Space Opera

The first time I read this book, I liked it a lot. The second time I read it, I loved it. But that's been my experience with nearly all of Catherynne Valente's work, so I should be surprised. Her books get better every time you revisit them, because the more you know about them the more they reveal themselves. Once you know where the story is going, you have a much greater appreciation for how Valente gets there. It's all about the journey with her. But that journey becomes so much richer when the destination is known.

The central theme of this book pops up early: Life is beautiful and life is stupid. It has seemed particularly relevant to my life lately.

Recently my husband was diagnosed with leukemia. Though he achieved remission in just a few months, the doctors are still recommending a bone marrow transplant as our best option for beating the disease. I recently gave birth to twins and was initially disappointed when it became clear that I would have to have a c-section. But recovery from the c-section was easier than expected, and it gave the doctors a chance to biopsy a cyst we assumed was benign and discover some ovarian cancer. Which led to a hysterectomy. Through all this my husband and I have been more stressed than we've ever been before. We've also been overwhelmed by help from our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Our network is stronger and larger than I could have imagined, and it's been amazing to see all the people stepping up when we need them.

Life is beautiful and life is stupid. They go hand in hand and you can't really experience one without also experiencing the other.

The story itself only improves with familiarity. Valente throws a lot at you, and it honestly took me a while to adjust to her language the first time through, by which point I'd already missed half the world-building. Which is a shame because the world-building is spectacular. But this time I was able to hit the ground running and appreciate every new alien species and musical pun that came my way.

I'll definitely be revisiting this book again in the future, the next time I need to remember that life is beautiful and life is stupid but above all life is worth it.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this work of art that appears when the aliens make first contact with the washed-up rock star protagonist:
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to travel the world and the seven seas everyone's looking for London calling from outer space I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face now all the young dudes carry the news red gold and green gunpowder and gelatin dynamite with a laser beam two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time you can wacth the humans trying to run to all tomorrow's parties but there is nothing more than this starman waiting in the sky he'd love to come and meet us but tonight Mr Kite is topping the biiiiilllll..."

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