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The Fresco (2000)

von Sheri S. Tepper

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8202026,509 (3.65)64
The bizarre events that have been occuring across the United States -- unexplained "oddities" tracked by Air Defense, mysterious disappearances, shocking deaths -- seem to have no bearing on Benita Alvarez-Shipton's life. That is, until the soft-spoken thirty-six-year-old bookstore manager is approached by a pair of aliens asking her to transmit their message of peace to the powers in Washington. An abused Albuquerque wife with low self-esteem, Benita has been chosen to act as the sole liaison between the human race and the Pistach, who have offered their human hosts a spectacular opportunity for knowledge and enrichment. But ultimately Benita will be called upon to do much more than deliver messages -- and may, in fact, be responsible for saving the Earth. Because the Pistach are not the only space-faring species currently making their presence known on her unsuspecting planet. And the others are not so benevolent.… (mehr)
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I have in the past enjoyed some of this author's novels, but thoroughly disliked others. This one almost scraped into the 'OK' category because there are some aspects which were enjoyable. The trouble is, these are outweighed by the Mary Sue nature of the protagonist Benita (abused dormat wife turns into confident articulate representative after suitable 'adjustment' by benevolent and powerful aliens), and the wish fulfilment which resolves all the world's problems by the intervention of those same aliens.

There are a couple of subplots dealing with other, inimical aliens and their alliance with a small coterie of reactionary anti-feminist, anti-environment politicians, but those difficulties are fairly easily swept aside. And the central connundrum of a civilisation which has based its peaceful interventionist stance on a false reading of a work that has been deliberately obscured - the Fresco of the title - is satisfied by a solution in which the ends satisfy the means.

There are some attempts to be satirical/humorous - for example, the misogynism shown to women in a Middle Eastern country is dealt with by making the women appear ugly and smelly so that the men no longer feel the need to imprison them - but those I found clumsy.

The book isn't badly written as such, but it is unrelentingly didatic and has quite a bit of infodumping especially at the start where we are given Benita's background. And after being told very clearly that the alien emissaries are non sexual (their race differentiates at age thirteen and only some individuals can reproduce) the whole ending seems to turn this on its head. My basic problem with it is that it is a 'magic wand' way of solving all the world's problems, including many still with us today, suggesting that humanity is incapable of bettering itself - an update to the theme of the Erich von Daniken bestsellers of the 1970s. In other words, we are doomed unless beneficient aliens step in to bail us out. So I'm afraid I didn't like it, hence the one star rating. ( )
  kitsune_reader | Nov 23, 2023 |
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I highly recommend it. ( )
  mirihawk | May 21, 2020 |
The Fresco is a decent first-contact novel that is not up to the high standards of other Tepper titles I have read. There are some inventive concepts here and the main character is very likable. Despite the dire consequences for humanity, and the adversity the MC comes from, the tone of the writing is often light. The plot also moves along at a good clip. Where it falls apart for me is the blatant socio-political commentary. Even though I personally agree with most all of the statements she makes, the delivery is just too heavy-handed and quickly becomes tiresome.

As far as stand-alone novels, The Gate to Women's Country or Six Moon Dance are both better places to start with Tepper's catalog. Both are brilliant while this novel is good. ( )
1 abstimmen ScoLgo | Feb 21, 2020 |
I’ve read quite a few of Sheri Tepper’s books. I usually consider them a guaranteed entertaining read; regardless of the author’s tendency to preach her spiritual/ecological agenda, and her tendency toward overwrought denouements. I can take that in stride, when balanced out by vivid worldbuilding, unique and interesting settings and social extrapolation, and dramatic events that ofter veer toward the horrific. Lots of Tepper’s books have lots of that good stuff.

This one features none of Tepper’s strengths, and practically works as a showcase for all of her weaknesses. I think most of the problem here is that it’s set in present-day Earth, rather than a fantasy world. Usually Tepper is forced by her sci-fi settings to use metaphor to get her agenda across. Without that barrier, every single page of this book beats the reader over the head with Tepper’s political opinions. It also made me less than impressed with those opinions. When filtered through a fantastic allegory, I’ve usually felt that I agree with her (even if I don’t agree with the didacticism). I still don’t totally disagree, but the opinions in this book, applied directly to our own world, made her politics come across as overly simplistic and somewhat condescending.

Our heroine, Benita (that means “good” – get it!) is a minority woman escaping an abusive relationship. (Men! Bad!) Luckily, although disadvantaged in many ways, Benita works at a bookstore and has been able to self-educate herself (Education! Good!). Her employers are nice to her (Gay men! Good!). She has a son who’s a jerk and a daughter who’s nice. (Men BAD! Women GOOD!) Benita’s life really turns around, though, when she happens to meet a couple of aliens, members of the Pistach race, who ask her to be their representative to Our Leaders.

These aliens seem to just want to help Earth and help end our wars and ecological depredations, (Peace and Ecology GOOD!), and help us join a Galactic Federation. Unfortunately, they’re just one member of a complicated society out there in space, and some other alien species would rather use Earth as a hunting reserve. (Humans tasty!) Some self-centered right-wing politicians make a deal with other aliens that would give away our legal rights. (Right-wing BAD!) In order to defend Human Rights (to not be hunted as game), Earth will need the help of our new allies. Unfortunately, at a critical juncture, the Pistach have a social crisis of their own regarding religious and historical revelations. If it’s not resolved, they might descend into chaos and leave us to our fate. (Snacks!)

The way the crisis is resolved is absolutely INFURIATING (not to mention unrealistic, unbelievable, and dumb). Without creating any spoilers, I think I can say that Tepper comes out firmly on the side that believes that both truth and history should take a back seat to a political agenda, and that knowingly re-writing the past as lies is just fine and dandy if it serves her perceived ‘greater good.’ She dismisses the destruction of ancient historical artifacts with a blithe ‘they weren’t very well-crafted anyway.’ Myself, I believe in learning from history – even the most unpleasant aspects of it. I don’t believe in whitewashing the past or intentionally twisting facts. So I really did find this book quite personally offensive.

I also felt that it failed as far as what Tepper was trying to do. I couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be humorous or not. There certainly are many bits that seem to be intended as funny (the anti-abortionists being injected with alien fetuses; the middle-eastern women having an illusion of ugliness cast over them) but then it veers into over-earnestness. The tone wasn’t consistent or effective. Overall, it just wasn’t very good. At all. Disappointing.

( )
1 abstimmen AltheaAnn | Feb 9, 2016 |
I liked this book, about aliens contacting humanity through a self-educated middle-aged woman in a sometimes abusive marriage. A good story, it is also a reflection on how societies determine their values and how those values color reflection and interpretation of history and art. ( )
  nmele | Nov 8, 2013 |
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Targete, JeanUmschlagillustrationCo-Autoreinige Ausgabenbestätigt
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Along the Oregon coast an arm of the Pacific shushes softly against rocky shores.
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Don't you find that predators are those who most often assert absolute rights to personal freedoms? (Chapter 23)
The plague in Afghanistan [...] We've been told that all the women in Afghanistan [...] are ugly as sin. Even the young ones look like the Wicked Witch of the West, or that old hag in Snow White. Each one has a tattoo on her forehead in the local dialect that says, The lustful who punish beauty would be wiser to control lust. (Chapter 24) elisions added
"I remember often what you said the night of our dinner with your people, about how your people are improving while your god stayed the same. [...] And so they have gone on generation after generation, unchanging, and in following them, their people have shut off all avenues to a better way of life. Would it not be a good thing if we could retire old gods, like old soldiers to a peaceful place in the country? Let them live like retired warriors whose time of violence is past? Or like old politicians, perhaps, who have learned the wrong lessons in striving youth and have not had enough lifetimes to unlearn them." (Chiddy to Benita Alverez, Chapter 25) Elisions added.
Unfortunately, your penal system is based on religious notions of penitence and reformation, which can be evoked only where a sense of shame is present. [...] If one feels no shame, punishment only angers.

Logically, therefore, your prisons should seeks to instill shame, but even if it were possible to do so, it would offend your civil libertarians to do so. "Shaming" others is considered an affront to their dignity. Since shame is essential to remorse [...] if you csnnot evoke shame, then forget about penitence or reformation. It won't happen.

In place of shame, you have substituted a meaningless phrase "Paying one's debt to society." You send a murderer or a rapist to prison for a few years, and then you say "he has paid his debt to society." Of course he has done no such thing. A term in prison pays for nothing, not if it is for ten years or twenty or fifty! The victim or victims are still violated or dead, and to say that the evildoer has paid his debt is to denigrate the value of the victim. This in turn causes anger among the victim's family or friends [...] This in turn causes disrespect for the law. [...] "[I]f the law does not do justice, the people will mock the law." (Chapter 46, elisions added)
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The bizarre events that have been occuring across the United States -- unexplained "oddities" tracked by Air Defense, mysterious disappearances, shocking deaths -- seem to have no bearing on Benita Alvarez-Shipton's life. That is, until the soft-spoken thirty-six-year-old bookstore manager is approached by a pair of aliens asking her to transmit their message of peace to the powers in Washington. An abused Albuquerque wife with low self-esteem, Benita has been chosen to act as the sole liaison between the human race and the Pistach, who have offered their human hosts a spectacular opportunity for knowledge and enrichment. But ultimately Benita will be called upon to do much more than deliver messages -- and may, in fact, be responsible for saving the Earth. Because the Pistach are not the only space-faring species currently making their presence known on her unsuspecting planet. And the others are not so benevolent.

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