Book Review: Psalm of the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

I first picked up Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers while researching “cozy reads” for a project at work. Prior to this, I had this impression that the cozy or gentle genre was all full of middle-age women living in small towns solving cute mysteries or bonding with the new single dad over their love of cats (i.e. not my cup of tea, literature wise). When I came across “cozy science fiction” I was intrigued, and picked up the book at my library.

"You and I -- we're just atoms that arranged themselves the right way, and we can understand that about ourselves. Is that not amazing?" — Becky Chambers (A Psalm for the Wild-Built)

This review does contain mild spoilers, so proceed with caution.

Summary

Psalm for the Wild-Built is a story about a monk looking for purpose. In Sibling Dex’s world, humans have long since abandoned factories and cars. They live in small cities and towns, and every aspect of their communities are designed around living in harmony with their environment. There are no more robots. Years and years ago, the robots gained sentience and wandered off into the wilderness. No one has seen any robots since they all woke up and left humanity behind.

"I think there’s something beautiful about being lucky enough to witness a thing on its way out." — Becky Chambers (A Psalm for the Wild-Built)

Sibling Dex travels between towns as a tea monk. They sell tea, listen to problems, and offer comfort. They have everything they could ever want, but something is still missing. Dex needs change, so they decide to travel outside the confines of settled land and go in search of an old hermitage. Humanity has let most of the world go back to nature at this point, so any roads or buildings have intentionally been left to be overtaken by nature. Dex still braves the road, but before the end of their first day they meet up with a robot in the wilderness. The robot, Mosscap, tells Dex that it has been sent after hundreds of years to check back in with humanity and see what it is they need. Together, Dex and Mosscap travel to the hermitage, learning more about their respective worlds in the meantime.

Review & Takeaways

I loved this book, but not because it was a cozy, easy read I could speed through and forget about. That’s not to say that it wasn’t cozy; Chambers has built a beautiful, intricate world. It was comforting to travel with Sibling Dex through the cities and towns. I loved Chambers' optimistic vision of humanity, and wish that our species is capable of the amount of reflection and change demonstrated by the humans in her book. Everything about the way she describes her version of the world makes you feel good, and perhaps gives you a little hope for the future.

The world was beautiful, but what really struck me was the philosophy of the book. The driving conflict is Sibling Dex’s search for purpose. No matter how much they accomplish, they always feel like something is missing, hence the misguided attempt to wander into the wilderness.

"Still. Something is missing. Something is off. So, how fucking spoiled am I, then? How fucking broken? What is wrong with me that I can have everything I could ever want and have ever asked for and still wake up in the morning feeling like every day is a slog?" — Becky Chambers (A Psalm for the Wild-Built)

I know Dex’s issue well; I am constantly reading productivity books, reinventing myself, looking for the next best thing. I’m feeling this particularly strongly right now. My whole life has been about the what is next: when I was in high school it was about going to college, in college it was about getting a job, when I got my first job it was about getting my masters so I could get a better job. Now I’m staring down the start of what will likely be the rest of my career, or at least likely to be my career for the next decade or so. I’ve found myself wondering who I am when I’m not driven by this ever-constant change. I worry that I'll feel empty when I settle down, that I won’t know what to do with myself when not chasing something new.

So when Dex complains about something being off, even when they seemingly have everything, I get them. And the answer, presented through the eyes of Mosscap’s wonderment at the mundane, is that there isn’t an answer. As much as we like to philosophize, prophesy, and peacock our superior intellect, humans are animals. Animals don’t have a purpose. My cat doesn’t feel unfulfilled if she doesn’t invent a product or paint a masterpiece, it’s enough for her to just do cat things. She sleeps when she’s tired, eats when she’s hungry, sits on my lap when she’s lonely.

"You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live." — Becky Chambers (A Psalm for the Wild-Built)

It’s great to do meaningful things. It’s wonderful to have the drive and desire to create, to write, to draw, to build. But we don’t need a capital-p Purpose to be fulfilled. On our quests for betterment and searches for meaning, it’s important to keep in mind our nature. When nothing is permanent, and nothing is guaranteed, we must remember our inherent value. We on our own are enough.

“Then how,” Dex said, “how does the idea of maybe being meaningless sit well with you?” Mosscap considered. “Because I know that no matter what, I’m wonderful,” — Becky Chambers (A Psalm for the Wild-Built)

You can pick up Psalm for the Wild-Built at your local library. Or, purchase a copy at Bookshop.org to support local bookstores, thrift at copy at thriftbooks.com, or purchase on Amazon.