To Be Taught, If Fortunate (Becky Chambers)

To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Becky Chambers
Harper Voyager
Fiction, Sci-Fi
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: At the close of the twenty-second century, space exploration rides largely on the work of crowdfunded nonprofit efforts, sending astronauts to explore distant planets - not for potential colonies or resource mining, but for the sake of exploration itself, seeking answers to questions about life and the universe that can't be found on Earth. Ariadne O'Neill and her three shipmates knew that the voyage would bring great personal sacrifice: due to the time dilation effects of space travel, it would be eighty years before they returned home, and transmissions from Earth would be at least a decade out of date by the time they reach the ship. But they always thought that there would be an Earth to go back to... and when communications mysteriously cease, the scientists find themselves torn.

REVIEW: I've been working overtime at my job, and finally decided that audiobooks might help relieve the tedium, so this novella - only the second audiobook I've reviewed - got the honors of being my test case, by virtue of being relatively short, looking interesting, and being available on Overdrive when I looked.
The story is not so much about action or a strong narrative arc as it is about the characters, the discoveries they make on their four-planet itinerary (each planet with a different overarching mood, reflecting in some way the scientists' own states of mind), and the overall human inclination toward exploration and science even when it brings no immediate or tangible benefit save the answering of a question (or the discovery of new questions to ask, which to science is at least as exciting.) At times, the narrative grows wandering and circular, repeating itself and meandering off on tangents, while at others it captures the raw sense of wonder of scientific discovery and exploring truly alien worlds - and the psychological highs and lows of the mission, each of the four dealing with the breakthroughs, setbacks, stresses, and isolation in their own ways. Beneath it all is a sense of hope, that somehow, despite all the setbacks and all the politics, we humans will keep reaching outward to find untold wonders, an instinct towards discovery that will not be denied. As for the audio presentation, it was decent and kept me listening. The whole makes for an immersive, if sometimes drifting, story.
(And, for the record, yes, it did a good job of helping work go by a little faster. I will likely be reviewing more audiobooks; even without overtime, it's not like the job is getting any more interesting.)

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