Winterson, Jeanette: The Stone Gods
The Stone Gods
Writer: Jeanette Winterson
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 207
Let's see...how long has it been since I read a challenge book with digitalclone? Too long. April's book was Michael Flynn's The Wreck of the River of Stars, and we all know how THAT turned out. But due to my schedule (graduating and all), we've put challenges on hold until the end of July, and Jeanette Winterson's The Stone Gods was the last title, I think it was meant for May.
I've been wanting to read more Winterson ever since reading The Passion, which is fan-freaking-tastic and on my "keeper shelf." I've heard from other readers that Winterson's other work isn't quite as strong, but that didn't stop my curiosity when I saw Winterson's latest advertised. And yes, I'll admit, this is no where NEAR as good as The Passion, but it's still very, very good.
There's no point in relating the plot. What's important to this story are the themes, and in The Stone Gods we explore what it means to be a human in a society intent on destroying the world. We see this in three different yet connected stories, in both macro and micro situations, and trust me, Winterson preaches her head off. It's not hard to see how current events have influenced this work, but there's a beauty here that lies beyond the actual writing, which is very, very good (but still no The Passion). Winterson might be a "literary fiction" writer, but there's no doubt that she's playing with quantum theory here, mixing it a bit with Buddhist philosophy. And that is quite charming to this reader.
Spoilers ahead.
Technically the book is divided into four parts, but parts three and four are actually the same timeline, the same story. And I'll admit, Winterson "got" me. At first, I thought perhaps the planet described, the White Planet, was Earth, and that Mars had finally reached a point of habitation. I had my doubts, especially with all the talk of dinosaurs and asteroids, but I finally convinced myself that the humans on Orbus where originally from Earth and were now going to settle on Mars, even though a little voice was telling me that no, Planet Blue WAS Earth, even though that meant I didn't know what Planet White was.
So I was delighted to learn my intuition was correct, and that Planet White is actually Venus. That was a lovely thrill, and even though Winterson certainly throws her readers for a loop when it comes to details, it's a delight to see (even though I think it's a rather obvious message) how humanity repeats itself and destroys itself and its surroundings over and over and over.
But Winterson's details are where the little bits of faith wiggle in, where the reader has to acknowledge the Buddhist philosophy playing its part. Reincarnation of the soul, while not limited to Buddhism, to be honest, is certainly prominent here, obvious with the use of names, names that keep repeating over and over again. Billie and Spike are the same souls reborn three different times, and each time, they love each other and loose. But Spike is a Robo sapiens, how can she have a soul, especially twice?
If you don't get that, you're clearly not paying attention to the constant discourses on evolution, humanity, memory, imprint, and all of that wonderful stuff. This is the kind of book that invites re-reading, and fortunately it's not TOO heavy-handed for re-reading to be a problem. The poetry in the story of Billie and Spike is a beautiful thing, as is the constant theme: Love is an intervention.
Though I'll admit, I found myself channeling Battlestar Galactica on more than one occasion. The new series, of course. ;) The human-cylons, the mythology (ever thing has happened before, and it will happen again), it wasn't hard for me to "get" what Winterson is getting at. And hell, maybe I'm wrong, but at least I can take meaning away from this book on multiple levels, and that's a good thing.
But when it comes to soul, the reincarnation thereof, and the stories that spin out, inevitable, unchangeable, these are the stories that fascinate me, and while I feel that Winterson could've taken her time with this, I still feel I got my money's worth.
That said, the beginning suffers from a severe lack of setting, and therefore grounding. It also suffers from a severe lack of introspection, of cause and effect, but that's forgivable once the trip is underway to Planet Blue, and we learn what our characters are really made out of.
My Rating
Buy the Paperback: I really liked this, and I feel I got my money's worth. But if you gave me a choice between the hardcover and the trade (the trade having the same cover, of course), I'd go for the cheaper version, because as much as I liked it, well, I don't HAVE to have the hardcover in this case.
It's good read for those who truly enjoy literary SF. I've read better, but I've also read worse, and while this book is nothing compared to The Passion, it's still worth the read for Winterson fans, as well as those SF readers who want to dwell on more sociological, environmental, and metaphysical ideas.
Next up: Blameless in Abaddon by James Morrow