This content originally appeared on Go Make Things and was authored by Go Make Things
I love the entire Wayfarer Series by Becky Chambers, but book four, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, is my favorite.
The book finds four travelers from very different backgrounds and cultures stuck together at a small “hotel” (as they exist in the story’s universe) during an unexpected tech failure event.
Each of Becky Chambers’ books has a big theme it focuses on, and this one’s is community and belonging.
Within that theme, it explores topics like…
- The kindness of strangers in a catastrophe.
- The importance of focusing on your immediate local community, and then branching out.
- How much more we have in common with people we’re very different from than we often realize.
- Systemic oppression.
- Who defines what it means to be a whole, worthy human, and how those definitions make some people “less than.”
- The artificial barriers to participation that stem from not considering the needs of everyone.
- How communities can overcome systemic barriers by just getting shit done.
- The power of one small act to start a chain reaction of kindness.
- The difficultly (and importance) of letting your guard down.
But the biggest thing that really stood out for me in this book was the Rakree.
In the world of the Wayfarer books, Akarak are a small, nomadic, bird-like species. Their home was destroyed by colonization and slavery. They have no place to call their own. They are a diaspora.
Every year, they gather at a different location in open space, join airlocks, and have a festival of sorts, called the Rakree. They socialize and party, but also exchange goods, food, services, and so on.
There is no money involved.
If you need something, and someone has it, they give it to you. If you have something, and someone needs it, you give it to them.
It’s understood that someone’s ability to have the things they need to survive should not be dependent on whether or not they have enough money or social standing to afford it.
And holy shit, if that’s not a lesson we need now more than ever.
Like all of Becky Chambers’ books, this one is an utter delight. It’s like reading a cup of tea. Soothing, joyful, the antidote to the awfulness of the world around us.
This is the kind of escapism the current moment calls for.
Like this? A Lean Web Club membership is the best way to support my work and help me create more free content.
This content originally appeared on Go Make Things and was authored by Go Make Things
Go Make Things | Sciencx (2025-08-09T14:30:00+00:00) The Rakree. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/08/09/the-rakree/
Please log in to upload a file.
There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.