Marshmallow has already read and reviewed Scythe, Thunderhead, and The Toll, the three books in Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe series. Today she is writing about Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe, a collection of stories Shusterman published in 2022 that explores some of the lesser known features of the same story universe.
Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you liked reading any of the books in the Arc of a Scythe trilogy, then this is the book for you!
Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): In the three original books about the world of scythes and the Thunderhead, Shusterman did an amazing job of creating an immersive story. But such tales have a tendency to leave the reader wanting more, which is exactly what happened to me at the end of the series. While the main plot lines were all resolved well, I still really wanted to read more about that world; the premise is simply intriguing (a post-mortality world full of fascinating technology and sheltered by a benevolent AI on the cusp of a new era of space expansion). Luckily, Shusterman was very nice and wrote this collection of stories, some in collaboration with other authors.
The first story–titled “Formidable”–goes to a period before the events in the Arc of a Scythe series took place. It elaborates on the rise of Scythe Marie Curie who is a major character with a past that is often mentioned with only sparing detail. In Gleanings, we finally learn more about her rise to fame as the scythe who set humanity free from its bureaucratic history. The next story is titled “Never Work with Animals” and introduces a new scythe, a new setting, and a new story but with one familiar face. “A Death of Many Colors” similarly shows another scythe and makes Shusterman’s fiction feel even more real by adding yet another thread to the tapestry he has been weaving.
By adding so many new stories about scythes, the Thunderhead, and their world, Shusterman creates an even more expansive setting. “Unsavory Row.” “The Mortal Canvas,” “The Persistence of Memory,” and “Perchance to Gleam” especially were stories that colored in so many new aspects of the sci-fi world and were so very detailed in that goal. “Unsavory Row” peeled back the word ‘unsavory’ and presented another perspective of what that label means to those labeled. My favorite story “The Mortal Canvas” teaches readers about the period right after immortality was achieved. “Perchance to Gleam” also explores another part of that world and its different culture (and thus the scythes’ different gleaning methods). In “A Martian Minute,” we learn what truly happened in Goddard’s mysterious past and “Cirri” and “A Dark Curtain Rises” reveal what happens after he is later defeated.
Questions you forgot you had are answered and the world of the Arc of a Scythe is broadened. Reading this book is a great way to continue the journey you started when you picked up the first book!
Marshmallow’s Review: I’d like to start by praising Shusterman’s fluid prose. I think part of what makes this book and the Arc of a Scythe books so good is his writing. I really only started appreciating it when I noticed some parts of some stories (the ones that were co-written with others) sounded a little different and sometimes a little less smooth. In general though, this book flows so clearly that you have no choice but to allow yourself to be swept forward with the story. All of the stories are fascinating and are deeply satisfying to read.
I find the world Shusterman describes to be extremely interesting and reading this book expanded my knowledge and understanding of it significantly. I particularly liked reading “The Mortal Canvas.” All of the stories are mostly related to the main series and are gratifying to read as an extension. They all make you think and compare between the texts. But “The Mortal Canvas” could also just be a stand alone story as well. I think you could read it without having read the previous books (though that might also go for all the others, just as long as you don’t mind having everything revealed to you). In this story, young students at an art school grapple with the disconnect between the only reality they’ve known (a world without death) and the past their teacher came from (a world where death took her husband and was a constant). This plot not only reveals more about that period of time, it also asks truly deep questions about mortality and what it means to us as creators, humans, and beings that exist at all. Reading “The Mortal Canvas” made me really think about life and what our purpose is. That sounds cliche, but it did. This ending line reveals just a fraction of the fascinating ideas inspired by this story:
‘She said her life was completed,’ […] ‘That’s something that none of us will ever experience. Even if we’re gleaned someday, it won’t be the same, because we weren’t born mortal. From this movement on, no one will ever know what it feels like to be complete’ […] she smiled through her tears–because they both knew that together they might just get one step closer to completion” (Shusterman 246-7).
I think this story has made me recognize how meaningful life is. While length is lovely, it is the depth of what you do with it that matters the most. Shusterman’s imaginary world offers opportunities to wrestle with what it means to be human when that length is luckily granted to all but that meaning is unluckily lost to most. In this aspect, I think this book and the series that came before it are truly masterpieces. These books are books that we should read alongside 1984 and Brave New World. While I would recommend waiting until you’re older than twelve, I would still suggest reading this book to all bunnies ready to recognize a literary jewel!
Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.
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