Joining a book club means learning new genres such as my recent first time experience with Solarpunk literature, Becky Chambers’ A Psalm of the Wild-Built. Solarpunk, if I wasn’t the only one in the dark, is a genre which blends a narrative set in a sustainable future centering on nature and community.

In A Psalm of the Wild-Built, we meet Dex, a restless tea maker with wanderlust. In his quest to satiate, he meets Mosscap, a robot who has voluntarily left the human world to live on the outskirts of human civilization. Mosscap also has an expedition of his own.

I enjoyed the compactness of the story and the metaphors I chose as analogous to contemporary life and after life themes: reincarnation, hobbies vs. societal contributions and how we continue to make life worth living as we age. Heavy stuff, yet Chambers lyrical writing guides you through a sweet story of friendship and interdependence peppered with questions regarding how far robots might evolve.

Since we’re in the gift giving season, this is a perfect gift for adolescents through nonagenarians. A Psalm for the Wild-Built is available now at BookStore1 117 S. Pineapple Avenue Sarasota FL 34236 or for order on our online store www.sarasotabooks.com.

Published July 2021 ISBN:  9781250236210.