Exhalation is a collection of short stories from Ted Chiang. This is a beautiful collection of deep and thought provoking ideas delivered through the medium of stories. The book is, overall, like a "BlackMirror" series of the literary world, combining futuristic ideas with compelling story telling. As I turned the pages of this book, Ted Chiang effortlessly made his way from being a nobody in my world to my current favorite author of all times.
My favourite among the gems in this collection is "Truth of Fact, Truth of feeling" where the author draws parallels between the technology of writing and a futuristic technology of indexed memory video logs. The parallels drawn are amazing to the extents of highlighting the pros and cons of each of the tools with amazing literary devices. Writing in a way is an augmentation to the mind, almost like how external memory can be used to log our lives .
The constraints of language has been very beautifully explained to show the difference between right and precise. What is precise and accurate may not be right and the story also explores how language shapes the way communities think of concepts of what is right or true. In the narrative, the protagonist is seen to think how important it would be to forget some things in order to forgive and points out interestingly that Forgive and Forget does not necessarily happen in that order.
In both the narratives, the author throws light on how the resp technologies were able to throw light into the discrepancies in what was understood vs what really happened. It showed how without written records, history was shaped and retold to the advantage and perspectives of the leaders and how for certain goals, doing the right thing is more important than searching for the truth.
In its parallel account, the person who goes through the memory log understands to his shock how he had conveniently and unconsciously changed the narrative of troubled times in his past to be able to live with himself. Forgetting had become an aid in him forgiving himself.
Exhalation itself is a short story in this collection . The narrative is in the perspective of a robotical being examining his brain and understanding the true nature of his life force and thoughts. Its amazing how the author creates a world and explains it like he has been in that world himself.
The Merchant and the Alchemist shows a true science fiction story in an Arabian nights setting and brings in interesting aspects of time travel.
Other short stories explore various compelling ideas like free will conundrums, the parallel universe communication as well as interspecies communication on earth. I loved the author's story notes in the end, like a little tete-a tete with the mind where these mindbending thoughts originated.
A common theme from Ted Chiang's stories is the role language plays in our lives. There is special beauty in the unassuming, in seeing unexpected things come together, like in a paradox. Like when you see a superior painting, it looks real and when you look at a beautiful scenery, it looks like in a painting. Like how good and evil are just 2 sides of a coin rather than 2 poles. Chiang's writing is that paradox that forces its way inside your mind and bends it with the surprise.
They show a perfect, clever blend of science, fantasy and fine art created with a surprisingly balanced arrangement of words.
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