Translation State

 

Translation State by Ann Leckie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautiful science fiction novel about what it means to belong. Leckie has more imagination in her little finger than most people have their whole lives. She explores belonging across borders of culture, gender, technology (AI), and species (aliens). Can you declare yourself to be something you are inherently not? What are the personal, interpersonal, and political ramifications of that? And even if, say, an alien decides it wants to be human, looks like a human, acts like a human, are there behaviors and urges that will always define them as alien? Leckie deftly shows the ramifications and shortfalls of simply declaring to be something you are not, but also how each character (species) has abilities that benefit the wider universe. She also makes a beautiful case of how a family (chosen, if need be) can be the ultimate place that you belong.

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How do I know what you say is true? I asked.   Words can say things that don't exist.

"You have only small and seemingly pointless choices available to you.  But if there is anything I have been trying to teach you, it is that small actions can have larger consequences.  If one has only small choices available, one must be patient, and canny."

"When you have decided what you want, remember that what one will not acknowledge is what one cannot properly control."