Chana Porter

Imagine a utopia. Aliens have arrived and almost everyone partakes in their mind-altering substance, The Seep. On The Seep, we realize we are all one, and we could be anything. The environment is fixed and capitalism is over. People decide to sprout wings, grow antlers, stop aging. Become babies again.

What does it mean to grieve and feel broken in a world where all of your basic needs are met, where everyone wants to help you? My favorite line in the whole thing: "Everything is unfolding as it should, and that doesn't mean I can't be mad about it." Said as a chorus. In a church service.

Listen, I am going to be thinking about this for a while. But I loved this! I am going to have to get a copy of my own to keep when I return this to the library!… (meer)

The sort of alternate world in this novel wasn't quite different enough from ours to be that intriguing. I was under the impression that it would swap some concepts, but really, although the world's history and peoples are entirely different, it just greatly increased both the body shaming and demand that women act as sexual objects that we've got, and took our existing capitalism to some terrible and logical conclusions. Gave the impression that women really just can't win, and is notable for making lots of foods sound absolutely incredible, and lots of sex sound absolutely awful.… (meer)