The Membranes: A Novel

Oh how amazing this book is. Quick read, I did cry

In 2100 civilization has moved to subaquatic habitats due to climate change, the earth became uninhabitable thanks to the hole in the ozone layer (everyone remember what a topic this was in the 90s? Boy did we stop talking about that). As a result of the conditions on earth people became increasingly concerned with skincare, and carried on those habits after the move under the sea. Momo is an elite dermal care technician, a bit isolated, she doesn't seek partners or relationships most of the time. Unknown to her clients, the membrane skin treatments provides Momo most of the intimacy she needs (through the work Momo seems to be what we would now consider bisexual/aromantic), except that of the estranged mother she hasn't really talked to in 20 years.In her childhood Momo's mother was a major executive at MegaHard, always working, the only brief relationships she saw her mother connect to people were with other women, and her mother's own dermal technician, that seems to be what pushed her into the career. However, Momo was very sick as a child and underwent a major surgery, that included gender reassignment (warning for this, it does not seem to have been traumatic, but Momo was not consulted/non-consenting). When Momo came home from the hospital, her longtime friend in the hospital no longer in her life, her mother just as absent as ever, Momo's relationship with her mother was permanently fractured. That's not the whole story though, as Momo re-connects with her mother suddenly after 20 years, she uncovers deep secrets about her mother and herself that she could have never conceived.This slim novella packs an incredible punch in ideas, prescience to contemporary technology and discussion of gender & sexuality. Not only that, but it was written in Taiwan in 1995, translated to English for the first time just now. The translator gives wonderful context for this having been part of an explosion of ideas in the Taipei punk scene just after coming out of martial law, when artistic experimentation was booming. There is also included a brilliant breakdown of the ideas explored by the novella; the lengthy added section at the back with critical analysis made this well worth the price to pick up a copy for myself.The main thing that weakened the story for me is a pretty hefty info dump, where we essentially get introduced to Momo initially, then the narrative is "here's everything that's happened in the past 100 years" for a complete chapter, which may not work for some readers. If you are in for thought provoking science fiction, I very highly recommend picking this one up.

Ari Heinrich is the acclaimed translator of Qiu Miaojin’s novel Last Words from Montmartre (2014). He also does a good job translating The Membranes. His article in the book contextualizes the novel as well as the author pretty well.

giving the matrix vibes, lots of gender analysis and the break down of social ties in the modern world. not for ppl looking for character centered story, this is meaning heavy which i love but others might find the characters uninteresting. meditation on the body, perception, global climate change, and the beauty industry.

La protagonista vive en el peculiar mundo de alrededor de 2100. Los eventos que tienen lugar en tal época no son lo más relevante, sino la percepción de sí misma, las emociones y experiencias vitales del personaje central. Es una vida muy diferente a la que experimentamos, pero que ilumina los mecanismos que nos impulsan. Muy recomendable.