‘The bizarre events that have been occurring across the United States seem to have no bearing on Benita Alvarez-Shipton’s life. that is, until she is approached by a pair of aliens asking her to transmit their message of peace to the Powers That Be in Washington.Her obligation does not end once the message is delivered, however, for the Pistach have offered their human hosts a spectacular opportunity for knowledge and enrichment, with Benita as sole liaison between the two sentient races. The more she learns about the extraterrestrials, the more her appreciation grows for their culture, their beliefs and their art – especially the ancient and mysterious Fresco that dominates their collective lives.But the Pistach are not the only space-faring species making their presence known on Earth.There are others, cold, malevolent and hungry…’Blurb from the 2002 Gollancz paperback editionThis is rather less science fiction and more wish-fulfilment fantasy from Tepper, but is no less satisfying for that. Written prior to 9/11 it has a wistful Arthur C Clarke optimism in that the religious idiocy of fundamentalism can be dealt with, and dealt with in a humorous and compellingly satisfactory way.Benita Alvarez, mother of two, is trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage to her violent and alcoholic husband, a man who planned to be an artist but never made it. One day, Benita is out picking wild mushrooms and is approached by two aliens, representatives of a galactic federation, who wish Earth to become part of a wider civilisation, and who offer Benita the chance to become the intermediary between humanity and galactic civilisation. However, before Earth can become a member, humans will have to clean their act up, and the aliens are not prepared to wait for us to think about it.Nanobots are scattered around the world, and various societies soon discover that they will have to change their ways. In Afghanistan, the men find that their women have become hideous which, the aliens reason, gives the males no more reason to lock their women away or force them to cover their faces when in public. Jerusalem disappears overnight, and the aliens, in the manner of frustrated parents, tell the Earth that it will be returned when we stop fighting over it and learn to play nicely. Meanwhile, it is discovered that other, more predatory members of galactic society have also come to Earth, and have made secret deals with US politicians in order to use Earth as a hunting ground since Humanity has grossly overpopulated the planet and needs weeding out. Later, when another group of alien ‘peace-keepers’ arrives to deal with the predators, it transpires that they are insectile forms who lay their eggs in living flesh, and having been called out at the wrong time, need hosts in which to place their larvae. Who better, the aliens reason, than those Pro-Life male politicians who pontificate endlessly about the evil of abortion. Thus, the politicians are given a lesson in what it is like to be pregnant and, more importantly, to experience the pain of childbirth, since when the larvae is removed at the time of hatching, no anaesthetic is allowed in case it interferes with the hatchling.The third strand of the plot refers to The Fresco itself, an ancient series of paintings, sacred to Benita’s aliens and central to their philanthropic values, whose patina is so stained with the candle smoke of centuries that no details can now be seen.Many readers will no doubt sympathise with Tepper’s clear and rational view of a world plagued with delusion and stupidity, and her common sense approach to the problems of the world. One has to ask, however, whether Tepper’s view is that we can only be saved by abandoning control of our fates to others. If so, I am beginning to move toward her point of view.Despite a somewhat Americocentric emphasis, this is a marvellous feel-good novel, and one finishes the novel wishing, on some level, that the aliens would come and sort us out. We could certainly do with it.
It's in the forest of the New Mexico mountains where Benita Alvarez-Shipman meets the first aliens to visit the Earth. They ask her to bring their communication device to her 'leaders', give her money, and disappear, leaving her flabbergasted and reeling. Afraid to tell anyone what happened, she leaves her abusive husband (her children are off to college), and flies across the country to Washington DC where she hands off the package to her congressman.From there things take off as Benita finds herself unwittingly pulled into the political maelstrom that ensues. Unfortunately, her new friends the Pistach aren't the only aliens recently in contact with the humans, but the other aliens aren't nearly so benevolent and some of the politicians in DC are in league with them. As a story about what an alien first contact could be like, The Fresco entertains, expounding for us the political, cultural, and religious issues a federation of aliens would bring with it. But Tepper, true to form as in her other books (take for instance Gate to Women's Country), the story is flavored with her political leanings as well as her distaste for religion. We learn early on that the Pistach aliens are intelligent and advanced, and the designated 'ambassadors' in bringing new races into their federation. However, they have an obvious inconsistency: the fresco.The fresco is a mural in a temple on their home world, and their entire culture and religious experience is based on what the fresco teaches. Unfortunately, it has been covered with soot and grime for a long time, and no one in the present-day has seen it in its entirety--they base all their knowledge on it from past sketches and commentaries. Important to note: the Pistach aren't particularly good artists.But what does the fresco have to do with bringing Earth and its inhabitants into the alien federation? Well, everything, as you will learn, but I don't dare spoil it for you.Tepper's writing is clean and crisp, moving forward at a steady pace, descriptive yet uninhibited. Her side characters suffer from being stereotypical, yet the main characters have more interesting depth. Benita in particular is fascinating as we watch a victim of domestic abuse struggle to escape it and let her true character grow and live up to her full potential.Tepper rather likes social commentary in her writing, and The Fresco is riddled with it. She explores what it means to interfere for the sake of improving another person's life. For example, the Pistach have a very rigid caste system: artists become artists, but those who love art yet have no artistic skill will teach it instead of becoming artists. Tepper superimposes this over Benita's husband, who's an artist, but spends his life with no success for lack of direction and talent. So the question is, should we guide and 'force' people (the Pistach use drugs and other methods to mold people toward certain behavior) toward their real strengths, convinced they will be happy doing that, or should we allow freedom of choice and risk misery?The story does make you think, and there are some political and religious ideas I wouldn't mind discussing with another reader, particularly Tepper's version of utopia.
What do You think about The Fresco (2015)?
Alien races visit Earth. The main plot concerns aliens who want humans to join the confederation, but on the condition that we meet their criteria for "neighborliness" first. And they will help us to learn neighborliness, whether or not everyone wants to learn. This one was a guilty pleasure for me. There's a huge eco-feminist agenda in this book, almost preaching at points, but since it's basically stuff I agree with I couldn't help but enjoy it. The weakest part of the book came towards the end, when the aliens had their own crisis, and humans had to help them out of it - that part of the book seemed the most contrived to me, which is why it only gets 3 stars from me. And the very end was hokey. But the sections where the aliens discuss their own world from their own point of view was quite good.
—Shari Beck
First contact stories are a big staple of science fiction, and between this book and The Serene Invasion, I've read two of them this year. And they're very similar, though the aliens in this book are a lot more blunt about screwing around with things they don't like. If you, say, believe that women need to be secluded, or forced to wear stupidly limiting clothing, you get (view spoiler)[a "plague" that turns them ugly until you give them sufficient freedom (hide spoiler)]
—Matthew
Tepper tends to get a little preachy now and then and this book is a prime example. However since I tend to agree with a fair amount of her opinions, while reading this book I ended up doing a lot of head nodding, guffawing, and saying "hellz yeah!!" However, if your political beliefs slant towards the right you'll likely end up feeling annoyed during most of the book.I really enjoyed this book since it was highly "digestible"- very easy to read (but not completely monosyllabic and idiotic), and very entertaining. Teppers books are best spaced out a bit, since she has a distinct voice it's easier appreciated cushioned by the voices of other authors.Memorability Factor: 9/10
—Gertie
