I found that the source material wasn't saddled with the film's gussied-up stakes and pat conclusion, and felt more realistic as a result. It's safe to say that if aliens ever visited Earth, man would be left with more questions than answers.