The Bodhisattva

Once again, I’m participating in Forgotten Fridays, an activity summed up by a bunch of people I don’t know telling you about books that have been forgotten. That of course leaves for a lot for definition by all participants, but for me they are book that are not only that in a broader sense by books that I don’t always pimp actively (which narrows it down even more). This is a great exercise for me because it gives me the opportunity to fill in gaps and extend The Tomio Top 100 of Ten Years and to look at some writer’s output that occurred pre-internet circle jerk. It also gives me the opportunity to keep my Mirenberg Bordello Street cred while the ‘bookspot blows up Extensive Enterprises-like. Again these are skits, not reviews, so not Tomio full length prose but a haikuvella.

This week I’m looking at novel by by Paul Park.  Now, the faithful have heard me mention Park before, he has written historical fiction like The Gospel of Corax and Three Marys and and a series that could have been the subject of this piece itself, The Starbridge Chronicles.  He is also currently writing a Fantasy series that kicked off with A Princess of Roumania (see my review here and my interview here.) On my third forgotten Friday I offer Coelestis, a novel from 1993 that got some genre nominations for best novel, but perhaps suffers not being mentioned too much now in our circles due to Park’s foray into historical fiction -we are a forgetful lot, so much so I had to wait for him to return with a book with ‘Princess’ in the title to recall that I yes, I did read collection of his - and might want to check out the work of a writer who I came impressed with from the aforementioned A Princess of Roumania.

Coelestis, in a world where somebody says this about every SF novel is as accomplished as any stand-alone one can pick and is something I find that compares favorably with more lauded (and excellent) books like Vernor Vinge’s A Deepness in the Sky. While having no physical breaks Coelestis figuratively feel like you are carrying the literal weight of wheel of time. There seems to be a tone developing my Forgotten Fridays dealing with  alienation and I’m detecting a Le Guin-school that may not seem as pronounced as it should be. Coelestis is, more than anything a tragedy - Humanity has colonized a planet that once - still - had two native species one that has succumbed to humanity the other demonized almost to extinction.

In my interview with Park he said:

“I like to think I was able to achieve some discipline, because what was motivating me was no longer this sheer joy of invention–I had stuff I wanted to say, all of a sudden! And so that book is quite spare, stylistically. But again the plot wanders around; and again it’s not my main focus.”

Park shows us a world of ultra conformity, where the aborigines go to the extent of having surgery and taking drug that cause them to look and behave more like their conquerors - you know…humanity. The story focuses on two kidnapped characters, Simon a human and Katherine a ‘human’ aborigine - it is a love story but a devolving one as Park offers us a glimpse of cost of imperialism. Colonialism rarely  is based on the intent of mutual progress and reformations are made to make the victors comfortable during their stay of imported recycling, a state that they leave you in when they move on. It is not true assimilation more than an extravagant masquerade. In an interview with Nick Gevers, Park remarks:

“ I once was a guest at a big house in India, and it struck me that my Indian host and hostess were living a version of a life that no longer existed even in England–silver tea services, butlers, polo, regimental manners, old school ties, etc. I found this extremely evocative.”

Park adds to the element a love story but as we see Katherine - removed from her medications - is made to re evolve and see her distortions gain focus while in the process of reverting to her true nature and this is where we see Park at his best in Coelestis; his prose seems to go through the same transformation, the familiar - ourselves and out perceptions - are slowly given to the outlook of a true alien. Most books stop there but the tragedy is not one way, we get more than the cost of the intended victim, we get the cost of the victor.

Coelestis is a book that always borders on disaster, a hint of heavy hand with the relationship, the nature of sex, the colonial allegory as it relates to humanity would stain a book  that doesn’t lead up to a climax to negate what came before - a delicate balance is needed and accomplished. In all his books, Park is the welcome voice, he has a firm understanding that sermons are given by the clergy and only welcomed by a few, and have no place outside of very specific circumstances and in Coelestis, a book that is firmly Science Fiction, Park is implicit in making the surrounding as familiar as possible. No page stealing gadgets, nothing that strays thoughts too far from us yet the book never feels like a gimmick trying to exist in two worlds at once - it is a story, and while a mirror is always present, one can travel without ever looking in it and comparing.

Coelestis is a story of a tragedy, a natural one, that has no end, no real goal - none that we’d be around to tell about, and is a book that Parks begs to ask who is left to think otherwise. What I will say is this, and it may not be an opinion shared by many: I do think Park is writing his best work now with the Roumania work which I know might grate SF fundamentalists, but I think Park is able to capture moments better now and combine that purpose and wandering he notes above to greater effect. That said, it’s still hard to believe that it took his recent work for him to be on my radar as a major writer in the field - and that’s why Coelestis is featrured on this Forgotten Friday. I would not hesitate looking at any of his catalog however, picking the one that catches your fancy: be it short fiction or a novel, fantasy, SF, or historical fiction.

Previous Forgotten Fridays:

Brittle Innings by Michael Bishop
Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler

Next week something different, I’m starting to feel a theme going on here and time to shake it up a bit!