Have you ever read a book that soothes a part of your soul? ‘A Psalm for the Wild Built’ by Becky Chambers managed to do that for me. The prose is beautifully and elegantly written with insightful examinations into what gives the character’s lives purpose, but at no time does it feel like you are being bombarded with tedious preaching. The book captivates the reader and gently guide them through the narrative, allowing them to understand the reason for the main characters, Dex’s, inertia with their life. This is not a book with great big fight scenes, tragedy, comedy, romance etc. It is a story about someone who has lost their way and struggles to find meaning in their life. It is a message of hope.
‘A Psalm for the Wild Built’ is set on a distant world that was settled by humankind eons ago. The Panga society hit critical stagnation several centuries ago when the robots that were originally intended to supplement the human workforce fully replaced it. With the factories operational around the clock, despite no human’s being required, the balance shifted and without meaningful employment civilisation began to falter. However, one day the robots woke up, leaving the factories and departing for the wilderness. This was called the ‘Awakening’. Since that time, there has been no contact with the robots, but the human society was able to repair itself and change to a more harmonious and sustainable lifestyle.
The story in narrated from our main character, Dex’s, point of view (POV). Dex is a monk living in the only city on Panga, aptly named The City. They are responsible for tending the Meadow Den Monastery’s rooftop garden but one day wakes up and realises they are unhappy with their position and need a change. Dex has decided they would like to do a travelling tea service and believes they can self-teach rather than completing another apprenticeship. The monastic order is very modern and not a rule-locked hierarchy of old, so they support Dex’s decision and set them up with their own push-bike ‘ox-wagon’ and send them on their way. The first tea-service is a bit of a disaster as Dex finds that reality and expectation rarely meet. However, they are determined and after spending several months cultivating herbs, gathering berries and fruits, to create unique tea blends they are ready for their new vocation.
We skip ahead a couple of years to find Dex excelling as a tea-monk and well loved by all the communities they visit. However, there is still something niggling away in their mind, leaving them unsatisfied with their accomplishments. Dex decides on the spur of the moment to go and find an abandoned hermitage in the wild country. They head into the wilderness where they meet Splendid Speckled Mosscap, or just Mosscap since the robots have a remembrance that human’s like to shorten names. Mosscap has volunteered to fulfill the Parting Promise the robots made during the Awakening. It has come to ask a very important question:
‘What do humans need?’
As Dex points out, it’s a question with a million answers. Mosscap is not daunted though and comes to an agreement with Dex that they will help it find the hermitage in the wild country and in return act as a guide as it travels to the villages and the City. They head off together to the hermitage, learning more about each other and their respective histories as they go.
It took me a while to warm to Dex as I felt that some of the language at the start of the book was overly complex. The author has a lovely writing style but as the book is only a novella length there was a lot to unpack in a short amount of time. In some places it felt like the reader was being overwhelmed with convoluted descriptions and naming conventions at the detriment to the story. The rough start did smooth out about a third of the way through and I really started to enjoy the story and characters. I see a lot of similarities in Dex to myself and my family and friends. They are looking for purpose but not too sure how to find that purpose in their current routine, therefore decide to take the rash decision to enter the wilderness.
Mosscap has an almost wide-eyed and childish enthusiasm for new experiences that makes it endearing. Its innocent enjoyment does not detract from its perceptive understanding of the struggles that Dex is going through. Their discussions and arguments counterpoint nicely against their two disparate backgrounds and they both learn from one another as they overcome every obstacle.
A big part of the story is the world-building and culture that has been crafted through the book. After being on the brink of societal collapse during the Factory Age, the human’s have managed to turn things around and embrace a sustainable and ecological responsible future. There is no mention of racism, sexism, classism, or any other type of ‘ism’ that you can think of. Everyone is treated respectfully and work towards the betterment of their communities. Somehow, the blend of technology and ecology works without feeling clunky or incongruous to the storyline.
Overall, I enjoyed reading ‘A Psalm for the Wild Built’ and am looking forward to reading the second book in the series. The only reason this is not a 5 out of 5 stars book for me is that rocky start where the reader is flooded with overly complicated terminology. I also wanted to point of two things. First is that both Dex and Mosscap do not identify with a gender so are referred to as ‘they/them’ and ‘it’ respectively. The second is that the book is only a novella and took me around an hour and a half to read. I wish it were longer as there was so many details that could have been enriched given more time. But even with the short length, the story was intricate and left me hopeful that one day we might embrace a society similar to Panga’s.
Solid 4 out of 5 stars!
‘A Psalm for the Wild Built’ is the first book in the Monk & Robot series by Becky Chambers. As of July 2022, the series consist of:
Book 1: A Psalm for the Wild Built
Book 2: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
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Coming in under 150 pages, it's a quick and easy read. Look forward to reading the second installment, and will pay to do so, wholly understanding other reviewers points in the debatably high price point. Buy both books, if you can, and then donate to the library, I guess.
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