Ted Chaing examines, through the eyes of Louise Banks (a linguist tasked with decoding the language of an alien species known as the Heptapods), how understanding language means more than simply understanding a conveyed message. As The Story of Your Life progresses, and Louise applies a theory of physics to her understanding of the Heptapod’s language, it impacts the way in which she thinks and by the last page you realise that the same theory has been utilised in the construction of the story that you’ve just read. I can only hope that the film version fills me with half the sense of wonder that this short story managed.
The Story of Your Life
Author: Ted Chiang
