It’s not uncommon to hear the refrain that it’s harder to write a short story versus a full-length novel; encountering powerful short fiction can feel akin to sitting in on a storytelling masterclass. In my reading life, especially as I’ve developed a deeper appreciation for short stories and fallen in love with novellas and novelettes, I’ve had the privilege of reading some of these unforgettable works. One of them is a science fiction story by a real genius of shorter tales. Ted Chiang wrote an emotional gut punch of a first contact novelette in “Story of Your Life,” later adapted into the Oscar-nominated film Arrival.
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
For anyone with a sense of wonder and curiosity about life beyond the stars, first contact stories promise cathartic exploration of the “what ifs,” and the best ones grapple with deeper themes tied to the human condition. An initial encounter and contact with alien life forms is bound to take established perspectives and long-held beliefs for a ride. In “Story of Your Life,” Chiang gives readers a compellingly intellectual look at linguistics through Dr. Louise Banks, a linguist recruited by the Army to decipher the language of and communicate with newly arrived extraterrestrials. We understand the tragic element of the story from the start, and it exquisitely sharpens the magnitude of each moment in the story, leaving you with a thousand tiny cuts by the end. In Arrival, the viewer is effectively convinced of the questions being asked by the story, and swept away by the drama of the encounter as well as the tension between Dr. Banks and her prickly colleague, only to be taken out by the tragedy in the form of a twist.
I’ve done the thing of comparing the original novelette and its adaptation before, by design, but I’m more inclined to take each on their own merits without pitting them against each other. I will say that I was more emotionally bereft from start to finish reading Chiang’s story, and that I would recommend watching the movie first since the twist is such a formidable piece of that screenplay.
“Story of Your Life” was originally published in Starlight 2, an anthology edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden, before being collected alongside more of Chiang’s short fiction in Stories of Your Life and Others. This was my introduction to the author, and what a way to get to know him. I remain blown away by his ability to drive so much depth and resonance into such brief works. This novelette will break your heart and put it back together again. It remains my all-time favorite first contact story.
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