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The Mount
Charley is an athlete. He wants to be painted crossing the finish line, in his racing silks, with a medal around his neck. But Charley isn't a runner. He is a human mount, the property of one of the alien invaders called Hoots. Charley hasn't seen his mother in years, and his father is hiding out in the mountains with the other Free Humans. The Hoots own the world, but the humans want it back. Charley knows how to be a good mount-now he's going to have to learn how to be a human being. This remarkable novel, winner of the 2002 Philip K. Dick Award, should be read by every fan of speculative fiction, teenagers and adults alike.
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
About the author
Carol Emshwiller
141 books90 followersCarol Emshwiller is an American writer of avant garde short stories and science fiction who has won prizes including the Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards. Ursula K. Le Guin has called her "a major fabulist, a marvelous magical realist, one of the strongest, most complex, most consistently feminist voices in fiction." In 2005, she was awarded the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. Her most recent novel, The Secret City, was published in April 2007.
She is the widow of the artist and experimental filmmaker Ed Emshwiller . Their son is the actor, artist, screenwriter, and novelist Peter Emshwiller .
She is the widow of the artist and experimental filmmaker Ed Emshwiller . Their son is the actor, artist, screenwriter, and novelist Peter Emshwiller .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
April 14, 2019
-La mejor cárcel es aquella que no muestra sus barrotes ni sus muros.-
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro El corcel (publicación original: The Mount, 2002) conocemos a Charley, un muchacho en forma de la raza Seattle, una montura con buena combinación de fuerza y tamaño, hijo de un campeón llamado Sam y al que los alienígenas que dominan nuestro planeta, conocidos como Chillones por las monturas, llaman Sonrisas. Cuando es entregado como montura de un Pequeño Amo, descubre que no es uno cualquiera: es Su Excelente Excelencia, el Próximo Gobernante de Todos Nosotros. Ambos comienzan su adiestramiento mientras entre los dos se genera, poco a poco, un vínculo especial.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro El corcel (publicación original: The Mount, 2002) conocemos a Charley, un muchacho en forma de la raza Seattle, una montura con buena combinación de fuerza y tamaño, hijo de un campeón llamado Sam y al que los alienígenas que dominan nuestro planeta, conocidos como Chillones por las monturas, llaman Sonrisas. Cuando es entregado como montura de un Pequeño Amo, descubre que no es uno cualquiera: es Su Excelente Excelencia, el Próximo Gobernante de Todos Nosotros. Ambos comienzan su adiestramiento mientras entre los dos se genera, poco a poco, un vínculo especial.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
September 7, 2012
When I began reading this story of an alien race that has not just conquered us, but turned us into their personal mounts, I expected a heavy-handed metaphor about slavery and social dynamics. What I got instead was part allegory, but also a fully-realized SF world, complete with intricate mechanisms by which an alien invader managed to tame us as a species.
The most surprising and pleasant part of The Mount is how thorough the author is with her explanation of how humans could become mounts to an alien invader. This is not simply a matter of humans being treated as properties by an alien race; instead, we get to appreciate the kindness of the Hoots for Humanity, and how they revere humans' strength and dignity. Furthermore, many humans themselves are perfectly at ease with this status as mounts: the protagonist keeps yearning for the dignity and pride of being a good mount, and we get a sense that this domination is so complete and ancient that the slaves themselves accept their status. There's some clever post-colonial commentary in there, that's for sure. It also works as one of the most startling and original alien invasion stories I've read in recent memory.
Where the book falls apart is in Ms. Emshwiller's choice for her protagonist. Charley is a bland character, and a bit dumb to boot. A lot of things happen around him and he fails to capture and convey the complexity and importance of these events. For the most part, he's self-obsessed, constantly yearns to return to his prior status as a prized mount, and pretty dense when it comes to appreciating the conflicts around him.
I can understand why the author chose Charley as a protagonist. For sure, telling the story of Humanity's fate as mounts to superior alien beings should be made all the richer if we can appreciate it from the perspective of a dominated character. Unfortunately, no one else outside of the Hoots themselves wish for humans to remain in bondage. They can't appreciate Charley's situation, and neither can he understand why they yearn for freedom. What's frustrating is that whenever it feels like a character is about to explain things to Charley, that character becomes vague, clams up, or otherwise moves onto something else. It feels as if the writer tried to isolate her protagonist from revelation, for the sake of keeping his disillusion going.
And so, we're stuck with Charley whining his way through the tribulations of his father's people as they try to break the hold of the Hoots. Charley eventually begins to change, but the change is pretty abrupt and a bit too convenient. For the remainder of the story up to that point, we're stuck with Charley's indifference, and it seeps into the tale to the point where we barely care for Humanity's struggle.
Overall, I loved the setting, and the way Emshwiller articulated her world. The Hoots were a truly original and intriguing alien species. The ways in which the Hoots stay in control of Humanity are interesting and nuanced, and their attitude is startling and thought-provoking. But alas, the dramatic arc of the story is bogged down by a protagonist who deflates any attempt to care.
The most surprising and pleasant part of The Mount is how thorough the author is with her explanation of how humans could become mounts to an alien invader. This is not simply a matter of humans being treated as properties by an alien race; instead, we get to appreciate the kindness of the Hoots for Humanity, and how they revere humans' strength and dignity. Furthermore, many humans themselves are perfectly at ease with this status as mounts: the protagonist keeps yearning for the dignity and pride of being a good mount, and we get a sense that this domination is so complete and ancient that the slaves themselves accept their status. There's some clever post-colonial commentary in there, that's for sure. It also works as one of the most startling and original alien invasion stories I've read in recent memory.
Where the book falls apart is in Ms. Emshwiller's choice for her protagonist. Charley is a bland character, and a bit dumb to boot. A lot of things happen around him and he fails to capture and convey the complexity and importance of these events. For the most part, he's self-obsessed, constantly yearns to return to his prior status as a prized mount, and pretty dense when it comes to appreciating the conflicts around him.
I can understand why the author chose Charley as a protagonist. For sure, telling the story of Humanity's fate as mounts to superior alien beings should be made all the richer if we can appreciate it from the perspective of a dominated character. Unfortunately, no one else outside of the Hoots themselves wish for humans to remain in bondage. They can't appreciate Charley's situation, and neither can he understand why they yearn for freedom. What's frustrating is that whenever it feels like a character is about to explain things to Charley, that character becomes vague, clams up, or otherwise moves onto something else. It feels as if the writer tried to isolate her protagonist from revelation, for the sake of keeping his disillusion going.
And so, we're stuck with Charley whining his way through the tribulations of his father's people as they try to break the hold of the Hoots. Charley eventually begins to change, but the change is pretty abrupt and a bit too convenient. For the remainder of the story up to that point, we're stuck with Charley's indifference, and it seeps into the tale to the point where we barely care for Humanity's struggle.
Overall, I loved the setting, and the way Emshwiller articulated her world. The Hoots were a truly original and intriguing alien species. The ways in which the Hoots stay in control of Humanity are interesting and nuanced, and their attitude is startling and thought-provoking. But alas, the dramatic arc of the story is bogged down by a protagonist who deflates any attempt to care.
March 2, 2011
Such a funny little book. I bought the book partly because of the cover. I was expecting something more grim. Also, I'm labeling this one as YA, even though the publisher hasn't designated it that way. It would be excellent for someone learning English, or who struggles with reading. The story is told from the point-of-view of a pre-teen human "mount."
And no, not "mount" in a pervvy way! Imagine humans as a cross between a horse and a slave, and little alien creatures are perfectly physiologically suited to riding on our shoulders and being our masters. Emshwiller has created a curious dystopia, where humans have become universally subjugated, but not always unhappy.
The way she slowly unveils the aliens - how they look, how they act, how they organize themselves is brilliant. I had to keep remolding and reshaping my image of them. Without giving anything else away, this is ultimately what the story is about: an evolving point of view.
Human subjugation seems to be my theme so far for 2011, from reading Kindred and Gone With the Wind to Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. There's not much more I can say, except humans as property is horrific. Hooray to abolitionists, manumitters, and people working today to help those who are still being trafficked.
And no, not "mount" in a pervvy way! Imagine humans as a cross between a horse and a slave, and little alien creatures are perfectly physiologically suited to riding on our shoulders and being our masters. Emshwiller has created a curious dystopia, where humans have become universally subjugated, but not always unhappy.
The way she slowly unveils the aliens - how they look, how they act, how they organize themselves is brilliant. I had to keep remolding and reshaping my image of them. Without giving anything else away, this is ultimately what the story is about: an evolving point of view.
Human subjugation seems to be my theme so far for 2011, from reading Kindred and Gone With the Wind to Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. There's not much more I can say, except humans as property is horrific. Hooray to abolitionists, manumitters, and people working today to help those who are still being trafficked.
September 16, 2023
3.5 Stars
This was such a weird piece of science fiction. The premise is bananas and I kinda loved it. While not necessarily all time favourite, it certainly was a memorable one.
This was such a weird piece of science fiction. The premise is bananas and I kinda loved it. While not necessarily all time favourite, it certainly was a memorable one.
March 18, 2018
You know a book is not for you when every time to try to read it you fall asleep.
I got to the end and am ready for book club.
I got to the end and am ready for book club.
February 13, 2011
I read this for a Goodreads book club. I did not vote for it, but I’m so glad that it won. It’s a very, very fast read. I inhaled it over 2 days, and today, the day I finished it, is our last dry day for at least a week, but rather than enjoy the outdoors, I couldn’t tear myself away from this book.
It’s published as an adult book but I think it would be perfect for high school classroom reading too; it reads very much like a young adult book and its main protagonist is a young person.
This book may be perfect for my real world book club; most of us are vegans, and this book is appropriately thought provoking.
The premise and story is extremely inventive. I’m not going to say anything about the plot because I knew very little and I think my enjoyment was magnified because I came in ignorant. It was fun to discover what this book was about as I started reading it.
It’s a political fable and a unique coming of age book. There is a lot to think about and discuss including freedom vs. comfort; free will; bonding and friendship and love; innate capabilities vs. what can be learned; prejudice and bigotry and how we treat others who are different from ourselves and what we consider to be ideal; brainwashing and identifying with the aggressor; and I definitely thought about my perceptions of humans in this book; and the storyline is definitely food for thought about how we treat horses and dogs, and farmed animals, and all domesticated animals.
One of my favorite quotes (possibly not as meaningful without context) is found on page 122 of my paperback edition: “Isn’t it odd that solitary should make a person even more solitary?”
This is a wonderful book for book club discussion or discussion with friends and others also reading it. I can’t wait to discuss it with the group starting March 1st.
For me, this was potentially a 5 star book, but I’m going with 4. The ending (while very satisfying in some ways) was a tad weak, and I think even more could have been done with the story, but I did really, really enjoy it. It’s probably 4 ½ stars for me, just because of how I noticed my perceptions of certain characters because of the way they were presented; it was fascinating and brilliantly done. So, 4 ½ stars.
It’s published as an adult book but I think it would be perfect for high school classroom reading too; it reads very much like a young adult book and its main protagonist is a young person.
This book may be perfect for my real world book club; most of us are vegans, and this book is appropriately thought provoking.
The premise and story is extremely inventive. I’m not going to say anything about the plot because I knew very little and I think my enjoyment was magnified because I came in ignorant. It was fun to discover what this book was about as I started reading it.
It’s a political fable and a unique coming of age book. There is a lot to think about and discuss including freedom vs. comfort; free will; bonding and friendship and love; innate capabilities vs. what can be learned; prejudice and bigotry and how we treat others who are different from ourselves and what we consider to be ideal; brainwashing and identifying with the aggressor; and I definitely thought about my perceptions of humans in this book; and the storyline is definitely food for thought about how we treat horses and dogs, and farmed animals, and all domesticated animals.
One of my favorite quotes (possibly not as meaningful without context) is found on page 122 of my paperback edition: “Isn’t it odd that solitary should make a person even more solitary?”
This is a wonderful book for book club discussion or discussion with friends and others also reading it. I can’t wait to discuss it with the group starting March 1st.
For me, this was potentially a 5 star book, but I’m going with 4. The ending (while very satisfying in some ways) was a tad weak, and I think even more could have been done with the story, but I did really, really enjoy it. It’s probably 4 ½ stars for me, just because of how I noticed my perceptions of certain characters because of the way they were presented; it was fascinating and brilliantly done. So, 4 ½ stars.
February 25, 2011
When I finished this book, I picked up another to read, and just couldn't do it. The "message" in this book is really strong and it takes a bit to digest. Even better, I don't think there is a single message. This short book was written brilliantly, so you can see whatever you want in the relationships.
This story takes place in some future or alternate timeline. Through whatever means, there are aliens living on earth. Emshwiller did a fantastic job describing, not so much what they look like (she did use some descriptors, but except for some fuzzy descriptions, you are left entirely to your own devices to imagine what you would like) as their relationships with and actions towards humans, who have (through, again, whatever means that is not described) become their "mounts" or servants.
I loved that Emshwiller did not bother with details about how they came to Earth, how long ago they did it or how it is they have actually tamed and selectively bred the human species. Clearly, it must have been generations, because the characters in the story were unaware of a lot of these details, and many people have been bred into distinct lines (Seattles, Tennessees). I've read a lot of books slamming her for leaving out these details, but I think it's not the focus, or even remotely important to the book.
This specific story is mostly about a young adolescent named Charley, who has been selected because of his superb breeding and conformation to be the mount for the next ruler. They both start off young to be trained to be the best mount and rider they can be. Charley is rescued by his father, Heron, and is taken to a village in the mountains where Heron is leading be beginnings of a revolution of people, which Charley objects to, but cannot fight. Eventually Charley and the future ruler of all get back to "civilization", changed and in a changed world and begin something new.
This novel lands itself squarely in the "speculative fiction" arena, and it's not so much fantasy or sci-fi, and anyone looking for fantasy/scifi will be very disappointed. The writing is as tight and fantastic as any I have read in a VERY long time. The story isn't plot driven and there is plenty of plot to keep anyone from getting bored. It's about characters and relationships, and this author has packed more relationships into a short book than most could put into an entire series, and the psychology in this book is amazing.
The themes of this book are strong, and consistent: slave/master relationships, slavery and individualism, adolescence and "finding" ones-self, and the struggle between parent and child. Reading the book, I kept thinking of the brainwashing/raising that Charley went through, and how it reminds me of the justifications and Stockholm Syndrome-like behavior of victims who always justify their abusers. Charlie is a pre-teen/early teenager in the book, and he does go through conflicting emotions, thought processes, and behaviors, which might seem inconsistent, but I read it as a conflicted and confusing boy trying to rationalize what was going on and find his place with what little he had to work with.
My biggest quibble with a book is the immensely unrealistic ending, but it's not terrible, it was just a little unbelievable, even though it did leave some questions and unresolved issues.
I really wish Goodreads had a half star system, because I think this book is stronger than four stars, but not quite five stars. Because I really did find it amazing and interesting, I figured I would push it to five stars.
This story takes place in some future or alternate timeline. Through whatever means, there are aliens living on earth. Emshwiller did a fantastic job describing, not so much what they look like (she did use some descriptors, but except for some fuzzy descriptions, you are left entirely to your own devices to imagine what you would like) as their relationships with and actions towards humans, who have (through, again, whatever means that is not described) become their "mounts" or servants.
I loved that Emshwiller did not bother with details about how they came to Earth, how long ago they did it or how it is they have actually tamed and selectively bred the human species. Clearly, it must have been generations, because the characters in the story were unaware of a lot of these details, and many people have been bred into distinct lines (Seattles, Tennessees). I've read a lot of books slamming her for leaving out these details, but I think it's not the focus, or even remotely important to the book.
This specific story is mostly about a young adolescent named Charley, who has been selected because of his superb breeding and conformation to be the mount for the next ruler. They both start off young to be trained to be the best mount and rider they can be. Charley is rescued by his father, Heron, and is taken to a village in the mountains where Heron is leading be beginnings of a revolution of people, which Charley objects to, but cannot fight. Eventually Charley and the future ruler of all get back to "civilization", changed and in a changed world and begin something new.
This novel lands itself squarely in the "speculative fiction" arena, and it's not so much fantasy or sci-fi, and anyone looking for fantasy/scifi will be very disappointed. The writing is as tight and fantastic as any I have read in a VERY long time. The story isn't plot driven and there is plenty of plot to keep anyone from getting bored. It's about characters and relationships, and this author has packed more relationships into a short book than most could put into an entire series, and the psychology in this book is amazing.
The themes of this book are strong, and consistent: slave/master relationships, slavery and individualism, adolescence and "finding" ones-self, and the struggle between parent and child. Reading the book, I kept thinking of the brainwashing/raising that Charley went through, and how it reminds me of the justifications and Stockholm Syndrome-like behavior of victims who always justify their abusers. Charlie is a pre-teen/early teenager in the book, and he does go through conflicting emotions, thought processes, and behaviors, which might seem inconsistent, but I read it as a conflicted and confusing boy trying to rationalize what was going on and find his place with what little he had to work with.
My biggest quibble with a book is the immensely unrealistic ending, but it's not terrible, it was just a little unbelievable, even though it did leave some questions and unresolved issues.
I really wish Goodreads had a half star system, because I think this book is stronger than four stars, but not quite five stars. Because I really did find it amazing and interesting, I figured I would push it to five stars.
March 13, 2023
Hoopla is an absolute hero when it comes to finding weird stuff you'd never heard of before, case in point, this freaky lil book about an alien race who has tamed human kind and trained them to be their horses.
Immediately I was taken by the voice of Charley, aka Smiley, an 11 year old boy Seattle mount, perfectly contented to be in service to his Hoot host. And I was enthralled to follow him as he has to confront the meaning of his life and his desires when a rebellion frees the mounts of his village and kills every host but his own. I won't say the book is without it's faults, it can be frustrating at times because Charley flip-flops a decent amount and his narration doesn't always fill out what might seem like valuable world-building information, but he is 11, uneducated, and severely confused from a lifetime of programming. Plus, having just come off of another sci-fi that tried to do entirely too much, I'll say a certain level of vagueness in world-building is generally helpful for me. If a book spends too much time trying to flesh out mechanics, I am almost guaranteed to find inconsistencies that detract from the story.
Ultimately, this is exactly what I want from a book - an unsettling and absurd premise presented in an almost comic voice that questions love, kindness, and power. I'm going to assume it's perfect for fans of Ursula K. LeGuin who is blurbed on the jacket, and I will suggest it's perfect for fans of George Saunders because it could be a premise plucked right from one of his collections.
Immediately I was taken by the voice of Charley, aka Smiley, an 11 year old boy Seattle mount, perfectly contented to be in service to his Hoot host. And I was enthralled to follow him as he has to confront the meaning of his life and his desires when a rebellion frees the mounts of his village and kills every host but his own. I won't say the book is without it's faults, it can be frustrating at times because Charley flip-flops a decent amount and his narration doesn't always fill out what might seem like valuable world-building information, but he is 11, uneducated, and severely confused from a lifetime of programming. Plus, having just come off of another sci-fi that tried to do entirely too much, I'll say a certain level of vagueness in world-building is generally helpful for me. If a book spends too much time trying to flesh out mechanics, I am almost guaranteed to find inconsistencies that detract from the story.
Ultimately, this is exactly what I want from a book - an unsettling and absurd premise presented in an almost comic voice that questions love, kindness, and power. I'm going to assume it's perfect for fans of Ursula K. LeGuin who is blurbed on the jacket, and I will suggest it's perfect for fans of George Saunders because it could be a premise plucked right from one of his collections.
June 22, 2012
It doesn’t take much guess-work to figure out how this wound up on my TBR pile. It’s a rather obvious allegory for animal rights, although instead of apes enslaving people like in Planet of the Apes, it’s an alien species with cat-like ears and weak legs enslaving humans. The concept is a good one, but the execution fell short for me, which is sad, because I wanted to love it.
The structure of the book is problematic. The first chapter is from the perspective of an entirely random Hoot who we never see again. Ever. We also never see his mount again. This is just weird. The rest of the book is told from the first person perspective of Charley, except for one random chapter narrated by his father.
I also found myself completely baffled by Charley. In spite of being enslaved by the Hoots, he still wishes to use a bit one day and other things that drive his father nuts, and one cannot help but agree with his father.
Emshwiller does show how teenage boys clash with their fathers very well, however. Charley’s relationship with his dad, Heron, is well fleshed-out and intriguing.
I won’t spoil it, but the ending bothered me as well, and I found it profoundly confusing. In fact, I’d say for the book as a whole I am simply left perplexed by it. I feel like I missed something or didn’t quite get an accurate picture of the world they are living in or something.
Overall, it’s a very different take on humans being enslaved by another species, but its execution is rather disappointing. Recommended to readers with a marked interest in scifi depictions of human slavery.
Check out my full review. (Link will be live June 25, 2012).
The structure of the book is problematic. The first chapter is from the perspective of an entirely random Hoot who we never see again. Ever. We also never see his mount again. This is just weird. The rest of the book is told from the first person perspective of Charley, except for one random chapter narrated by his father.
I also found myself completely baffled by Charley. In spite of being enslaved by the Hoots, he still wishes to use a bit one day and other things that drive his father nuts, and one cannot help but agree with his father.
Emshwiller does show how teenage boys clash with their fathers very well, however. Charley’s relationship with his dad, Heron, is well fleshed-out and intriguing.
I won’t spoil it, but the ending bothered me as well, and I found it profoundly confusing. In fact, I’d say for the book as a whole I am simply left perplexed by it. I feel like I missed something or didn’t quite get an accurate picture of the world they are living in or something.
Overall, it’s a very different take on humans being enslaved by another species, but its execution is rather disappointing. Recommended to readers with a marked interest in scifi depictions of human slavery.
Check out my full review. (Link will be live June 25, 2012).
July 19, 2021
You weakling humans.
Who are we to proclaim the rights of the oppressed, when we oppress others? Who are we to condemn slavery when we still allow slavery to occur? Who are we to demand liberty while we still remove the freedoms of others? Why can't we all just get along? This is the essence of the allegory that is "The Mount". A noble and thought provoking message all wrapped up inside a mild science fiction novella.
Emshwiller starts off with an original and imaginative alien invasion story which evolves into more of a coming-of-age theme. While the characters are thoughtfully painted, the lines between antagonist and protagonist are confusing and at times frustrating; a collage of indecision. The story starts out well enough but seems to lose impetus finishing with a whimper, not a bang. I would have preferred a much more definitive finale.
Now for the BIG plot holes. Here we have an alien race that has conquered interstellar travel, yet the best weapons they come up with are fancy cattle prods. Not likely. And then we have the humans who seem to have been dumbed down to the level of barnyard animals. Not likely. The aliens are written as puny creatures that can hardly even stand; quite fragile in fact. A bunch of humans kitted out with even side-arms could have wiped them out and still be home in time for lunch! What happened to our weapons? We still had aeroplanes so we still had technology. A very big hole.
Emshwiller should have left Science Fiction to the experts. Overall, at times I found this hard to read but it has an underlying message that makes you want to read on, but nevertheless a flawed story in my opinion.
Who are we to proclaim the rights of the oppressed, when we oppress others? Who are we to condemn slavery when we still allow slavery to occur? Who are we to demand liberty while we still remove the freedoms of others? Why can't we all just get along? This is the essence of the allegory that is "The Mount". A noble and thought provoking message all wrapped up inside a mild science fiction novella.
Emshwiller starts off with an original and imaginative alien invasion story which evolves into more of a coming-of-age theme. While the characters are thoughtfully painted, the lines between antagonist and protagonist are confusing and at times frustrating; a collage of indecision. The story starts out well enough but seems to lose impetus finishing with a whimper, not a bang. I would have preferred a much more definitive finale.
Now for the BIG plot holes. Here we have an alien race that has conquered interstellar travel, yet the best weapons they come up with are fancy cattle prods. Not likely. And then we have the humans who seem to have been dumbed down to the level of barnyard animals. Not likely. The aliens are written as puny creatures that can hardly even stand; quite fragile in fact. A bunch of humans kitted out with even side-arms could have wiped them out and still be home in time for lunch! What happened to our weapons? We still had aeroplanes so we still had technology. A very big hole.
Emshwiller should have left Science Fiction to the experts. Overall, at times I found this hard to read but it has an underlying message that makes you want to read on, but nevertheless a flawed story in my opinion.
June 13, 2018
This was as tasty as a strawberry treat for a sturdy, steady mount.
I could nitpick and perhaps find technical flaws with this novel, or complain about some of the vagueness and abrupt changes to the personality of certain characters near the ending, but I simply enjoyed this utterly weird little gem of a story so much that it gets full marks.
I see others also complain about our protagonist, that he is bland, unexciting and uninteresting to follow because he is largely oblivious to the world around him and would , but I think this is precisely what makes the story so fresh and original compared to the exhausted old trope of our protagonist being the courageous leader of the human resistance. As someone who lived under various degrees of dictatorship for the past thirty-ish years, I can attest that Charley is, in fact, your everyday citizen, who longs for things to calm down and to get back to being a good, everyday citizen, and this contrast against the usual John Connors is what makes the ending ever so much more dramatic and meaningful compared to your run-of-the-mill alien invasion stories.
I could nitpick and perhaps find technical flaws with this novel, or complain about some of the vagueness and abrupt changes to the personality of certain characters near the ending, but I simply enjoyed this utterly weird little gem of a story so much that it gets full marks.
I see others also complain about our protagonist, that he is bland, unexciting and uninteresting to follow because he is largely oblivious to the world around him and would , but I think this is precisely what makes the story so fresh and original compared to the exhausted old trope of our protagonist being the courageous leader of the human resistance. As someone who lived under various degrees of dictatorship for the past thirty-ish years, I can attest that Charley is, in fact, your everyday citizen, who longs for things to calm down and to get back to being a good, everyday citizen, and this contrast against the usual John Connors is what makes the ending ever so much more dramatic and meaningful compared to your run-of-the-mill alien invasion stories.
January 19, 2019
This book is unique. It leaves some unanswered questions but it's a good and interesting read.
March 17, 2023
La Monture est un roman surprenant et volontairement malaisant qui permet, sous couvert d’une intrigue faussement classique, d’interroger notre rapport aux animaux mais surtout les questions de domination et de racisme entre les peuples. La narration peut parfois déstabiliser mais le roman n’en reste pas moins très intéressant en proposant un schéma qui ne tombe pas dans l’écueil du manichéisme. Notons qu’il sort en poche au mois d’avril pour celleux que ça intéresse!
Retrouvez la critique complète sur yuyine.be!
Retrouvez la critique complète sur yuyine.be!
January 7, 2017
Color me unimpressed.
There were times it was good, but never very good, and the book's avant garde purpose remains unclear.
The basic question that drove her, "What it would be like if a smart prey animal rode a predator?" isn't really answered. There are certainly some interesting problems in depicting the sociology and psychology of what an intelligent prey animal might be like, but there's no good reason for the choices she made. For example, are prey always "nice", as the Hoots are depicted? Well, given that the old and weak are left on the periphery of a herd for predators to pick off first seems to argue against that. Are they likely to be tricky, and only pretending to be nice? It's hard to see where that comes from; the trickiest animals I can think of aren't prey, but neither due they tend to be apex predators (think corvids, octopuses, or dolphins).
The characters aren't fleshed out particularly well. I still have no idea what kind of people (using the term "people" loosely, I guess) would be like — are they moral? Thoughtful? Passionate?
Why are the Hoots there, anyway? It is kind of hinted at towards the end, but that just raised other questions.
I pondered whether the book could be best read as an allegory, but the most obvious reading is akin to Ayn Rand's disturbed misanthropiy: the world is divided into those that take and those that are taken from, and the latter must rise up against their oppressors. Thankfully, the reconciliation between the boy and his rider belies that. Is it about masters and slaves? Not really; too much of the concept of slavery is tied up in the fact/belief that the two are fundamentally equal and that there is no moral justification for ownership. But we "own" fairly intelligent beasts all the time, so why shouldn't the apparently superior Hoots own humans? (We might not like it, but that doesn't transform it into a master/slave dilemma.) Oh, maybe it's an animal-rights allegory, putting us in the place of the animals?
But I don't think the book was good enough to think any harder about that.
Oh — the saving grace is that some of the language and imagery is quite beautiful. I just think it was wasted on this particular story.
There were times it was good, but never very good, and the book's avant garde purpose remains unclear.
The basic question that drove her, "What it would be like if a smart prey animal rode a predator?" isn't really answered. There are certainly some interesting problems in depicting the sociology and psychology of what an intelligent prey animal might be like, but there's no good reason for the choices she made. For example, are prey always "nice", as the Hoots are depicted? Well, given that the old and weak are left on the periphery of a herd for predators to pick off first seems to argue against that. Are they likely to be tricky, and only pretending to be nice? It's hard to see where that comes from; the trickiest animals I can think of aren't prey, but neither due they tend to be apex predators (think corvids, octopuses, or dolphins).
The characters aren't fleshed out particularly well. I still have no idea what kind of people (using the term "people" loosely, I guess) would be like — are they moral? Thoughtful? Passionate?
Why are the Hoots there, anyway? It is kind of hinted at towards the end, but that just raised other questions.
I pondered whether the book could be best read as an allegory, but the most obvious reading is akin to Ayn Rand's disturbed misanthropiy: the world is divided into those that take and those that are taken from, and the latter must rise up against their oppressors. Thankfully, the reconciliation between the boy and his rider belies that. Is it about masters and slaves? Not really; too much of the concept of slavery is tied up in the fact/belief that the two are fundamentally equal and that there is no moral justification for ownership. But we "own" fairly intelligent beasts all the time, so why shouldn't the apparently superior Hoots own humans? (We might not like it, but that doesn't transform it into a master/slave dilemma.) Oh, maybe it's an animal-rights allegory, putting us in the place of the animals?
But I don't think the book was good enough to think any harder about that.
Oh — the saving grace is that some of the language and imagery is quite beautiful. I just think it was wasted on this particular story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2015
Hundreds of years ago, diminutive aliens, the Hoots, conquered Earth. Some humans are free, but most are slaves. Those treated the best are the ones chosen as mounts, constantly feeling a Hoot's weight on their shoulders, trained for races or exhibition, treated like pets and friends... but slaves nonetheless. Young Charley is one of these mounts, serving the Hoots' future leader, and when Charley's father, a leader of the human rebellion, frees him, he's not all that happy about it. Who, after all, would want to live in the woods and struggle to survive, when you can be taken care of and treated well and complimented.
Obviously, this is one of those classic SF tricks, using an invented alien race to examine issues of slavery and how racism can be internalized and a lot of other issues, including, potentially, how we treat animals. It's such a classic trick that I was surprised that the book was released in 2002. While reading it, I thought that it was a much older work, from the 70s, perhaps. This does not mean it feels out of date... rather, it's got a timeless quality, both in the style (which is mostly told through Charley's adolescent point of view, which, among other things, means that not a lot has to be explained or justified to the audience), and in the themes. It's the kind of book I could easily be seen taught in schools.
Is it enjoyable, though? For the most part, yes. There are times when it seems to meander and get a little boring, and I think the horse/Mount metaphor was pushed a little too hard at times, but it's a solid book, the kind that discusses issues but doesn't feel overly preachy, isn't deep enough that people would struggle with it, can be enjoyed by adults and younger people, and it's not too long, either. I also appreciated that there was some decent thought put into the aliens and how they work, and they weren't all treated as monsters (although nor are they completely innocent).
It's probably not going to be one of my favorites, but I'm glad I read it and sure I'll recommend it in certain contexts to other people.
Obviously, this is one of those classic SF tricks, using an invented alien race to examine issues of slavery and how racism can be internalized and a lot of other issues, including, potentially, how we treat animals. It's such a classic trick that I was surprised that the book was released in 2002. While reading it, I thought that it was a much older work, from the 70s, perhaps. This does not mean it feels out of date... rather, it's got a timeless quality, both in the style (which is mostly told through Charley's adolescent point of view, which, among other things, means that not a lot has to be explained or justified to the audience), and in the themes. It's the kind of book I could easily be seen taught in schools.
Is it enjoyable, though? For the most part, yes. There are times when it seems to meander and get a little boring, and I think the horse/Mount metaphor was pushed a little too hard at times, but it's a solid book, the kind that discusses issues but doesn't feel overly preachy, isn't deep enough that people would struggle with it, can be enjoyed by adults and younger people, and it's not too long, either. I also appreciated that there was some decent thought put into the aliens and how they work, and they weren't all treated as monsters (although nor are they completely innocent).
It's probably not going to be one of my favorites, but I'm glad I read it and sure I'll recommend it in certain contexts to other people.
May 2, 2008
At first, I hated this book, and even to the end I had to work to get past the premise. The book takes places on earth in a future where a small but highly intellegent race of alines (Hoots) have conquered and enslaved humanity. They use and treat humans exactly as we use horses -- the Hoots ride their Mounts by sitting on their shoulders, fitting the humans with bits, keeping them in stalls, feeding them apples and other fruit, and racing them for entertainment. This plays out as the least subtle, most overbearing metaphor for a master/slave, oppressor/oppressed, colonizer/colonized that I've ever read; either as a message about how we treat animals or how slaver dehumanizes both the slave-master and the slave, the premise was so forced as to drive me crazy at times. Tolkien once dismissed his friend C.S. Lewis's Narnia books by stating "I dislike alegory," and this book reminds you why straight alegory is seldom by itself enjoyable.
However, what gives this three stars his how completely human Emshwiller makes her characters. They may be clearly acting out their role as "the good slave master" and "the slave who at first does not want his freedom," but each one is so carefully fleshed out that they somehow trancend the rather simplistic archetypes they embody and become highly human (or Hoot). The book never takes on a terrible degree of subtlety, but it is human and emotional, which saves it from being simply a deadly read like Raynd's "Anthem."
However, what gives this three stars his how completely human Emshwiller makes her characters. They may be clearly acting out their role as "the good slave master" and "the slave who at first does not want his freedom," but each one is so carefully fleshed out that they somehow trancend the rather simplistic archetypes they embody and become highly human (or Hoot). The book never takes on a terrible degree of subtlety, but it is human and emotional, which saves it from being simply a deadly read like Raynd's "Anthem."
December 18, 2020
white people should not be allowed to write fantasy oppression stories ever again. "handmaid's tale", "planet of the apes", whatever the fuck was going on with "harry potter", enough. i'm tired of it, other poc are tired of it, jews are tired of it. enough.
there aren't enough allegories in the world for me to make sense of whatever oppression fantasy this was supposed to be. little monkey people with big ass hands took over the entire human race? like...are you deadass? if the antagonists had at least been SLIGHTLY interesting in their origin and design (or maybe my mind just can't conjure up any terrifying thoughts for what's essentially described as a baby ginger with 90s yaoi proportions), then i might have enjoyed this just a little bit. but it's just so boring and unimaginative, and it does the absolute one thing i hate in all books and media; introducing characters in the last third of the book. and i'm not just talking minor characters, that shit in the last couple chapters with charley's """love interest""" or whoever the fuck that turns on a dime from hating him to loving him within two chapters because, fuck it, i guess this book needed a happy ending, really made me want to pull my hair out.
it's boring, it's been done before with slightly better results, and does nothing new for the alien invasion, apocalyptic earth, "what if white people were treated like brown people" narrative.
there aren't enough allegories in the world for me to make sense of whatever oppression fantasy this was supposed to be. little monkey people with big ass hands took over the entire human race? like...are you deadass? if the antagonists had at least been SLIGHTLY interesting in their origin and design (or maybe my mind just can't conjure up any terrifying thoughts for what's essentially described as a baby ginger with 90s yaoi proportions), then i might have enjoyed this just a little bit. but it's just so boring and unimaginative, and it does the absolute one thing i hate in all books and media; introducing characters in the last third of the book. and i'm not just talking minor characters, that shit in the last couple chapters with charley's """love interest""" or whoever the fuck that turns on a dime from hating him to loving him within two chapters because, fuck it, i guess this book needed a happy ending, really made me want to pull my hair out.
it's boring, it's been done before with slightly better results, and does nothing new for the alien invasion, apocalyptic earth, "what if white people were treated like brown people" narrative.
April 23, 2009
An amazing book - the best sort of sci-fi fable that refuses to go where I kept thinking it had to. Must read for anyone who loves a riveting quick read that has the depth to keep you thinking long after you've blazed through it.
April 24, 2011
Beautiful and strange, full of longing, heartache, and aliens, as all young adult fiction should be.
November 11, 2020
A science fiction book like no other I’ve ever read.
Emshwiller has a unique style. Loved it. Highly recommended
Emshwiller has a unique style. Loved it. Highly recommended
March 1, 2024
2024 Book #8:
The Mount (2002) by Carol Emshwiller
A whimsical yet unsettling sci-fi tale written from the perspective of an eleven-year-old boy named Charley. Charley is a mount, the steed of a small gremlin-like alien called a Hoot. In the universe of Emshwiller’s novel, the Hoots have conquered Earth and subjugated most of humanity, enslaving them as pack animals and convincing them that humans were “naturally” designed to be ridden. This is literally the premise of the novel; and the premise is probably its strongest element. For the most part, The Mount is transparent ideology critique: humans stand in for whatever oppressed group, and the Hoots are the oppressors. The absurd imagery of human-as-horse draws attention to the absurd, arbitrary value systems that affect us every day. At the same time, Emshwiller is smarter than to simply have humans be totally good and Hoots pure evil. Instead, much of the novel explores the complex relationship between Charley and his baby Hoot rider (who is also subject to the systemic force of ideology). The writing is straightforward and unadorned – appropriate given the youthful narrator. I might have preferred a bit more expressivity in the prose and more focus on plot, but overall this is a unique, bizarre, and underrated coming-of-age sci-fi gem. I can’t believe it was written by someone in their eighties. (4/5)
The Mount (2002) by Carol Emshwiller
A whimsical yet unsettling sci-fi tale written from the perspective of an eleven-year-old boy named Charley. Charley is a mount, the steed of a small gremlin-like alien called a Hoot. In the universe of Emshwiller’s novel, the Hoots have conquered Earth and subjugated most of humanity, enslaving them as pack animals and convincing them that humans were “naturally” designed to be ridden. This is literally the premise of the novel; and the premise is probably its strongest element. For the most part, The Mount is transparent ideology critique: humans stand in for whatever oppressed group, and the Hoots are the oppressors. The absurd imagery of human-as-horse draws attention to the absurd, arbitrary value systems that affect us every day. At the same time, Emshwiller is smarter than to simply have humans be totally good and Hoots pure evil. Instead, much of the novel explores the complex relationship between Charley and his baby Hoot rider (who is also subject to the systemic force of ideology). The writing is straightforward and unadorned – appropriate given the youthful narrator. I might have preferred a bit more expressivity in the prose and more focus on plot, but overall this is a unique, bizarre, and underrated coming-of-age sci-fi gem. I can’t believe it was written by someone in their eighties. (4/5)
December 12, 2015
Emshwiller clearly likes conflating animals with people . . . one of her early works, "Carmen Dog" features a scenario where women turn into animal and vice versa and done properly that kind of thing can come across as a finely tuned metaphor (much like Ionesco's absurdist play "Rhinoceros") and done poorly will probably be like one of those low budget werewolf movies they tend to show at midnight cinemas. Here, she takes a situation where people become a certain kind of animal, and yet makes it both literal and metaphorical. Which is a neat trick.
It's not obvious what's happening at first, as the book opens with a monologue from what sounds like someone talking to their noble steed, putting it through their paces as they take a journey through a forest. But as the chapter, and the later chapters make chillingly clear, the situation is exactly what you're hoping it isn't . . . in the future after an alien invasion where the aliens are like cartoons characters with giant hands and arms and tiny legs, humanity has been trained to be exactly what the aliens need: a way to get around. And so everyone becomes literally livestock, brought up and bred for certain traits, treated marvelously because no one wants a shabby looking mount (plus without them the aliens can't get anywhere) and rendered so docile that you'd almost expect them to stand in a little clusters neighing to themselves and smacking their lips over apples and sugar cubes. It's not our finest moment. But the perks are kind of nice.
Emshwiller does an interesting thing here, which is tell the story (other than that first chapter, and maybe one passage later on) from the point of view of Charley, a young lad of maybe twelve who has been part of all this from birth and thinks its just grand. He likes racing, looks forward to being the mount for the future ruler of the alien race and enjoys being treated like someone special, pampered as only owners who really, honestly care about you might do. As you can probably figure, Charley is in for a bit of a rude awakening, one that takes most of the book. It's not a perspective that you expect and kind of a brave one to take, as it forces Emshwiller to critique her own scenario almost obliquely, as Charley is all for the status quo and once he leaves it, spends a good chunk of his time defending it and wishing he were back in his stable, where he can live his predictable life with its creature comforts. It can make for unsettling reading at times as well, since a lot of it deliberately reminiscent of a master-slave situation, with both sides using justifications for their acts and reaction that may sound awfully familiar to students of history, the aliens seeing it as "Well, without you we're stuck and we treat you real nice so its win-win!" and the mounted humans seeing nothing wrong with being told they're useful and given treats as long as they get to hang out in climate control and run around the yard for a bit every day. And being that the humans are being literally treated as livestock, that makes for some very disturbing echoes at times.
It doesn't take long before Charley finds out that his missing father, a Mount famous for his speed and athleticism, is hiding out in the mountains because he's a rebel, baby, trying to gather up all the remaining saddle-sore humans so they can try to take back the planet, forcing Charley to go on the run with his Hoot and reevaluate his world in the process. Its a little bit of a bumpy ride for him.
This is a short reading book, probably something a dedicated reader can polish off in four or five hours (or less) of steady reading, which is good because beyond the basic scenario Emshwiller doesn't have a huge amount of story to tell and there are moments, especially in the middle sections that feel a little like vamping as she adds sections in an attempt to beef up what should be a longish short story into something that just scrapes novel length. Most of this adds some local color but after fifty pages of Charley hating his father for taking him away from his nice, safe world, you start to hope the plot can start moving forward again. Fortunately, she sprinkles little details of this new, somewhat frightening world we're encountering, sometimes in subtle ways (a nice touch I like is that Charley's father has difficulty speaking thanks to years of having a bit in his mouth, one that's shattered his side teeth), whether it's the contrasting views between alien and human (to her credit, the aliens are not stereotypically evil, they seem more opportunistic than anything else and seem to genuinely think the situation is beneficial to both sides, or at least blind themselves to the basic inhumanity of enslaving sentient beings as free rides) or how the human species has been stratified into different breeding categories based on what the Mounts are used for and what stock they come from. Despite the tale being basically allegorical, "Animal Farm" style, it feels grounded to the point where you can imagine it really happening.
And maybe it already has. As the story races toward its conclusion, picking up substantially once everyone stops wandering around, you see how the principals involved on both sides have to decide the moral and ethical issues at stake, whether its right to justify treating someone like a valuable piece of machinery simply because you give them cute nicknames and pat them on the head when they're good, and whether it's okay to tell yourself that situation is right simply because you like three square meals and a bit of heat in the winter. It raises the question of security versus freedom, and what someone would be willing to give up simply for the sake of certainty and whether it's worth letting someone take control of your life, and perhaps the lives of all who follow you, just so you can be guaranteed days of coziness and good food. As always, the decision to live a life with increasing uncertainties is the more frightening one on the face of it, but ultimately the book suggests, and we may be able to confirm in these present days, that taking the easy way out may seem to reduce a lot of the stress of living, but the consequences can be dire, and may be harder to back away from than we would have originally considered.
It's not obvious what's happening at first, as the book opens with a monologue from what sounds like someone talking to their noble steed, putting it through their paces as they take a journey through a forest. But as the chapter, and the later chapters make chillingly clear, the situation is exactly what you're hoping it isn't . . . in the future after an alien invasion where the aliens are like cartoons characters with giant hands and arms and tiny legs, humanity has been trained to be exactly what the aliens need: a way to get around. And so everyone becomes literally livestock, brought up and bred for certain traits, treated marvelously because no one wants a shabby looking mount (plus without them the aliens can't get anywhere) and rendered so docile that you'd almost expect them to stand in a little clusters neighing to themselves and smacking their lips over apples and sugar cubes. It's not our finest moment. But the perks are kind of nice.
Emshwiller does an interesting thing here, which is tell the story (other than that first chapter, and maybe one passage later on) from the point of view of Charley, a young lad of maybe twelve who has been part of all this from birth and thinks its just grand. He likes racing, looks forward to being the mount for the future ruler of the alien race and enjoys being treated like someone special, pampered as only owners who really, honestly care about you might do. As you can probably figure, Charley is in for a bit of a rude awakening, one that takes most of the book. It's not a perspective that you expect and kind of a brave one to take, as it forces Emshwiller to critique her own scenario almost obliquely, as Charley is all for the status quo and once he leaves it, spends a good chunk of his time defending it and wishing he were back in his stable, where he can live his predictable life with its creature comforts. It can make for unsettling reading at times as well, since a lot of it deliberately reminiscent of a master-slave situation, with both sides using justifications for their acts and reaction that may sound awfully familiar to students of history, the aliens seeing it as "Well, without you we're stuck and we treat you real nice so its win-win!" and the mounted humans seeing nothing wrong with being told they're useful and given treats as long as they get to hang out in climate control and run around the yard for a bit every day. And being that the humans are being literally treated as livestock, that makes for some very disturbing echoes at times.
It doesn't take long before Charley finds out that his missing father, a Mount famous for his speed and athleticism, is hiding out in the mountains because he's a rebel, baby, trying to gather up all the remaining saddle-sore humans so they can try to take back the planet, forcing Charley to go on the run with his Hoot and reevaluate his world in the process. Its a little bit of a bumpy ride for him.
This is a short reading book, probably something a dedicated reader can polish off in four or five hours (or less) of steady reading, which is good because beyond the basic scenario Emshwiller doesn't have a huge amount of story to tell and there are moments, especially in the middle sections that feel a little like vamping as she adds sections in an attempt to beef up what should be a longish short story into something that just scrapes novel length. Most of this adds some local color but after fifty pages of Charley hating his father for taking him away from his nice, safe world, you start to hope the plot can start moving forward again. Fortunately, she sprinkles little details of this new, somewhat frightening world we're encountering, sometimes in subtle ways (a nice touch I like is that Charley's father has difficulty speaking thanks to years of having a bit in his mouth, one that's shattered his side teeth), whether it's the contrasting views between alien and human (to her credit, the aliens are not stereotypically evil, they seem more opportunistic than anything else and seem to genuinely think the situation is beneficial to both sides, or at least blind themselves to the basic inhumanity of enslaving sentient beings as free rides) or how the human species has been stratified into different breeding categories based on what the Mounts are used for and what stock they come from. Despite the tale being basically allegorical, "Animal Farm" style, it feels grounded to the point where you can imagine it really happening.
And maybe it already has. As the story races toward its conclusion, picking up substantially once everyone stops wandering around, you see how the principals involved on both sides have to decide the moral and ethical issues at stake, whether its right to justify treating someone like a valuable piece of machinery simply because you give them cute nicknames and pat them on the head when they're good, and whether it's okay to tell yourself that situation is right simply because you like three square meals and a bit of heat in the winter. It raises the question of security versus freedom, and what someone would be willing to give up simply for the sake of certainty and whether it's worth letting someone take control of your life, and perhaps the lives of all who follow you, just so you can be guaranteed days of coziness and good food. As always, the decision to live a life with increasing uncertainties is the more frightening one on the face of it, but ultimately the book suggests, and we may be able to confirm in these present days, that taking the easy way out may seem to reduce a lot of the stress of living, but the consequences can be dire, and may be harder to back away from than we would have originally considered.
January 15, 2024
3,5/5 ⭐ L'idée est vraiment géniale, qu'est-ce que c'est bien trouvé ! Les concepts de liberté et de rapport aux animaux domestiques poussent le lecteur à vraiment réfléchir et à se remettre en question, j'ai beaucoup aimé. En revanche, les quelques fautes de frappe disséminées dans les dialogues m'ont parfois sorti de la lecture et j'ai trouvé dommage que les relations entre les personnages secondaires ne soient pas plus exploités. Un regard plus large et un peu de recul sur cet univers si prometteur aurait vraiment apporté un plus dans mon ressenti (même si je pense que le but de l'auteur était justement de rester fixé sur le personnage principal pour que le lecteur réfléchisse avec lui).
June 17, 2019
Its just kind of standard young adult sci fi
October 13, 2021
Carol Emshwiller est une autrice américaine de SF que je découvre. Elle a reçu quelques « petites » distinctions comme le prix Philippe K. Dick pour cet ouvrage 😁. Et à part quelques nouvelles, c’est son 1er roman a être traduit en français. Merci donc aux éditions Argyll pour cette découverte !
Dire que cette lecture a été perturbante serait un euphémisme 😅. Dès le 1er chapitre on est dans le bain avec la seule occasion que l’on aura d’être dans la tête d’un Hoot et d’avoir sa vision des choses et surtout de sa précieuse monture (nous). Car ils nous aiment, ils nous adorent même ! Rien n’est trop beau pour nous. C’est un honneur, bien sûr, car ils sont la meilleure chose qui nous soit jamais arrivée. Vous voyez l’idée.
Après ce 1er chapitre, on bascule dans la tête de Smiley (nom humain Charley), un jeune ado/poulain choisi pour sa lignée impeccable, parfaitement endoctriné et au service de Petit-Maître, le futur dirigeant des Hoots. Smiley est très content de son sort, il adore son Petit-Maître. Donc quand son père, figure de la résistance humaine, vient l’arracher à son petit confort, notre Charley accompagné de son Petit-Maître va voir toute sa vie complètement détruite. Et ça, il n’aime pas du tout. C’est ça votre liberté ? À crever de froid et de faim dans les montagnes, à mélanger notre lignée avec n’importe qui, alors que ma stalle m’attends avec de délicieux biscuits sec et de l’eau chaude ? Ma destinée était de courir dans les arènes et d’être la meilleure monture qui soit.
Autant vous dire que c’était assez difficile à lire surtout que défaire toutes ses croyance profondément ancrées, ça va prendre du temps et que rien n’est évident ni aussi simple que eux, c’est les méchants et nous, les gentils. Car il n’est pas tout seul dans cette galère. Il y a Petit-Maître aussi et ils vont tous les deux devoir changer et grandir ensemble.
Mais c’est aussi extrêmement fascinant et enrichissant. En partant simplement de la relation dominé/dominant, l’autrice tacle tellement de sujets dans ces deux cent et quelques pages, c’est juste fou ! Non seulement elle réussit avec brio à dépeindre l’asservissement d’une population par une autre, mais elle va aussi nous parler de racisme, de féminisme, de notre rapport à la nature/animaux, de ce que l’on est prêt à sacrifier pour un minimum de confort et plein d’autres choses !
Rien dans cette lecture n’est simple ni manichéenne. Elle est faite pour déranger, pour se poser des questions et c’est absolument passionnant à défaut d’être confortable. Je salue donc encore une fois les éditions Argyll pour ce choix audacieux et bien sûr, Carol Emshwiller pour cette maîtrise :).
Dire que cette lecture a été perturbante serait un euphémisme 😅. Dès le 1er chapitre on est dans le bain avec la seule occasion que l’on aura d’être dans la tête d’un Hoot et d’avoir sa vision des choses et surtout de sa précieuse monture (nous). Car ils nous aiment, ils nous adorent même ! Rien n’est trop beau pour nous. C’est un honneur, bien sûr, car ils sont la meilleure chose qui nous soit jamais arrivée. Vous voyez l’idée.
Après ce 1er chapitre, on bascule dans la tête de Smiley (nom humain Charley), un jeune ado/poulain choisi pour sa lignée impeccable, parfaitement endoctriné et au service de Petit-Maître, le futur dirigeant des Hoots. Smiley est très content de son sort, il adore son Petit-Maître. Donc quand son père, figure de la résistance humaine, vient l’arracher à son petit confort, notre Charley accompagné de son Petit-Maître va voir toute sa vie complètement détruite. Et ça, il n’aime pas du tout. C’est ça votre liberté ? À crever de froid et de faim dans les montagnes, à mélanger notre lignée avec n’importe qui, alors que ma stalle m’attends avec de délicieux biscuits sec et de l’eau chaude ? Ma destinée était de courir dans les arènes et d’être la meilleure monture qui soit.
Autant vous dire que c’était assez difficile à lire surtout que défaire toutes ses croyance profondément ancrées, ça va prendre du temps et que rien n’est évident ni aussi simple que eux, c’est les méchants et nous, les gentils. Car il n’est pas tout seul dans cette galère. Il y a Petit-Maître aussi et ils vont tous les deux devoir changer et grandir ensemble.
Mais c’est aussi extrêmement fascinant et enrichissant. En partant simplement de la relation dominé/dominant, l’autrice tacle tellement de sujets dans ces deux cent et quelques pages, c’est juste fou ! Non seulement elle réussit avec brio à dépeindre l’asservissement d’une population par une autre, mais elle va aussi nous parler de racisme, de féminisme, de notre rapport à la nature/animaux, de ce que l’on est prêt à sacrifier pour un minimum de confort et plein d’autres choses !
Rien dans cette lecture n’est simple ni manichéenne. Elle est faite pour déranger, pour se poser des questions et c’est absolument passionnant à défaut d’être confortable. Je salue donc encore une fois les éditions Argyll pour ce choix audacieux et bien sûr, Carol Emshwiller pour cette maîtrise :).
February 12, 2010
I read this book because it promised to play out a recurring daydream of mine. It was somewhat satisfying in that regard, but the same concept could have gotten a much more sophisticated treatment by a better writer, or maybe if written from a different perspective.
The daydream/plot: What would happen if advanced aliens invaded or captured us and made us their beasts of burden and/or pets like we've done to horses, and there was nothing we could do about it because they were as much more advanced than we are as we are than horses? What would happen to us on the psychological level as individuals and as a species? Would we just have to give up at some point? And after generations this way, with no education, no memory of what we once were, dominated, controlled by punishment and reward, would we come to think of it as normal? I guess we saw this to a substantial degree with slavery in real life, but this would be more extreme and permanent, and the aliens would have even less reason to be sympathetic to our plight.
That's the concept of this book, though that's really more the setting than the plot. The plot is really a 12 year old boy's struggle to understand freedom and independent living after having grown up as a subservient mount for the weak-legged aliens. He has only ever wanted to be a good mount thanks to his brainwashing and domination since birth, but he is freed by wild and escaped humans (that's not really a spoiler). From then on, the events of the story aren't particularly important, just his reactions to them, and the back and forth in his mind between the creature comforts, praise, and order of life in the stables vs. the messy freedom of a democratic life in the wild.
The story is told from the child's perspective, and therefore all of the information we get is conveyed via childlike thoughts. And they aren't just the thoughts of a child, but a child who has grown up as a kept animal. While it's not grunts and lizard brain stuff, it's still very basic and simplistic. That may be authentic in this setting and a technical accomplishment, but it drags after a while and greatly limits the story.
On the plus side, the aliens in this book are original and interesting. I still can't quite picture one, but their various features are intriguing and it's fun to speculate on their origin and history. On the downside, a number of the major transitional events and arcs in the story are not only a little unclear due the odd speechways of the aliens and/or a lack of explanation, but don't seem to happen for convincing reasons. In the past I've wished for a book that truly communicated the impenetrable alien-ness of aliens rather than just sticking pointy ears and green skin on what are otherwise essentially humans. I suppose the lack of explanation here did that to a small degree, but I think it was unintentional and really more due to sub-par story construction.
I'm still glad I read it, just to breathe some life into one of my daydreams. I hope somebody will now write a fantasy/sci-fi book about another of my daydreams: a guy who has the power to make the garbage take itself out instantly with just the snap of the fingers and has a magic refrigerator in which things never go bad.
The daydream/plot: What would happen if advanced aliens invaded or captured us and made us their beasts of burden and/or pets like we've done to horses, and there was nothing we could do about it because they were as much more advanced than we are as we are than horses? What would happen to us on the psychological level as individuals and as a species? Would we just have to give up at some point? And after generations this way, with no education, no memory of what we once were, dominated, controlled by punishment and reward, would we come to think of it as normal? I guess we saw this to a substantial degree with slavery in real life, but this would be more extreme and permanent, and the aliens would have even less reason to be sympathetic to our plight.
That's the concept of this book, though that's really more the setting than the plot. The plot is really a 12 year old boy's struggle to understand freedom and independent living after having grown up as a subservient mount for the weak-legged aliens. He has only ever wanted to be a good mount thanks to his brainwashing and domination since birth, but he is freed by wild and escaped humans (that's not really a spoiler). From then on, the events of the story aren't particularly important, just his reactions to them, and the back and forth in his mind between the creature comforts, praise, and order of life in the stables vs. the messy freedom of a democratic life in the wild.
The story is told from the child's perspective, and therefore all of the information we get is conveyed via childlike thoughts. And they aren't just the thoughts of a child, but a child who has grown up as a kept animal. While it's not grunts and lizard brain stuff, it's still very basic and simplistic. That may be authentic in this setting and a technical accomplishment, but it drags after a while and greatly limits the story.
On the plus side, the aliens in this book are original and interesting. I still can't quite picture one, but their various features are intriguing and it's fun to speculate on their origin and history. On the downside, a number of the major transitional events and arcs in the story are not only a little unclear due the odd speechways of the aliens and/or a lack of explanation, but don't seem to happen for convincing reasons. In the past I've wished for a book that truly communicated the impenetrable alien-ness of aliens rather than just sticking pointy ears and green skin on what are otherwise essentially humans. I suppose the lack of explanation here did that to a small degree, but I think it was unintentional and really more due to sub-par story construction.
I'm still glad I read it, just to breathe some life into one of my daydreams. I hope somebody will now write a fantasy/sci-fi book about another of my daydreams: a guy who has the power to make the garbage take itself out instantly with just the snap of the fingers and has a magic refrigerator in which things never go bad.
February 7, 2022
Un jour, les Hoots ont débarqués sur Terre, et cette espèce extraterrestre aux jambes faibles à peine capables de les porter à eu la bonne idée d'asservir l'espèce humaine pour en faire leurs montures. Oui, comme des chevaux. Ceux-ci sont élevés depuis le plus jeune âge dans l'optique d'être une bonne monture, ne pas trop parler, suivre les directives aux gestes, faire confiance à son cavalier, etc.
Et c'est dans ce contexte que nous allons suivre Charley alias Smiley, un jeune garçon de 11 ans ainsi que son Hoot, Son-Excellence-Vouée-A-Devenir-Notre-Maître-A-Tous durant leur apprentissage de la liberté.
Au moment où commence le récit, un vent de révolte souffle sur les montures et Charley, bien contre son gré est libéré par son père et emmené en montagne dans un village de montures sauvages. Pour Charley qui a déjà bien intégré sa domination et qui se satisfait, voir même s'enorgueillit, de son sort, la confrontation avec sa libération va être rude.
* * *
Carol Emshwiler livre avec la monture un récit passionnant, qui parle de domination au sens large, et surtout de la difficulté de s'affranchir de ces codes qu'on intériorise au point de trouver normal certaines forme d'asservissement.
Le personnage de Charley est fascinant sur ce point avec sa manière de normaliser récompenses et mauvais traitement, avec ses rêves bridés par l'horizon de la domination qui se limitent à être une bonne monture, faire des courses, gagner des rubans…
Être libre est compliqué, c'est difficile et quand on est conforme aux attentes de la servitude, il est parfois plus simple et bien plus confortable de s'en satisfaire.
Mais bien sûr, pour tout ceux qui ne se coulent pas dans ce carcan, c'est la violence, les brimades, la torture m��me, et toujours sous couvert d'une fausse bienveillance, porté par cet hypocrite crédo de gentillesse des Hoots. Là encore le roman tape juste, et on ne peut pas ne pas penser à cette frange politique naïve qui justifie les pires copinage fascistes sous prétexte de gentillesse et bienveillance.
De la naïveté, il y en a dans l'écriture simple et sans fioritures de l'autrice qui renforce ainsi le sentiment de malaise qui prend devant certaines scène au fond franchement horrible mais vue par les yeux de Charley avec un détachement et une normalisation glaçante.
Finalement, le chemin sera long, mais surprenamment, aidé par la relation avec son jeune Hoot forte et en fin de compte débarrassé de son rapport de force, Charley et avec lui probablement l'humanité, trouvera une nouvelle voie vers une cohabitation inévitable.
Carol Hemshwiller livre avec la monture un roman fort, marquant, dérangeant à bien des égards qui parle avec acuité des rapports de force, de la domination et peut-être aussi de la façon dont l'humanité considère les autres animaux. Elle le fait avec un récit perturbant tant dans le fond que dans la forme qui n'est pas sans évoquer le conte philosophique et qui marque fortement.
https://imaginelec.blogspot.com/2021/...
Et c'est dans ce contexte que nous allons suivre Charley alias Smiley, un jeune garçon de 11 ans ainsi que son Hoot, Son-Excellence-Vouée-A-Devenir-Notre-Maître-A-Tous durant leur apprentissage de la liberté.
Au moment où commence le récit, un vent de révolte souffle sur les montures et Charley, bien contre son gré est libéré par son père et emmené en montagne dans un village de montures sauvages. Pour Charley qui a déjà bien intégré sa domination et qui se satisfait, voir même s'enorgueillit, de son sort, la confrontation avec sa libération va être rude.
* * *
Carol Emshwiler livre avec la monture un récit passionnant, qui parle de domination au sens large, et surtout de la difficulté de s'affranchir de ces codes qu'on intériorise au point de trouver normal certaines forme d'asservissement.
Le personnage de Charley est fascinant sur ce point avec sa manière de normaliser récompenses et mauvais traitement, avec ses rêves bridés par l'horizon de la domination qui se limitent à être une bonne monture, faire des courses, gagner des rubans…
Être libre est compliqué, c'est difficile et quand on est conforme aux attentes de la servitude, il est parfois plus simple et bien plus confortable de s'en satisfaire.
Mais bien sûr, pour tout ceux qui ne se coulent pas dans ce carcan, c'est la violence, les brimades, la torture m��me, et toujours sous couvert d'une fausse bienveillance, porté par cet hypocrite crédo de gentillesse des Hoots. Là encore le roman tape juste, et on ne peut pas ne pas penser à cette frange politique naïve qui justifie les pires copinage fascistes sous prétexte de gentillesse et bienveillance.
De la naïveté, il y en a dans l'écriture simple et sans fioritures de l'autrice qui renforce ainsi le sentiment de malaise qui prend devant certaines scène au fond franchement horrible mais vue par les yeux de Charley avec un détachement et une normalisation glaçante.
Finalement, le chemin sera long, mais surprenamment, aidé par la relation avec son jeune Hoot forte et en fin de compte débarrassé de son rapport de force, Charley et avec lui probablement l'humanité, trouvera une nouvelle voie vers une cohabitation inévitable.
Carol Hemshwiller livre avec la monture un roman fort, marquant, dérangeant à bien des égards qui parle avec acuité des rapports de force, de la domination et peut-être aussi de la façon dont l'humanité considère les autres animaux. Elle le fait avec un récit perturbant tant dans le fond que dans la forme qui n'est pas sans évoquer le conte philosophique et qui marque fortement.
https://imaginelec.blogspot.com/2021/...
March 3, 2023
3,5/5
Un peu court, mais des questionnements, un point de vue et une mise en forme très intéressante !
Un peu court, mais des questionnements, un point de vue et une mise en forme très intéressante !
February 9, 2014
...The Mount is clearly a science fiction novel but the focus is very much on psychology. The alien invasion is not the center of the story, there are no epic space battles or explorations of strange alien cultures. Readers looking for that type of science fiction will be disappointed. The novel is something of an allegory for slavery or oppression and can be interpreted or applied to many different situations. Some reviewers have suggested it comments on the way we treat animals ourselves for instance and, although I don't think that was Emshwiller's intent, it fits well enough. It's a very effective text really, I'm impressed with how much Emshwiller has packed into such a short novel. It is challenging the reader's convictions about freedom and oppression and invites them to pick the characters brains to understand their motivations. I'm pretty sure I haven't gotten all out of this novel yet after one reading. I'm going to have to revisit it in a few years.
Full Random Comments review
Full Random Comments review
March 16, 2010
I read Emshwiller's "The Mount" because it is our sci fi book club selection for April. The narrator in "The Mount" is a young human who has been bred to serve as a mount for the alien race called Hoots by the humans. Humans serve like horses for the aliens, providing them transport and also serving as racing animals for sport. The aliens feed the humans with propaganda, but also use brute force and bridals and bits to keep the humans in-line. "The Mount" is a unique and creative work of fiction. I'm not blown away by it, but it's thought provoking nonetheless. I'm looking forward to our discussion on it.
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