Looking Through Lace

Looking Through Lace #1

by Ruth Nestvold

"Thought provoking"; "Great, classic sci-fi novella...I want more!" "Very enjoyable read!" - Reader reviews. As the only woman on the first contact team, xenolinguist Toni Donato expected her assignment on Christmas would be to analyze the secret women's language -- but then the chief linguist begins to sabotage her work. What is behind it? Why do the men and women have separate languages in the first place? What Toni learns turns everything she thought they knew on its head. Originally published in Asimov's in 2003, "Looking Through Lace" was a finalist for the Tiptree and Sturgeon awards. The Italian translation won the Premio Italia for best work of speculative fiction in translation in 2007. "'Looking Through Lace' by Ruth Nestvold is terrific science fiction. I want to read more of this writer's stories." - Andi Shechter in January Magazine "... 'Looking Through Lace' by Ruth Nestvold [is] an intelligent, complex story illustrating the difficulties of learning and understanding the nuances and intricacies of an alien language and culture, particularly one so similar to our own that we persist in viewing it (wrongly) on our terms.... The reason ... why there are so many differences between the languages of both men and women are logical and well thought out, and the final revelation about the true nature of the relationship between the women and the men comes as a nice twist." - Phil Friel in Tangent Online "Two strong stories stand out from the rest of the fiction. Ruth Nestvold’s 'Looking Through Lace' rests on a relatively simple reversal or secret, but the rest of it is solidly written and convincing. The main character is a young female xenolinguist named Toni -- she is called to a planet named Christmas to study the Mejan culture. Nestvold presents a neat puzzle, and she takes the time to present it just-so." - James Schellenberg in Challenging Destiny About the Ruth Nestvold’s short stories have appeared in numerous markets, including Asimov’s, F&SF, Baen’s Universe, Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, and Gardner Dozois’s Year’s Best Science Fiction. Her fiction has been nominated for the Nebula, Tiptree, and Sturgeon Awards. In 2007, the Italian translation of her novella “Looking Through Lace” won the “Premio Italia” award for best international work. Her novel Flamme und Harfe appeared in translation with the German imprint of Random House, Penhaligon, in 2009 and has since been translated into Dutch and Italian. She maintains a web site at www.ruthnestvold.com.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Novella, Short Stories, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy, Sci Fi Fantasy

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 21, 2011

About the author

Ruth Nestvold has published widely in science fiction and fantasy, her fiction appearing in such markets as Asimov’s, F&SF, Baen’s Universe, Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, and Gardner Dozois’s Year’s Best Science Fiction. Her work has been nominated for the Nebula, Tiptree, and Sturgeon Awards. In 2007, the Italian translation of her novella “Looking Through Lace” won the “Premio Italia” award for best international work. Since 2012, she’s been concentrating her efforts on self-publishing rather than traditional publishing, although she does still occasionally sell a story the old-fashioned way. She maintains a web site at http://www.ruthnestvold.com and blogs at https://ruthnestvold.wordpress.com.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A female linguist is assigned to learn the women-only language of the almost-human indigenes of Kailazh, but is thwarted by her overbearing male supervisor. There’s a hot romance with a very good-looking (and willing) local. And the Bad Boss gets a delicious comeuppance, in a marvelously twisty ending. Nestvold is a LeGuin fan, and it shows. 5 stars! I’ll definitely be reading more of Nestvold’s stuff. Including the sequel to this one.

This novella was nominated for both the Tiptree and Sturgeon awards. Excerpt: http://www.ruthnestvold.com/Lookingth... Ebook is all of $3. Go for it!

[heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how much easier it has gotten for me to read novellas. Yay for ebooks, because I never read Asimov's.

I thought this highly polished story was a perfect example of how to work through one's own expectations. At first, our viewpoint character arrives on the planet Christmas, expecting pretty much what people told her. She got invited because she is the only female xenolinguist available, and it appears that the women have a second language that the men don't use.

She does all the things a sophomore expert does -- starts figuring things out, falls for a local, gets squashed by her boss, the usual. The twist is when she starts using her linguistic skills to tease out the cultural differences between what she has and expects, and what is actually going on.

I spotted the twist coming, but that didn't ruin my enjoyment watching her figure out what was going on.

Read if: You like watching people have to re-evaluate their assumptions, your are having a bad week with your boss.

Skip if: Linguistics scare you - you don't have to understand the details, but they are a big part of the story. You were hoping for a full book.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linguists as heros and villains!

[Laurel Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a title beginning with L for a book group challenge and had this on my Kindle. I had also tagged it Christmas - which is tomorrow - so I thought why not? It really has nothing to do with Christmas, except that it takes place on a planet called Christmas, named for the predominant red and green vegetation. It was a fun little diversion - a short story really - so I finished it in two sessions. It's really quite a polished little piece. The author manages to create a believable world, complete with folk tales. I love languages, so I enjoyed the puzzle of why there is a secret women's language on this world, and the process of learning about a culture through its language. Not everything is solved at the end (what DID happen to the first contact team?), and there is a sequel.

Description: As the only woman on the first contact team, xenolinguist Toni Donato expected her assignment on Christmas would be to analyze the secret women's language -- but then the chief linguist begins to sabotage her work. What is behind it? Why do the men and women have separate languages in the first place? What Toni learns turns everything she thought they knew on its head. Originally published in Asimov's in 2003, "Looking Through Lace" was a finalist for the Tiptree and Sturgeon awards. The Italian translation won the Premio Italia for best work of speculative fiction in translation in 2007.

[Debra Dunbar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toni Donato is a xenolinguist, normally working behind the scenes, cataloging inflection, grammar, and structure of alien languages in massive databases, but she’s finally gotten her big break to do field research. On the planet, Christmas, the women appear to have a distinct, secret language from the men, and as the only female xenolinguist available, Toni is chosen for the research job. She’s excited to be a part of the first contact team, but that enthusiasm takes a hit when the chief linguist on the project blocks her every move, and sabotages her research efforts. Culture and language misunderstandings abound, and Toni finds she needs to overcome her basic assumptions about the inhabitants in order to understand them and gain their trust.

This book is a sci-fi novella (about 55 pages) that would especially appeal to those with a love of the academic. World building is excellent, and the author does a great job of showing how Toni teases out the differences in a language, using context, culture, and structure to break the code. I found it all fascinating, but those looking for more of an action-oriented sci-fi might think Looking Through Lace moves rather slowly. The “alien” race on the planet Christmas are hominids, and it’s easy to see them as “just like us” when they look “just like us”. These assumptions need to be recognized and tossed aside in order for Toni to truly understand the language, society, and culture of the inhabitants. Fun stuff! There’s a mystery : Why is Toni’s boss hindering her work? Why do the women have a separate, secret language? How do the linguistics of this culture tie in with their social structure? There’s a little hint of a romance, but it doesn’t drive the story and drifts off at the end. That was fine with me as I don’t need to have romance in ALL the novels I read.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Practical class on semiotics and semantics √
Strong female character eventually cutting the MCP antagonist to size √
Le Guin-esque alien society √
Only thing that dragged this novella down was its inordinate length and lack of humour. Otherwise, it's solid.

[Ann Forstie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only problem with it is that there wasn't more of it. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT??? (also felt a bit Sheri S. Tepper-ish, which is in no way a bad thing)

[Ricki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this were hard to follow, but very in-depth world-building for such a short novella.

[Margo James · Rating 5 out of 5]

So different. A new language thought not recorded, but the male scientists were wrong.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2024, this is a quaint sci-fi story. I enjoyed it because I have an interest in linguistics, but it's just okay.

[Arlena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author: Ruth Nestvold
Published By: R.N.
Age Recommend: 16
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Raven Rating: 5
Blog Review For: GMTA

Review:

"Looking Through Lace" by Ruth Nestvold was a wonderful fascinating short Sci-Fi read. This author did a wonderfuljob with the main character, Toni Donato who was female xenolinguist.. her assignment was with the first contact teamon the alien planet 'Christmas to analyze the secret women's language' ... studying the Mejan culture. The women spoke a different language that the men were not allowed to learn. Why and how did this happen?

However, obstacles are put in place for Toni to do her job...the chief linguist(Dr. Repnik) began to disrupt her work so she was going to have to do something. How did she accomplish this task?.... Well, you will have to read "Looking Through Lace" to find out.

"Looking Through Lace" wad a well written and worthwhile read. If you a a science fiction lover... this is really a novel for you. The title is perfect for this read and I liked the book cover.


Read more: http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.probo...

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that makes me regret the fact that I give out five stars to every book that entertains me for a day. Because Looking Through Lace transcends that rating system and begs at least six or seven stars...which I'm unfortunately unable to give it.

At 79 pages, this book is tight and solid, lacking fluff and leaving you wanting more but still feeling like a full, thought-provoking story. The heroine is a xenolinguist in a first-contact situation, so there's lots of linguistic geekery...which is 100% relevant to the story. I don't want to tell you any more for fear I'll spoil the book, but suffice it to say there's a solid mystery, great characters, and a world I want to see much more of.

In the end, this book reminded me of A Door Into Ocean, one of those little known books that deserves to be much more widely read. I recommend this title to everyone who either likes the intricacies of thought-provoking science fiction or simply enjoys a page-turning, character-driven yarn. I could write much more, but I'm off to borrow book two instead.

[Lizzy Lessard · Rating 3 out of 5]

So how interesting can it be to read about a woman learning a new language? Well, with the expert grammar skills of the author (she is an English professor), it's as interesting as humanly possible. This novella length science fiction story started out fairly slow. Its short length is a positive, as I'm not sure I could handle a novel on this topic. That said, it was fasinating watch Toni defragment an alien language using skills that linguistics use in a way that a non linguist can understand and enjoy. Besides the science fiction, there is also a bit of mystery as Toni discovers why her boss is being so difficult and hindering her progress. If you love anthropology or learning how to decode a language, this would be an awesome novella to check out. There is some romance, but due to length it isn't too developed. If you're looking for more of a thriller or paranormal story, then this probably isn't a good choice for you.

[Vroom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm being a little generous with my "I liked it" because it has a cute little set-up and one of my favorite topics. Unfortunately, the characters aren't deep and the antagonist is ridiculously cardboard. Feels very much like 1970's SF, which is a good thing.

Novella not a real book, so it's done about as soon as you pick it up. Still, I liked it -- and that's mostly because it has a lovely linguistics-oriented mystery at its heart which was fun to explore and felt fresh. The pity is that it wasn't expanded to a proper book, where it could take the time to explore exactly what certain relationships meant by which I mean the pretty-boy prostitute who was supplied for the protagonist's use and her surprise and horror when she realizes she is the exploiter. It's just as ugly as if she had been written as a male with a young beautiful girl.

I think I"m going to pick up volume 2.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I've enjoyed most about the advent of e-readers is the return of short fiction. This novella is listed at 55 pages and was slightly over 100 page turns on a Kindle. While SciFi is not my main reading interest and my preferred form of SciFi is near future, realistic Scifi, this was an interesting story dealing with contact with another human culture and the complexities of the difference in societies and language. This is a fairly low cost offering on Amazon but well worth the price.

The story features a strong female lead character, Toni Donata, an xenolinguist. The other characters are not fully developed as you might expect in a novella. The otherworld humans are really the other main character. One of my criteria for 5 stars is not only an enjoyable read but also when you finish and want more. this novella certainly left me wanting more.

[Bookangel.co.uk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Assigned as secondary linguist to a first contact expedition, Toni is expected to unravel the secrets of the new species “women’s language”. Her job proves harder than expected: she doesn’t just have to overcome the differences between and within both cultures, but also the opposition and sabotage of the lead linguist, all in a language she does not speak and is not allowed to learn.

The author has managed to create a perfect blend of lit fic and sci-fi, and the result is a joy to read. With an intelligent and likeable female lead, a baffling mystery and a well-developed and complex alien culture, this short story held me spellbound from start to finish. Then I turned to the front page and read it again.

[Christina (Ensconced in Lit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this novella from a member giveaway on librarything in exchange for an honest review.

Looking through Lace is a book about discovering alien languages, and how a language is set up can reveal so much about a culture.

I really liked the protagonist. She was strong, not to be bullied by the antagonist. I will not reveal the secrets of this book, but as a woman, I really enjoyed how things turned out. I thought the book was well written, and written by someone who loves and understands languages. I also loved how the title is a perfect one for this book.

This is a delightful gem for anyone who likes science fiction.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wonderful novella took me totally by surprise. It shouldn't have: I enjoy the idea of people from earth as anthroplogists & linguists, studying cultures on other worlds. But there are gender twists here, as well. A well-crafted story with a likeable protagonist, this takes place in a setting that could easily support a longer work. But the punch of Toni Donato's discovery is perfect for this length work. I look forward to reading the follow-up work, which features one of her local contacts as the protagonist.

[Laura Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not at all what I expected - and very pleasantly surprised! I downloaded this some time ago, but because it was short and the name didn't really sound all that appealing, I held off.

Starting off, the linguistics focus kept my attention because I couldn't guess where it would lead. It turned out to have a very interesting twist which the author explored well in such a short tale. I almost don't want to read the next book because I enjoyed the scope of this one just as it is!

[J. Ewbank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an unusual book by Ruth Nestvold. The topic concerns a woman who studies languages and who is working on a distant planet to learn the languages spoken there. The topic is not one high on my list of interests, but she makes that topic interesting for me, so she did a good job. An interesting b ook.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

[Marnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot of this novella centers around Toni, a xenolinguist who finally gets her big break being assigned to a first contact team exploring an alien planet. After landing on the planet, we see the team struggle to understand both different languages and cultures and even gender roles in society. I loved this novella, I wish there was more of it! Highly recommended! 

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, quick read. I wasn't surprised by anything in the story and I'm not sure it was all just because it was too simple. It was a little predictable, yes, but I also think the author gave a lot of hints so when the reveal came, I wasn't left feeling like it was too easy, just that things played out as expected. The writing was fresh if the ideas weren't and it was an enjoyable read.

[Storyhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow start, but powerful finish

This story started slow, but gradually captured my interest. I purchased the next book as soon as I finished the first. The author has a gift for revealing a thoroughly different world and culture through the structure of languages. The story reminds me of Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness..

[Shelby Benfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

great feminist Science Fiction

was a great experience and the best feminist science fiction I've read. interesting take on learning languages, cultures, and our own view of the status quo.

[Doreen Dalesandro]

Kindle freebie.

[Debbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very satisfying novella. I hope Nestvold writes more about this world because she's created such a fascinating world and culture.

[Tom Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice novella that may be read in one day (or less). It has an interesting take on things with a couple of nice twists to keep it interesting. I would read more of Nestvold's works.

[Islandgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written novella. Interesting commentary on culture. A quick read, highly recommend for a lazy afternoon reading.

[Saidah Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

technical but understandable.

[Mina Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't love the ending, but otherwise a complex, thought-provoking story. The writing is simple, clear and polished.