A collection of stories in which characters must confront sudden change (the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens) while striving to maintain some sense of normalcy. In the title story, a grieving mother copes with divorce and the death of her daughter by drawing on her knowledge of alien languages and non-linear memory recollection. Chiang examines what it means to be alive in a world marked by uncertainty and constant change, and also by beauty and wonder.
