A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
Becky Chambers’ A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT is a small book, but it means a lot to me. I’ve actually read it twice: once when the library bought it back in 2021 and now a second time. I love its optimistic view of the future and the ways that Chambers’ world incorporates nature and technology simultaneously.
The main character, Sibling Dex, is a tea monk whose role in society is to travel from settlement to settlement. At each stop, Dex sets up their tea service and invites people to come tell their troubles over a cup of tea. Sibling Dex can offer advice or simply listen to their concerns, whichever the patron prefers.
Dex has been living this life for a few years, but suddenly they have an uncontrollable urge to change everything. To leave their routine behind and explore the wild – hoping to find crickets.
The book is set in the distant future on a lush, forested moon called Panga. The ecology is very similar to Earth, but crickets have gone extinct in all of the inhabited areas of Panga, so Dex has never experienced them firsthand.
When Dex learns of an abandoned monastery that once had a cricket population, they decide to go see for themself if the crickets are still there.
Panga is covered in roads left over from the Factory Age, a time in Panga’s history similar to our modern Earth. Those roads have not been maintained in hundreds of years and Dex is riding a pedal-driven cart with their house on the back. Needless to say, much of the journey is difficult.
After a few days of traveling alone, Dex encounters a robot named Mosscap who asks them “what do you need, and how might I help?”
Dex and Mosscap’s meeting is an event with historical significance. Robots and humans have not directly interacted since the Parting Promise.
In the distant past, the robots of Panga woke up – they suddenly gained consciousness without any human intervention; no one knows why. After that awakening, the humans and the robots came together and it was decided that they would separate from each other until such time as the robots chose to return.
Mosscap is acting as a representative of the robots. Its plan was to enter human society, ask the questions it has asked Dex, and see if the robots returning now would improve all of their lives in a meaningful way.
The two travelers decide to travel together, but the trip does not get any easier. Because they were raised to believe that robots should not be used to do menial labor, Dex has a hard time accepting Mosscap’s help at first. Eventually, the two are able to find a balance and work together to complete their journey.
As I said in my introduction, A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT is a very optimistic book. The people living on Panga have found ways to thrive without destroying the ecosystem of the planet. They focus on repairing the things they have and preserving the wilderness around them. Dex is very unusual for deciding to stray from the path and journey out into the wider world.
Book review by Alyssa Berry, Technical Services Librarian
