On the airwaves, all the talk is of the new blue planet – pristine and habitable, like our own was 65 million years ago, before we took it to the edge of destruction. Off the air, Billie Crusoe and the renegade robo-sapian Spike are falling in love. Along with Captain Handsome and Pink, they’re assigned to colonize the new blue planet. But when a technical maneuver intended to make it inhabitable backfires, Billie and Spike’s flight to the future becomes a surprising return to the distant past –- "Everything is imprinted forever with what it once was." What will happen when their story combines with the world’s story? Will they –- and we –- ever find a safe landing place?

To the meeting.

Jeanette Winterson is one of the writers that is key to the bookstore I work in. I haven't read this one yet, so I have to!

This was a lovely read. It reminded me of works by David Mitchell, with the three stories in different eons and places and connected by books and manuscripts handed on in the story.
It looks like a SF story about humans conflict with its environment, but in the end it is a story about humanity and human feelings. Lonelines isn't about being by yourself. That's fine, right and good, desirable in many ways. Lonelines is about finding a landing-place, or not, and knowing that, whatever you do, you can get back there.
But I never found a place to land.
I marked a lot of other quotes I found funny or notable, thoughts about our relationship with animals, robots and humanity, men and women, or just plain funny.

But any of us who is older must somehow for the War into lives that also existed before the war.

Do you [men] ever think about a world where there are no grown women at all? Just little girls?

In fact, I am depressed which is pretty much illegal.

'Humans share 97% of there genetic material with apes,' said Spike, 'But they feel no kinship.'

'Dinosaurs will depress the house prices.'

'Stories are always true,' said Handsome. 'It is the facts that mislead.'

Now that we are in space I feel much better. I think maybe I was allergic to gravity. It is kind of flattening.

In the days before we invented spacecraft, we dreamed of flying saucers, but what we build were rockets: fuel-greedy, ineffecient and embarassingly phallic.

'You are a robot,' I said [...].
'And you are a human being - but I don't hold that against you.

'I never heard of an activistic robot'

Maybe I could [...] Maybe if I had [...] Maybe if I met [...] The maybe Islands are hostile to human life.

'But economics of purpose is not about making money; it is about realigning recources.'
'Isn't language wonderful?'

It says on my timesheet today is for mobile data recognition.'
'What is that?'
'We're going for a walk.'

I had a great time with the novel.

Picked up from the online convention 2021 international bookbuffet.

Thank you!
I recently read Frankissstein - and everything by David Mitchell, so this might be exactly my cup of tea.

And indeed it was my cup of tea - what a brilliant novel, I enjoyed it tremendously. There is a lot of food for thought in there, but at the same time it's written in a kind of lighthearted way, with a lot of irony. Actually the first narrative is rather a satire, and the third one too.
It will certainly make it into my top ten reads of 2021.

The book is travelling back to the Netherlands.
Hope you enjoy it!

Thank you very much indeed, ApoloniaX, for this RABCK! I've already started reading it

I enjoyed this book very much too, and like iiwi I was reminded of David Mitchell's books, with separate yet intertwined narratives. Human beings have a huge capacity for love, but unfortunately we also have a huge capacity for destroying the planet...
And thank you, iiwi, for making that list of quotes. It was great to read them back after finishing the book. 'Dinosaurs will depress the house prices', ain't that the truth!
Thanks again, ApoloniaX, for this RABCK!

Taking it to the Unconvention in Newcastle.

Picked up at Bookcrossing UnConvention, Newcastle.
I’ve read some Winterson in the dim past and enjoyed her work, so I was delighted to catch this - thank you!