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Greensmith
Penelope Greensmith lives a small, dedicated life, collecting plants with the mysterious Vice she inherited from her father. Then the enigmatic and charming Horticulturalist arrives in her garden, asking to see her collection—he tells her it could hold the key to stopping a terrible plague sweeping the universe.
Penelope is whisked away on an intergalactic adventure by the Horticulturalist, witnessing the vast and bizarre mysteries that lie among the stars. She is thrust into a bewildering life of the strange and fantastic—where string powers interstellar travel, where birds fight terrible wars on the bodies of giants, where plants grow to the size of planets—hoping to help Hort save the day.
But as this gentle woman searches for a way to save the universe, her daughter Lily is still on Earth, struggling to survive the terrible plague sweeping the planet. Penelope must fight a way to stop the rot once and for all.
Penelope is whisked away on an intergalactic adventure by the Horticulturalist, witnessing the vast and bizarre mysteries that lie among the stars. She is thrust into a bewildering life of the strange and fantastic—where string powers interstellar travel, where birds fight terrible wars on the bodies of giants, where plants grow to the size of planets—hoping to help Hort save the day.
But as this gentle woman searches for a way to save the universe, her daughter Lily is still on Earth, struggling to survive the terrible plague sweeping the planet. Penelope must fight a way to stop the rot once and for all.
231 pages, Paperback
First published March 18, 2020
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570 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 10, 2020
In the aftermath of an insidious information war, bio-librarian Penelope Greensmith has one concern: preserving the Collection, a vast bank of seeds originally assembled by her father. This task becomes even more urgent when plants across the world are afflicted by a fast-spreading disease that causes them to melt and die. Then a dashing adventurer – who introduces himself as the Horticulturalist (aka Hort) – appears in Penelope's garden. It turns out that the virus sweeping Earth is a universe-wide problem, the Collection might hold the key to stopping it, and Hort wants Penelope to travel with him to find an answer and save the world (and universe).
So begins Penelope's odyssey through the galaxy. At Hort's side, she visits strange planets, meets aliens, and has experiences she could have never have dreamed of. However, the more time she spends with Hort, the less she trusts him. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Penelope's daughter Lily is surviving in a ravaged world and desperately trying to reach her.
If you're thinking this all sounds a bit like an episode of Doctor Who, that's definitely intentional. Whiteley's novel is a perceptive satire of the show and all its tropes, chiefly the central figure's saviour complex. Our focus is on the 'companion', Penelope, and it's from her perspective – that of a 52-year-old woman whisked away from everything she knows and understands – that we experience Hort's adventures. We see how seductive the promise of such adventure can be, and fully understand how Penelope is so easily persuaded. We're also shown how empty it is, how lonely, and what happens when the glamour crumbles.
Greensmith is about companionship and family; it's about love – for lifeforms, for existence in its broadest sense – as a reason to keep going. But it's also about individuality and identity – the equally powerful danger of sacrificing oneself for love, specifically of becoming so subsumed by someone else that you lose sight of who you are. (It is absolutely possible to read this story as an allegory for an abusive relationship.) Penelope loses herself in ways both small and irreparably huge: she says nothing when Hort repeatedly shortens her name to 'Pea'; to travel with him, she agrees to be rendered as a 'compression' assembled from two 'captures' he takes of her personality early in the story.
Ultimately, Penelope makes a discovery that forces her to wake up to the reality of her role in Hort's narrative. Greensmith, then, is also a story about stories: the stories we tell about ourselves and others, how they are less rigid than we think, and how changing them might sometimes be a matter of life and death.
Greensmith is packed full of good stuff, from the colourful exhilaration of the intergalactic scenes to the tenderness in Penelope's characterisation and the subtleties of her relationship with Hort (Whiteley is great at writing communication between a human and an alien, neither of whom is speaking the same language nor hearing the same things). It's a magnificent science fiction novel and a very compassionate story. I will be thinking about Penelope and Hort for quite some time.
TinyLetter | Linktree
So begins Penelope's odyssey through the galaxy. At Hort's side, she visits strange planets, meets aliens, and has experiences she could have never have dreamed of. However, the more time she spends with Hort, the less she trusts him. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Penelope's daughter Lily is surviving in a ravaged world and desperately trying to reach her.
If you're thinking this all sounds a bit like an episode of Doctor Who, that's definitely intentional. Whiteley's novel is a perceptive satire of the show and all its tropes, chiefly the central figure's saviour complex. Our focus is on the 'companion', Penelope, and it's from her perspective – that of a 52-year-old woman whisked away from everything she knows and understands – that we experience Hort's adventures. We see how seductive the promise of such adventure can be, and fully understand how Penelope is so easily persuaded. We're also shown how empty it is, how lonely, and what happens when the glamour crumbles.
Was he breathing? Was she? Did it matter? If she never learned to see the reality of the universe, would it matter as long as the illusion was her friend?
Greensmith is about companionship and family; it's about love – for lifeforms, for existence in its broadest sense – as a reason to keep going. But it's also about individuality and identity – the equally powerful danger of sacrificing oneself for love, specifically of becoming so subsumed by someone else that you lose sight of who you are. (It is absolutely possible to read this story as an allegory for an abusive relationship.) Penelope loses herself in ways both small and irreparably huge: she says nothing when Hort repeatedly shortens her name to 'Pea'; to travel with him, she agrees to be rendered as a 'compression' assembled from two 'captures' he takes of her personality early in the story.
Ultimately, Penelope makes a discovery that forces her to wake up to the reality of her role in Hort's narrative. Greensmith, then, is also a story about stories: the stories we tell about ourselves and others, how they are less rigid than we think, and how changing them might sometimes be a matter of life and death.
Greensmith is packed full of good stuff, from the colourful exhilaration of the intergalactic scenes to the tenderness in Penelope's characterisation and the subtleties of her relationship with Hort (Whiteley is great at writing communication between a human and an alien, neither of whom is speaking the same language nor hearing the same things). It's a magnificent science fiction novel and a very compassionate story. I will be thinking about Penelope and Hort for quite some time.
TinyLetter | Linktree
January 29, 2021
I've been following Aliya Whiteley and reading her work since her very first publications and I thought I had a fairly good handle on her general tone, not just the sort of things she writes about but the way she generally writes about them, but I have to admit that 'Greensmith' has really thrown me for a loop. This is a side of Whiteley I've never seen before, and it is most delightful.
In her newest novella, 'Greensmith', Whiteley brings her interest in the natural world, especially in plants and fungi, into the far future, and somehow manages to write an apocalyptic tale that's wildly exuberant, mind-bendingly psychedelic, forthrightly funny, and ultimately deeply touching. It's a feminist story and an ecological story and a reminder that individual human experience, human love, matters regardless of the level of magnification it's seen at. Whiteley juggles a number of different perspectives effortlessly and she plays with genres in the same way: mystery, space opera, the picaresque, and the apocalyptic all have their moments here but none take pride of place and the resulting novella is unclassifiable.
I cannot recommend this highly enough for readers of science fiction and science fantasy as well as those who just like a wild tale well told.
In her newest novella, 'Greensmith', Whiteley brings her interest in the natural world, especially in plants and fungi, into the far future, and somehow manages to write an apocalyptic tale that's wildly exuberant, mind-bendingly psychedelic, forthrightly funny, and ultimately deeply touching. It's a feminist story and an ecological story and a reminder that individual human experience, human love, matters regardless of the level of magnification it's seen at. Whiteley juggles a number of different perspectives effortlessly and she plays with genres in the same way: mystery, space opera, the picaresque, and the apocalyptic all have their moments here but none take pride of place and the resulting novella is unclassifiable.
I cannot recommend this highly enough for readers of science fiction and science fantasy as well as those who just like a wild tale well told.
September 27, 2023
The experience of reading this was intruiging. The prose is straightforward and most of the plot is too, but it's a strange experience because it takes you on a truly alien journey. If you liked
The Seep
, or maybe even
This is How You Lose the Time War
, you might possibly enjoy this weird scifi too.
I think author Nina Allan describes the feel of Greensmith better than the blurb does...
I'll be reading more from both Aliya Whiteley and Nina Allan
I think author Nina Allan describes the feel of Greensmith better than the blurb does...
"Greensmith is a backwards hero’s journey that questions the very concept of the hero. It is a novel with a middle-aged woman as its protagonist that actually talks about middle age, about the menopause, about the difficulty of forming relationships when one is fiercely attached to one’s independence. Greensmith is about family ties, loyalty that transcends logic, the love of one’s planet. Most of all it is a book about plants: plants glorious and multitudinous and various, plants that stir the imagination and stimulate the senses, plants that are beings sharing our world as opposed to material to be used by humans as food and shelter"https://www.ninaallan.co.uk/?p=5484
I'll be reading more from both Aliya Whiteley and Nina Allan
November 12, 2020
Penelope Greensmith, a middle-aged bio-librarian, dedicated her life to cataloging and safekeeping seeds of all known plants in a mysterious device left by her father. She has no other interests or meaningful relationships. She keeps irregular contact with her daughter (named Lilly after Lilium Longiflorum) and her ex-husband. People find her eccentricities charming at first, but unbearable in the long run.
One day a strange and charming adventurer, Hort, pays her a visit. He claims her collection can help in stopping a terrible plague that turns plants into rotten mush. All over the Universe. Penelope joins him on a space adventure to save the Universe. And maybe even Earth. The problem? Well, dimension-hopping and corporeal form don’t mix well; she needs to go through her own device and become information.
Does it sound like an iteration of Doctor Who? Yes, it does. And it’s intentional. It’s infused with subtle humor, and the narrative pokes fun at the staples of the genre. During Hort and Penelope’s travels, we meet rebel flamingos fighting evil lizards, a planet-sized sentient plant, hive minds, and more. The plot moves at a fast pace with Hort opening portals to new places with a gesture of his hand.
There’s almost no exposition and when it appears, it’s served with humor. Take this line appearing just before we get a condensed data about the world:
‘You need to understand what’s happening here and we’ve got an awful lot of exposition to get through so I’ll just ping that straight into your brain.’
And then Hort does it by touching Pam’s forehead. I loved this moment.
Gentle humor adds levity to the exploration of difficult themes (end of the world, destructive virus, loss, betrayal). To make matters more interesting, Whiteley plays with the form and tries to understand the limitations of human speech in describing reality and alien consciousness. Penelope tries to keep her sanity by trying to see the world the way humans fo, even though she knows it makes her experience warped. In other words, she tries to understand her experience in anything approaching human terms. Instead of experiencing the weird reality, she translates it for us using words we know. Whiteley’s descriptions of the unknown and undescribable are fascinating but require focus.
Greensmith feels uneasy at times, but it’s also fresh and unpredictable. It’s sad but also funny, melancholic but fast-paced. Well worth a read.
One day a strange and charming adventurer, Hort, pays her a visit. He claims her collection can help in stopping a terrible plague that turns plants into rotten mush. All over the Universe. Penelope joins him on a space adventure to save the Universe. And maybe even Earth. The problem? Well, dimension-hopping and corporeal form don’t mix well; she needs to go through her own device and become information.
Does it sound like an iteration of Doctor Who? Yes, it does. And it’s intentional. It’s infused with subtle humor, and the narrative pokes fun at the staples of the genre. During Hort and Penelope’s travels, we meet rebel flamingos fighting evil lizards, a planet-sized sentient plant, hive minds, and more. The plot moves at a fast pace with Hort opening portals to new places with a gesture of his hand.
There’s almost no exposition and when it appears, it’s served with humor. Take this line appearing just before we get a condensed data about the world:
‘You need to understand what’s happening here and we’ve got an awful lot of exposition to get through so I’ll just ping that straight into your brain.’
And then Hort does it by touching Pam’s forehead. I loved this moment.
Gentle humor adds levity to the exploration of difficult themes (end of the world, destructive virus, loss, betrayal). To make matters more interesting, Whiteley plays with the form and tries to understand the limitations of human speech in describing reality and alien consciousness. Penelope tries to keep her sanity by trying to see the world the way humans fo, even though she knows it makes her experience warped. In other words, she tries to understand her experience in anything approaching human terms. Instead of experiencing the weird reality, she translates it for us using words we know. Whiteley’s descriptions of the unknown and undescribable are fascinating but require focus.
Greensmith feels uneasy at times, but it’s also fresh and unpredictable. It’s sad but also funny, melancholic but fast-paced. Well worth a read.
November 12, 2023
Interesting concept, but the execution didn't work for me. The novel started off well - interesting character (a bio-librarian), minor mystery (what is the vice? an inter-galactic quest?), some-sort of war/plague - and then just devolves into cryptic, disjointed silliness that was plain irritating and nonsensical. This looked like a story about ecological decay, but apparently the Mad-Hatter got hold of it. The bits with the daughter stuck on dying Earth were decent, the bits with the Horticulturalist and the main character were horrible.
October 12, 2020
A fantastic melancholy yet beautiful trip through space that reminds us life carries on - haunting yet peaceful
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
November 14, 2020
Magnificent. In her own inimitable style Whiteley has done it again. Such truthful insight delivered so bizarrely, this book was a delight to read. Can’t wait to reread again in a few years and discover yet more, for I’m sure that there are layers to this tale.
December 5, 2020
I loved it. A dreamy trip with echoes of Jeff Noon and Lewis Carroll. Think interstellar travel with flamingo freedom fighters, and a protagonist who may be a pot plant.
November 10, 2020
I bought an eBook from the UK-based publisher, Unsung Stories' website.
I have loved Aliya Whiteley's fiction for years and this was another brilliant story. It is about Penelope Greensmith, a woman in her early fifties who meets a strange man calling himself The Horticulturalist, who convinces her that she must travel across the universe with him to save the earth from a virus infecting plants. It wasn't until some way into the book that I realized Whiteley is riffing on the science fiction TV series Doctor Who with her tale of a heroic alien and his "plucky assistant." However, we are shown another side to the story here as Peneleope becomes wise to her new friend's deceptions. I found the story thrilling - the science fiction elements are brilliant (loved the flamingo planet and the Morgan Freeman flowers!) and Penelope as a character is wonderful to read about. As ever Whiteley uses her fiction to pose questions about the human condition and our treatment of others and the planet.
I have loved Aliya Whiteley's fiction for years and this was another brilliant story. It is about Penelope Greensmith, a woman in her early fifties who meets a strange man calling himself The Horticulturalist, who convinces her that she must travel across the universe with him to save the earth from a virus infecting plants. It wasn't until some way into the book that I realized Whiteley is riffing on the science fiction TV series Doctor Who with her tale of a heroic alien and his "plucky assistant." However, we are shown another side to the story here as Peneleope becomes wise to her new friend's deceptions. I found the story thrilling - the science fiction elements are brilliant (loved the flamingo planet and the Morgan Freeman flowers!) and Penelope as a character is wonderful to read about. As ever Whiteley uses her fiction to pose questions about the human condition and our treatment of others and the planet.
March 18, 2023
My favorite Aliya Whitely I’ve read in awhile. Feel like it probably works best for former Doctor Who obsessives, cough cough. Had to adjust my expectations a bit after about 1/4 of the book as at first it was giving adult A Wrinkle in Time adventure vibes but then it became much more dark. Her aliens are truly the best, second only to Butler.
April 5, 2021
More interminable cryptic crossword clue than SF novel, this reached for artistry but achieved only incomprehensibility. A fantastical and disjointed story about ecological decay and loss that appears to have little purpose but to deliver what struck me as an aggravatingly sanguine concluding paragraph/poem:
"Will we survive? What would it mean to survive?
Does it matter?
All that matters
after all
after everything
is that
the journey was interesting."
A dispiriting, fatalistic and deeply incorrect take (ironic too as this novel is far from an interesting journey) but also a conclusion that might reflect a sense of overwhelming powerlessness that many people feel as the weight of the ecological crisis bears down on us. There is an entire genre of climate/ecological fiction that serves as a kind of warning - this book serves more as an accommodation or rationalisation.
I also found some of the metaphor-laden repetition in the book perplexing. About 50 pages from the end - fed up - I felt like Jewels from Pulp Fiction, warning the text: "Say Lilium longiflorum again! I dare you! I double dare you!! Say Lilium longiflorum one more goddamn time." Of course the text did repeat the name of this particular flower YET AGAIN for no apparent reason, which wholly convinced me this book must receive a solitary 1 star.
"Will we survive? What would it mean to survive?
Does it matter?
All that matters
after all
after everything
is that
the journey was interesting."
A dispiriting, fatalistic and deeply incorrect take (ironic too as this novel is far from an interesting journey) but also a conclusion that might reflect a sense of overwhelming powerlessness that many people feel as the weight of the ecological crisis bears down on us. There is an entire genre of climate/ecological fiction that serves as a kind of warning - this book serves more as an accommodation or rationalisation.
I also found some of the metaphor-laden repetition in the book perplexing. About 50 pages from the end - fed up - I felt like Jewels from Pulp Fiction, warning the text: "Say Lilium longiflorum again! I dare you! I double dare you!! Say Lilium longiflorum one more goddamn time." Of course the text did repeat the name of this particular flower YET AGAIN for no apparent reason, which wholly convinced me this book must receive a solitary 1 star.
May 28, 2022
I didn't get it and I didn't like it. Also, I'm not sure the book even is aware of how incomprehensible it is. I kinda lost patience and mentally checked out two-thirds in - but what followed was roughly 60 pages of unfollowable gibberish anyway.
Besides, what does it mean that the book is kinda poking fun at RTD era-ish Doctor Who tropes? What was the point of that? Was this a metaphor? Hum, it might have thematically tied into the story somewhere, I guess. But as I said, this book was near impenetrable and at some point I just stopped caring.
Besides, what does it mean that the book is kinda poking fun at RTD era-ish Doctor Who tropes? What was the point of that? Was this a metaphor? Hum, it might have thematically tied into the story somewhere, I guess. But as I said, this book was near impenetrable and at some point I just stopped caring.
October 16, 2021
Most of this was incomprehensible. There was potential for this story, but it lacked a lot of necessary exposition. The relationship between the two MC’s was touching, though, even if I was left unsatisfied by it. I think this novel desperately needed a good editor.
Also was not aware going into this that it was a not-so-subtle critique of Doctor Who, a show I’d love to forget.
2.5/5
Also was not aware going into this that it was a not-so-subtle critique of Doctor Who, a show I’d love to forget.
2.5/5
October 13, 2020
10/11/2020 Another winner from Aliya Whiteley! Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
10/13/2020 Bear with me for a moment while I serve up a relevant anecdote here.
When I was 8 years old, on a layover in London, I climbed the stairs of the narrow house of the auntie who was hosting my mother and me, and turned on the TV in the bedroom. I was fresh out of things to read and figured I could sample some of what England had to offer in terms of televised entertainment. There was an episode of Doctor Who on: I'd heard of it, and I was into sci-fi, so I was definitely interested. But after about ten minutes, I had to turn it off as being deathly boring. Some guy with wild hair in a coat and scarf was running around and away from robots while wielding a screwdriver, and I just didn't care, an antipathy that has carried through the decades despite the appalled cries of "you don't like Doctor Who?!" from other nerds in my various fandoms. If I had all the time in the world, I'd give it another go, but I can't even find enough hours in the day for all the shows I want to watch, so soz everyone, it's not you, it's me.
Which leads to Greensmith, which, for all my relative ignorance of Dr Who (one can't help absorbing quite a bit by cultural osmosis, ofc,) felt like what I imagine a grown-up version of the Doctor might be. Penelope Greensmith has inherited the task of cataloging the world's flora, specifically its flowers, from her dad, using an unusual device called, ahem, the Vice. Now divorced and with a grown daughter she doesn't see very often, she's retired to a hilltop cottage to better focus on her work, tho she does think wistfully of the pleasures of adult companionship from time to time. But then a mysterious stranger called Doc-- I mean, The Horticulturist, shows up on her doorstep, asking for her help. Turns out, there's a terrible virus that's turning the greenery of many worlds to sludge, and she and her Collection might be the only way to save the universe.
If you're familiar with Aliya Whiteley's superb The Arrival Of Missives then you'll smile at the repeated motif here of the woman who finds greater reservoirs of strength in herself than she knew, who's going to save the universe on her own terms (and if you're not familiar, please do consider getting a copy of one of my favorite books of 2018.) Greensmith is also a wonderful update of the cosmic-savior-who-needs-a-sidekick story, centering the "sidekick" and giving her the agency to make the necessary choices. I especially loved Penelope's complicated relationships, not just with Hort, as she calls him, but also with her daughter, whose own chapters are great, if wrenching.
I wonder if my enjoyment of Greensmith would have been enhanced were I a Whovian. Doesn't really matter tho: this is another terrific work of speculative fiction from one of the most creative, genre-bending writers working today.
Greensmith by Aliya Whiteley comes out today from Unsung Press and is available from all good booksellers.
10/13/2020 Bear with me for a moment while I serve up a relevant anecdote here.
When I was 8 years old, on a layover in London, I climbed the stairs of the narrow house of the auntie who was hosting my mother and me, and turned on the TV in the bedroom. I was fresh out of things to read and figured I could sample some of what England had to offer in terms of televised entertainment. There was an episode of Doctor Who on: I'd heard of it, and I was into sci-fi, so I was definitely interested. But after about ten minutes, I had to turn it off as being deathly boring. Some guy with wild hair in a coat and scarf was running around and away from robots while wielding a screwdriver, and I just didn't care, an antipathy that has carried through the decades despite the appalled cries of "you don't like Doctor Who?!" from other nerds in my various fandoms. If I had all the time in the world, I'd give it another go, but I can't even find enough hours in the day for all the shows I want to watch, so soz everyone, it's not you, it's me.
Which leads to Greensmith, which, for all my relative ignorance of Dr Who (one can't help absorbing quite a bit by cultural osmosis, ofc,) felt like what I imagine a grown-up version of the Doctor might be. Penelope Greensmith has inherited the task of cataloging the world's flora, specifically its flowers, from her dad, using an unusual device called, ahem, the Vice. Now divorced and with a grown daughter she doesn't see very often, she's retired to a hilltop cottage to better focus on her work, tho she does think wistfully of the pleasures of adult companionship from time to time. But then a mysterious stranger called Doc-- I mean, The Horticulturist, shows up on her doorstep, asking for her help. Turns out, there's a terrible virus that's turning the greenery of many worlds to sludge, and she and her Collection might be the only way to save the universe.
If you're familiar with Aliya Whiteley's superb The Arrival Of Missives then you'll smile at the repeated motif here of the woman who finds greater reservoirs of strength in herself than she knew, who's going to save the universe on her own terms (and if you're not familiar, please do consider getting a copy of one of my favorite books of 2018.) Greensmith is also a wonderful update of the cosmic-savior-who-needs-a-sidekick story, centering the "sidekick" and giving her the agency to make the necessary choices. I especially loved Penelope's complicated relationships, not just with Hort, as she calls him, but also with her daughter, whose own chapters are great, if wrenching.
I wonder if my enjoyment of Greensmith would have been enhanced were I a Whovian. Doesn't really matter tho: this is another terrific work of speculative fiction from one of the most creative, genre-bending writers working today.
Greensmith by Aliya Whiteley comes out today from Unsung Press and is available from all good booksellers.
November 8, 2020
Greensmith is a richly imagined, empathetic SFF adventure on the grandest of scales - which also casts a slightly jaundiced eye on one of the most celebrated franchises in the genre.
Penelope Greensmith is working on a project - to catalogue and preserve the entirety of the world's flowers. She's assisted in this by an ingenious device her father (who began the work) left to her. Called the Vice, it has take a flower and compress its essence, its information, into a disc from which images and the plant itself can be recovered. Gradually, the storage racks in Penelope's cellar fill. She is ruthless in her task - even breaking into greenhouses at night to "acquire" specimens - but accepts her work won't be complete in her lifetime.
The background to Penelope's life is vague - there has been a War, in which people have 'fallen prey to an insidious, crawling mass delusion that had been carried by flags and leaflets and radio waves to their doors. Or perhaps they were just bored...' The only impact of the War seems to be that certain events have been erased from collective memory, but even that is uncertain. It would have been nice to know more about this - but the story moves rapidly on, to the day when Penelope's life is turned upside down by a fast talking time-and-space-travelling stranger who persuades her that, RIGHT NOW, to save the universe, she must join him in an improbable quest, must leave behind all she knows - her adult daughter, her cottage - and embark on a quixotic, madcap adventure.
Together they form a team. 'The legendary and mysterious space traveller... And his assistant.' Yes, The Horticulturalist (Hort for short) is famed throughout the universe. Yes, he has access to an apparently infinite storage space/ home, filled with wonders. Yes, lots of running is involved. I think you know exactly what long running SF TV series that echoes (don't you?) It's not though the only allusion here: Whiteley has a but of fun I think - she also refers to 'a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away' and drops other references too ('I am the one wearing the red shirt. I am expendable').
Penelope responds as you'd expect - as assistants are always written, eager to experience wonders, but also desperate to do whatever she can to save her daughter Lily, and the Universe, from a mysterious, plant-destroying virus. She plunges into danger, as Hort aids oppressed creatures and then confronts his greatest enemy. This middle part of the book is a real triumph of writing and the imagination: grappling with the fact that Penelope's, somehow, there and not there - Hort's method of travel isn't exactly physical - and with the way in which reality is so strange that she only experiences a translation of it, the nearest thing she can grasp but not the truth. It's actually rather disconcerting. No snippets I could quote here can really do it justice. The effect on me was rather like that final section of the film 2001, with strangeness upon strangeness and all familiar landmarks missing.
If you feel that's all just too rich for you, too jarring, please don't give up. This book contains its own quiet rewards - from the sheer glory of Whiteley's writing to that rather sceptical, questing examination of the time traveller himself. What can you really say about such a being? What degree of ego and self assurance does it take to shift worlds and play with the course of events as he does? ('...a selfish, spoiled, unaware and unrepentant idiot... [who] could be classified as Very Dangerous Indeed...')
Above all, what, exactly, is his relationship in the end with Penelope?
It's hard to be clearer than that without spoilers - which, I assure you, you don't want for this particular book.
Enjoyable from the first page to the last, this book is enthralling, baffling, weird, deep, quirky and in the end - I thought - very, very sad.
In short, I'd recommend.
Penelope Greensmith is working on a project - to catalogue and preserve the entirety of the world's flowers. She's assisted in this by an ingenious device her father (who began the work) left to her. Called the Vice, it has take a flower and compress its essence, its information, into a disc from which images and the plant itself can be recovered. Gradually, the storage racks in Penelope's cellar fill. She is ruthless in her task - even breaking into greenhouses at night to "acquire" specimens - but accepts her work won't be complete in her lifetime.
The background to Penelope's life is vague - there has been a War, in which people have 'fallen prey to an insidious, crawling mass delusion that had been carried by flags and leaflets and radio waves to their doors. Or perhaps they were just bored...' The only impact of the War seems to be that certain events have been erased from collective memory, but even that is uncertain. It would have been nice to know more about this - but the story moves rapidly on, to the day when Penelope's life is turned upside down by a fast talking time-and-space-travelling stranger who persuades her that, RIGHT NOW, to save the universe, she must join him in an improbable quest, must leave behind all she knows - her adult daughter, her cottage - and embark on a quixotic, madcap adventure.
Together they form a team. 'The legendary and mysterious space traveller... And his assistant.' Yes, The Horticulturalist (Hort for short) is famed throughout the universe. Yes, he has access to an apparently infinite storage space/ home, filled with wonders. Yes, lots of running is involved. I think you know exactly what long running SF TV series that echoes (don't you?) It's not though the only allusion here: Whiteley has a but of fun I think - she also refers to 'a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away' and drops other references too ('I am the one wearing the red shirt. I am expendable').
Penelope responds as you'd expect - as assistants are always written, eager to experience wonders, but also desperate to do whatever she can to save her daughter Lily, and the Universe, from a mysterious, plant-destroying virus. She plunges into danger, as Hort aids oppressed creatures and then confronts his greatest enemy. This middle part of the book is a real triumph of writing and the imagination: grappling with the fact that Penelope's, somehow, there and not there - Hort's method of travel isn't exactly physical - and with the way in which reality is so strange that she only experiences a translation of it, the nearest thing she can grasp but not the truth. It's actually rather disconcerting. No snippets I could quote here can really do it justice. The effect on me was rather like that final section of the film 2001, with strangeness upon strangeness and all familiar landmarks missing.
If you feel that's all just too rich for you, too jarring, please don't give up. This book contains its own quiet rewards - from the sheer glory of Whiteley's writing to that rather sceptical, questing examination of the time traveller himself. What can you really say about such a being? What degree of ego and self assurance does it take to shift worlds and play with the course of events as he does? ('...a selfish, spoiled, unaware and unrepentant idiot... [who] could be classified as Very Dangerous Indeed...')
Above all, what, exactly, is his relationship in the end with Penelope?
It's hard to be clearer than that without spoilers - which, I assure you, you don't want for this particular book.
Enjoyable from the first page to the last, this book is enthralling, baffling, weird, deep, quirky and in the end - I thought - very, very sad.
In short, I'd recommend.
January 5, 2021
I love Whiteley’s work and am glad her brain exists. I thought this was a super interesting take on Doctor Who tropes.
spoilers below:
This book reminded me indirectly of The Prestige, or I guess more specifically the idea that one cannot just teleport from place to place and come out as the same exact person who endeavored to teleport in the first place. Understanding what the snapshots really meant for the travelers at the end was so unsettling. I’ve also heard this idea discussed on the “Flash Forward” podcast.
spoilers below:
This book reminded me indirectly of The Prestige, or I guess more specifically the idea that one cannot just teleport from place to place and come out as the same exact person who endeavored to teleport in the first place. Understanding what the snapshots really meant for the travelers at the end was so unsettling. I’ve also heard this idea discussed on the “Flash Forward” podcast.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2020
A beautiful, lyrical and mind-bending journey through space and time, with an end-of-the-world setting. Inventive writing following an interesting protagonist that left me thinking about it long after finishing. Would recommend highly!
March 24, 2023
Why I Read It: Another one of Whiteley's short works (I think most, if not all of her books are under 300 pages) that is also considered one of her better ones and since I had similar reasons for picking up Arrival of Missives and that for the most part worked for me I am hopeful that this one will too. Also I was curious about the protagonist being a “bio-librarian” and what that meant and how that would fit with her intergalactic quest. So I guess this is the first of Whiteley's work where the premise itself intrigued me and not because someone else recommended it.
What It's About: With a mysterious device she inherited from her father functioning as a seed bank, Penelope lives out her life as a bio-librarian, until one day the charismatic and enigmatic Horticulturist arrives and besieges her assistance in stopping a plague that is sweeping across the universe. As she is whisked away on this quest, her daughter is stuck on a dying Earth and desperately searches for her mother who may or may not return.
Finishing Thoughts: In retrospect, this one should have been a DNF. The first chapter was lovely and quaint, and a good setup for the rest of the novella. Unfortunately, I don't remember much beyond the first chapter because things got so strange. For example, the first stop is a planet with talking flamingos who are fighting a revolution, and it only gets more incoherent from there. The emotional tether, both for the audience and Penelope is supposed to be her daughter Lily, but due to both the weirdness present through the whole narrative and the format and length of Lily's sections, it just doesn't resonate with me. My biggest take away from this story is that it is definitely for Doctor Who fans, of which I am not one. I've never seen anything of Doctor Who but I am aware that there multiple similarities present, and this narrative seems to be commentary on the characters of the Doctor and the companion, and their dynamic. Despite my issues with the weirdness of this novella, both in how its written and the actual contents, I think it is trying to tell a compelling narrative and I just wish I understood it better.
Ratings: 2.5
Recommendations: Any of Whiteley's other books because each one offers something slightly different but they have broad similarities such plants/ fungi being important and odd writing style. Also How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu because both have an unusual narrative structure, with How High We Go in the Dark being akin to a mosaic novel, and the narrative is driven by a potentially world ending plague that eventually culminates in an intergalactic element, but How High We Go in the Dark has a more literary vibe to it, whereas Greensmith leans into its zaniness.
What It's About: With a mysterious device she inherited from her father functioning as a seed bank, Penelope lives out her life as a bio-librarian, until one day the charismatic and enigmatic Horticulturist arrives and besieges her assistance in stopping a plague that is sweeping across the universe. As she is whisked away on this quest, her daughter is stuck on a dying Earth and desperately searches for her mother who may or may not return.
Finishing Thoughts: In retrospect, this one should have been a DNF. The first chapter was lovely and quaint, and a good setup for the rest of the novella. Unfortunately, I don't remember much beyond the first chapter because things got so strange. For example, the first stop is a planet with talking flamingos who are fighting a revolution, and it only gets more incoherent from there. The emotional tether, both for the audience and Penelope is supposed to be her daughter Lily, but due to both the weirdness present through the whole narrative and the format and length of Lily's sections, it just doesn't resonate with me. My biggest take away from this story is that it is definitely for Doctor Who fans, of which I am not one. I've never seen anything of Doctor Who but I am aware that there multiple similarities present, and this narrative seems to be commentary on the characters of the Doctor and the companion, and their dynamic. Despite my issues with the weirdness of this novella, both in how its written and the actual contents, I think it is trying to tell a compelling narrative and I just wish I understood it better.
Ratings: 2.5
Recommendations: Any of Whiteley's other books because each one offers something slightly different but they have broad similarities such plants/ fungi being important and odd writing style. Also How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu because both have an unusual narrative structure, with How High We Go in the Dark being akin to a mosaic novel, and the narrative is driven by a potentially world ending plague that eventually culminates in an intergalactic element, but How High We Go in the Dark has a more literary vibe to it, whereas Greensmith leans into its zaniness.
January 24, 2024
I don’t understand what happened.
November 18, 2025
I enjoy Whiteley's books, her entire inventive and off-kilter approach to genre, always waiting for the book that will nail the truly satisfying ending and get a Five Star review (as her book of short stories From the Neck Up managed easily); this book's ending is terrific—but getting there is wildly frustrating.
I don't mind the whole Doctor Who fanfic/deconstruction (though, as far as it goes, it's neither novel nor insightful) and Alice in Wonderland construction, but the lack of invention and imagination drags this down on almost every page—the idea that the protagonist (a clear bid for Olivia Colman in the movie) cannot comprehend the strangeness of the universe, therefore sees aliens as flamingos, landscapes as giant faces, is such a cop-out, immediately trading SF's usual Sense of Wonder for twee surrealism which becomes sillier and lazier as it goes on. Given that what Whiteley is alluding to in these passages sounds fascinating—and, to be honest, eminently describable and understandable—this seems a cripplingly disappointing and half-hearted approach to otherwise fascinating SF themes.
I don't mind the whole Doctor Who fanfic/deconstruction (though, as far as it goes, it's neither novel nor insightful) and Alice in Wonderland construction, but the lack of invention and imagination drags this down on almost every page—the idea that the protagonist (a clear bid for Olivia Colman in the movie) cannot comprehend the strangeness of the universe, therefore sees aliens as flamingos, landscapes as giant faces, is such a cop-out, immediately trading SF's usual Sense of Wonder for twee surrealism which becomes sillier and lazier as it goes on. Given that what Whiteley is alluding to in these passages sounds fascinating—and, to be honest, eminently describable and understandable—this seems a cripplingly disappointing and half-hearted approach to otherwise fascinating SF themes.
August 19, 2023
A haunting and beautiful adventure through space and time with a handsome, oddly dressed and quirky human-looking alien; complete with ancient races and grudges, universe-altering stakes, self-reference and lots of running down corridors. Hang on is this a Doctor Who fanfic? Well it seems like it sort of is. Whitely uses the familiar structure of the human companion swept up into these grander adventures, but colours it with fantastic imagination, and uses it to comment on and deconstruct the ideas often present and persistent in Doctor Who. It's also a bittersweet and elegiac story on the beauty and fragility of nature; and a story about forging who you are. Lovingly written and thoughtfully considered, a great book.
January 28, 2023
A thought-provoking tale that lingers in the mind.
I’m going to categorize Greensmith as a “thought experiment” because it has the usual flaw of stories that are outside of human experience. States such as being drugged, out-of-body, ill, or ending up in some sort of cyberspace are extremely hard to write, and even if one writes them well the characterization may suffer. Such was the case here. It is written in a laid-back and British style; the adventure starts out as a middle-aged woman who has been cautious introvert all of her life who decided she needed more human connections. She needs a major change in her life.
But instead of having a reckless affair, she ends up becoming transhuman to assist an alien intelligence who wants to help save not only the earth but other planets that are affected by a plague that is killing all the greenery, and eventually all life. He says it’s not affecting our planet alone, and the hope of a cure will be through the flora gene bank machine that her father left her. It seems The Vice, as her father called this device, was of alien manufacture. Her father had used it to catalog plant species – something that Ms. Greensmith continued doing after he passed away. But it holds the key to saving sentient worlds from this widespread plague. Although she is no longer human, and cannot technically be killed, she’s in danger of disintegrating because her senses are overloaded. How she copes, and how they try to solve things and stop the plague, makes for memorable story.
I’m going to categorize Greensmith as a “thought experiment” because it has the usual flaw of stories that are outside of human experience. States such as being drugged, out-of-body, ill, or ending up in some sort of cyberspace are extremely hard to write, and even if one writes them well the characterization may suffer. Such was the case here. It is written in a laid-back and British style; the adventure starts out as a middle-aged woman who has been cautious introvert all of her life who decided she needed more human connections. She needs a major change in her life.
But instead of having a reckless affair, she ends up becoming transhuman to assist an alien intelligence who wants to help save not only the earth but other planets that are affected by a plague that is killing all the greenery, and eventually all life. He says it’s not affecting our planet alone, and the hope of a cure will be through the flora gene bank machine that her father left her. It seems The Vice, as her father called this device, was of alien manufacture. Her father had used it to catalog plant species – something that Ms. Greensmith continued doing after he passed away. But it holds the key to saving sentient worlds from this widespread plague. Although she is no longer human, and cannot technically be killed, she’s in danger of disintegrating because her senses are overloaded. How she copes, and how they try to solve things and stop the plague, makes for memorable story.
June 30, 2023
I enjoyed this book immensely, but I'm struggling to find the right words to explain how or why...It's yet another story that is different at the root from what is visible on the surface. I went in expecting a semi lighthearted science fiction story where the good guys save the universe through hard work and perseverance. What I actually came away with more closely resembles a cosmic horror story where an entity of unimaginable size and power attempts to convey a degree of futility regarding all of our human endeavors. Somehow, though, the story doesn't actually end up entirely negative in the way that those tales tend to. Somehow, the indomitable spirit of the protagonist is greater than the sum of the forces working against her and despite not everything coming up roses, the eventual conclusion is a net positive. I hope that I've not spoiled the story for any prospective readers, but I can't think of a better way to phrase my feelings on this truly remarkable story. If you like science fiction and have ever considered the eventual end of the world, consider giving this book a try!
March 20, 2021
This is the first work I’ve read from Aliya Whiteley and I do like her style. Very intelligent writing and a nicely measured injection of sardonic humour. Although set against a backdrop of the destruction of an entire planet’s plant life, this novel really asks fundamental questions about the nature of existence and our perceptions of reality and identity - and does it in a very engaging way and without becoming pompous. The main character (Penelope) is a 50-something English woman and the inclusion of her somewhat ordinary concerns and preoccupations (and also those of her daughter) in a saga encompassing the entire universe and the possible end of life on Earth is just right. I do like the way Penelope loses and then finds herself again and how she stands up to the charming but ultimately self-serving alien being. In fact, it is the exploration of personality and motivation that makes this book such a joy. Fantastic.
June 15, 2022
I haven't read that much science fiction over the last few years, for a variety of reasons, but I absolutely loved 'Greensmith' by Aliya Whiteley. It manages a fine balance between silliness and seriousness, bleakness and cheerfulness, while being both a homage to and commentary on Doctor Who.
The story follows Penelope Greensmith, middle aged divorcee obsessed with collecting plants, who goes on an adventure through time and space after meeting a mysterious alien stranger. Very Doctor Who, but with greater emphasis on the Doctor figure being otherworldly, and having a middle-aged woman as the protagonist-companion gives a refreshingly different perspective to the younger companions typically featured in the TV show.
Thoroughly enjoyed and recommend it, and I've yet to encounter a book published by Unsung Stories that I haven't liked.
The story follows Penelope Greensmith, middle aged divorcee obsessed with collecting plants, who goes on an adventure through time and space after meeting a mysterious alien stranger. Very Doctor Who, but with greater emphasis on the Doctor figure being otherworldly, and having a middle-aged woman as the protagonist-companion gives a refreshingly different perspective to the younger companions typically featured in the TV show.
Thoroughly enjoyed and recommend it, and I've yet to encounter a book published by Unsung Stories that I haven't liked.
November 18, 2023
Utterly intriguing and unique story…“Penelope Greensmith lives a small, dedicated life, collecting plants with the mysterious Vice she inherited from her father. Then the enigmatic and charming Horticulturalist arrives in her garden, asking to see her collection—he tells her it could hold the key to stopping a terrible plague sweeping the universe.” (From the book blurb). This book is horrifying and heartwarming-weird science fiction at its best! Penelope takes an intergalactic journey trying to save her planet and her daughter Lily with a “man” who may or may not be trusted and has motives of his own. Beautifully written with characters full of depth and a story that is unexpected. Top book and one of my favorites-I plan to find Aliya Whiteley’s other books-she fascinated me with her writing!
March 23, 2024
I wanted to rate it 3 stars because it just wasn't the book I expected. I'm a big fan of eco literature and this wasn't it... exactly. I didn't like how big parts of the whole plot was 'summarised' into little tidbits Hort would give to Penelope. However! I understood that these little plots aren't the point. After reading the book through the lens of a Doctor Who episode, I saw that it was more of a jab towards a heartless Doctor-like character who pulls along a human being for his adventures to keep himself accompanied. Someone else said it better here. Anyways, it wasn't my favourite read of the year but it has certainly got me thinking. Maybe I'll give it another read (I feel like I gained this perspective a bit too late into the book)! The more I mull on this book the more I adore it tbh!!
December 19, 2023
I'm rounding up to four stars. I really had no idea what to expect from this: I picked it up randomly and it seems to have responded by being a bit random. It's kind of like a Rudy Rucker surrealist novel, only with a vague notion of psycholinguistics replacing the mathematics and a total lack of puerile horniness. It's an interesting story that I think I would have found more enjoyable if it hadn't implied a more traditional adventure towards the beginning. I also can't help but feel that the author takes advantage of the disjointed nature of the telling to avoid having to wrap scenes up coherently. Overall, though, it worked and was pretty fun to read, with a lot of interesting ideas floating through it to think about.
November 25, 2023
I liked the premise, and the wonderful Britishness of the main character and the writing. I would have loved to learn more about the strange information war taking place on Earth. Unfortunately, this, and Earth, is quickly left behind, and things get more and more surreal in a mixture of Doctor Who, told from the perspective of the Doctor’s companion, who has almost no agency whatsoever over large parts of the story, and the weirdness of Alice in Wonderland. In the last third or so, I had to force myself to read on.
January 10, 2021
Across the universe with Aliya!
It was a funny and affectionate shot of the weird and I'm delighted to say the usual 'oh,wait... what the hell just happened?' moments are there as always. Wonderful stuff that will grow on you like an alien flower type thingy.
It was a funny and affectionate shot of the weird and I'm delighted to say the usual 'oh,wait... what the hell just happened?' moments are there as always. Wonderful stuff that will grow on you like an alien flower type thingy.
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