A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about Robert Silverberg's A Time of Changes.

The Short of It

Plot: The far flung colony of Borthan abhors the concept of the self, ostracizing "selfbarers" - those who speak of "I".

Page Count: 220

Award: 1971 Nebula

Worth a read: No.
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Fail
Technobabble: None
Review: Sporadically engaging, this book is extremely focused inward. The premise is decent, and could carry a short story, but wears thin. Elevates "telling instead of showing" to a new level, and feels like Silverberg thinks his readers are a bit slow. Book isn't bad, exactly, just unremarkable.

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free!

Let's kick this off by acknowledging that A Time of Changes is a comically lazy title, second only to Rite of Passage in informing the reader of the point of the story. I'm not bringing this up purely to mock the book; this is the style of writing here. Points are made with a blunt lack of subtlety or nuance, then remade in case we missed them the first could of times. 

The entire book is narrated in first person by our protagonist, Kinnall Darival (-10 points for silly name). We know from the beginning that this is a journal, that he is on the run, that he will soon be captured. All that in mind, consider the following example:

My style too reflects the man, for I know myself to be earnest, solemn, fond of courtly gestures, and given to communicating more perhaps than others really want to know; all these traits I find in my own prose. It has its faults, yet am I pleased with it: I have my faults, yet am I pleased with me.

Let's break it down a bit.

First sentence:

• "My style too reflects the man" - How Kinnall writes highlights his character traits.
• "I know myself to be earnest, solemn, etc..." - These are Kinnall's characteristics; very tell, no showing.
• "all these traits I find in my own prose." - Same purpose as first clause; these traits are highlighted by Kinnall's writing. 

The entire second sentence is similar; if we don't pick up that his acceptance of the flaws in his writing, which we've established reflect his character, are an acceptance of his character, it is then made explicit.

Now consider the fact that that this is in Chapter 27. Surely we should already have gained all of this information about our protagonist. It sure is easier for a protagonist to tell you how they act, rather than have them act to fit the part.

Alright, I'm not going to harp on the style that much more, you get the idea.

There are a lot of characters for a book this short. The side characters are generally unremarkable. Kinnall is a decent protagonist; he fits [Protagonist Type C]: Second son of the King who needs to flee because of court drama. He does a few things that make him sympathetic enough at the beginning of the book to keep us on board with him for most of it. Also, he has no endurance in bed. This comes up a lot. Significantly more than one would think. I didn't count, but I'm putting it in the six to ten times range - and this book is barely over 200 pages. 

The plot is decent enough. Kinnall switches between events in the past and reminders that in his present he is a wanted man, maintaining some semblance of tension, or at least a nudge that things go downhill at some point. It's not a great plot, and meanders a fair bit, but it works well enough. Fittingly, it is a quick read; it finishes well before you'd think it would, without a satisfying climax.

And then there is world building. Which is... okay. The Left Hand of Darkness is an excellent example of what happens when an author takes a core change and works through all of the ramifications of that difference. This is not. The central conceit of self-denial - arguably self-hatred - has little to no impact on the broader structure of society. It's squandered potential. We get that people are distant, that intimacy is not a thing, and that they talk openly with only a select few. But so much of society stays unchanged. How can you have a monarchy, which necessitates elevation of an individual, in a society built around denying the individual? And why is there nothing collective that emerges through of the self - there's not self-denial leading to group identity. So on and so forth. It's a half baked concept, and with the exception of the ice cream flavor, that's not my cup of tea.

It's not a terrible book - it's just lacking something. It was engaging enough to read, but I wouldn't say it's worth adding to the list.

If one wishes to acquire such a book, one could use the link below, which would help a different one get a few cents, at no additional cost to one.

This is a link.

The Long of It

Spoilers Ahead!

A guy takes drugs and it turns out that they are awesome.

There, now you've read the book.

There are the bones of a much better story inside of this one. Some details are well done; people viewing "I" as profanity was pretty well executed, as well as "selfbarer" being derogatory. Reminded me of the use of "Bleeder" as a curse in Stand on Zanzibar.   

I'll only address one more thing; the earlier gripes summarize my feelings well enough. But before we go our separate ways, the ending. The issue with this ending is that it is not earned. Everyone is becoming open to sharing and free love and connecting with one another and drugs are great and everyone should do them! That is where the ending goes - that Kinnall has begun a revolution that is spreading. The entire book is about how society is rigidly against this, everyone is religious, and no one sees any real problems with the way things are. The climax of a story should be both inevitable and unexpected for it to be satisfying. That is just not the case here. Nothing really sets up a society ready for massive changes. We're just informed that it's going to happen. It's an underwhelming conclusion.

The more I think about this book, the less I like it.

Moral of the story:

If a stranger offers you drugs, take them, it'll be great.

You can share anything you want, Stranger.

And don't forget to read a book!