This is my latest foray into science fiction in small quantity. This particular collection in France is for novellas that are supposed to be read in an hour but it took me a while to read that one. At first because I had difficulties with the complex world building, and then once I got used to it I went slow to enjoy it more. Audrey Pleynet was totally unknown to me but I hope she gets translated into English.
Rossignol is set in a remote spaceship on the margins. In this place different species and creatures live together in a sort of social experiment that was born after a war. Technology enables them to live in peace together, but it’s a precarious balance. Species each have their preferences and prejudices but interspecies children are of all kinds. Some, on the other hand, would like to return to racial purity… the clock is ticking.
The story is told by one such interracial creature, with many flashbacks, and I really enjoyed following her coming of age. She is “Majo humania” with some telepathic skills dire to her genetic combination. To her strict (and pure bred) mother’s disappointment she likes to spend time with dubious characters, experiment with drugs, be friend with people from other races. Audrey Pleynet is very evocative with words, images, and 5 senses (or are there more in that space station?) to create creatures without any human reference but that we still can understand or care about. Her message against racism is very powerful and goes beyond the usual human viewpoint.
It’s not an easy read because you need to accept to be overwhelmed by the colorful and ever-changing world of the station, and lose human references. The flashbacks don’t help either. It definitely takes some time, and that’s almost a shame that the book is only a novella. I would probably have loved to stay longer with our heroine.
Smithereens 