On some level, I think art is the singular most important element of the human condition. So let’s talk about it. And Side by Side They Wander, by Molly Tanzer, is a short novella about an intergalactic art heist. Unfortunately, I think this powerful short was done dirty by the marketing tactics. Looking at the marketing material for this novella, it might seem that you were being promised an intricate heist story. Instead, inside you will find something more akin to a philosophical art lesson. I am here to tell you that the art lesson is a lot better and more important.
For three hundred years, humanity’s greatest works of art have been on loan at the Museum of the Seed-Born. When Earth was on the brink of disaster, the Seed-Born descended on the planet and offered humans the deal of a lifetime. If the humans were willing to do just one tiny inconsequential thing, something barely noticeable, really, the Seed-Born would allow Earth to achieve a post-scarcity utopia. All that humanity needed to do to clutch this wondrous future out of the jaws of desolation was to give up a select number of chosen art pieces to the Seed-Born for safekeeping. The Seed-Born will provide replicas so scientifically advanced that humanity can’t tell the difference to replace them, but the originals will be taken into a galactic art museum where the Seed-Born safeguards artistic treasures for species that can’t be trusted to maintain them.
Well, the deal was struck, and the art was shipped off. Three hundred years later, the Earth is in much better shape, and humanity has asked for the art to be returned now that they can take care of it themselves. The request was denied. As such, a ragtag group of art lovers has come together to try to steal the art back and explore the true power and value of art in the process.
And Side by Side They Wander is not a heist novel; it is a treatise on the wonder of art and an examination of historical colonial organizations like The British Museum. If you want a cool heist novel, turn back now, but if you want to explore your feelings about art, stick around. Wander is very good at devising thought experiments to get you to introspect on your own feelings about art and to learn something new about your convictions, no matter how much art history you know. I love post-scarcity science fiction examinations of the role of art to humanity (and there aren’t enough of them) because they allow you to devise very cleverly revealing thought experiments about artistic expression.
Is art truly priceless, and if yes, would it be worth ending humanity to preserve it? If no one can perceive the difference between an original and a copy, is there really a difference? How much does intentionality matter to artistic creation? Is it worth handing over the culture of a people to be safeguarded? Or should the legacy of art live and die by its creators? These are only a handful of the questions that this novella examines. The narrative elements used to both push the plot forward and encourage the reader to examine their own feelings are great. Most of the story takes place on the long ride from Earth to the museum. The heist crew spends most of this flight arguing about the nature of art, intercut with summaries of key historical events from the last 300 years on Earth, cleverly contextualizing the various stances of the heist members.
The entire story feels very inspired by the very real history of the British Museum, an institution I never tire of hating on, and I was impressed by Tanzer’s ability to dive into all sides of the argument and expand out the stances with hypotheticals. Tanzer manages to avoid both slapping you with her stance on the subject or overly relying on devil’s advocate, instead gently guiding the reader through a rich conversation via an interesting narrative.
Without spoiling any more, the result is that And Side by Side They Wander very effectively uses its short novella page count to ask provocative and nurturing questions about art that feel accessible and relatable at all levels of familiarity with the subject. It is a story that knows how to maximize its space with great big questions, while never veering into the territory of being a lecture. I enjoyed the novella immensely.
Rating: And Side by Side They Wander – 9.0/10
-Andrew
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.
