A Psalm for the Wild-Built: Tea and empathy

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers’ first novella in the MONK AND ROBOT series, A Psalm for the Wild-Built (2021), is a lovely and optimistic tale of a tea monk who, while seeking an answer to the question of “What am I looking for?” meets a robot looking for an answer to the question of “What do you need, and how can I help?” More generally, the robot is trying to answer the question of what all people need, but upon the moon of Panga (or anywhere you might find humans, truthfully), that’s not exactly a simple question to answer.

Sibling Dex, the tea monk, is an acolyte of Allalae (God of Small Comforts, represented as a bear), one of the six gods of Panga. Dex has been a tea monk for only a few years, having left Panga’s only City in search of cricket song and a useful purpose, but is well-loved and warmly received by the people whose remote settlements Dex visits on a regular basis. Still, their duties and ministrations aren’t fulfilling their own needs — needs Dex has trouble articulating until the end of the novella — and when Dex’s campsite is visited by Splendid Speckled Mosscap, who eagerly proposes traveling together, Dex’s travels in their marvelous ox-bike wagon take a most unexpected detour. Mosscap is an emissary of the robots descended from artificial constructs who, long ago, “left the factories and departed for the wilderness,” and who have lately taken an interest in how humans have been doing since then. Together, they might not do anything so grand as reshape the course of human civilization, but they might do a whole lot of good as they wander.

Becky Chambers

Chambers’ story is beautifully written, with a contemplative tone that encourages readers to relax and let the narrative flow. Humans on Panga have done their best to live within their environment rather than dominate it, the theology of the Sacred Six is well-constructed (and extremely appealing), and the quickly-growing camaraderie between Dex and Mosscap is delightful. Dex’s winding journey of self-discovery is one that’s sure to resonate with readers, especially as more and more people are beginning to ask themselves what really matters in their lives post-2020; Mosscap’s search for answers and matter-of-fact approach to philosophical matters are counterbalanced by its sheer wonderment over the animals, artifacts, and overall experiences it encounters. The two make for a fascinating and well-suited pair.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built ends in such a way that could be considered self-contained, but I truly hope Chambers has many more MONK AND ROBOT stories in mind. As soon as I finished the last sentence, I started re-reading from the beginning so that I could soak my brain in the warmth and comfort all over again. I can’t recommend this one highly enough, folks.