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So a while back I poked some fun at people who think science fiction is supposed to be and/or used to be optimistic.
But recently I read The Windup Girl, and its pessimism annoyed me. And I had similar thoughts when reading Oryx and Crake. So I guess in some respects I can sympathize with the anti-pessimists.
It's not the pessimism per se that bothers me. Cause hey, life sucks, and then you die, and if life is relatively good that only seems to increase your sensitivity to the tiniest suckitude. I'm cool with that. But I feel like these novels are pessimistic about the wrong things. And wrong about what they judge optimistically, as well. ( Read more... )
But recently I read The Windup Girl, and its pessimism annoyed me. And I had similar thoughts when reading Oryx and Crake. So I guess in some respects I can sympathize with the anti-pessimists.
It's not the pessimism per se that bothers me. Cause hey, life sucks, and then you die, and if life is relatively good that only seems to increase your sensitivity to the tiniest suckitude. I'm cool with that. But I feel like these novels are pessimistic about the wrong things. And wrong about what they judge optimistically, as well. ( Read more... )
