With Delicate Mad Hands, by James Tiptree Jr. (sci-fi novella, 1981)

[lb_lee]

As for the Voice giving her new ideas, elaborating details about the Empire, she read that creators, artists and writers--usually the mediocre ones--often projected their inspirations onto some outside source like their "Muse."

Blurb: A young woman, treated as a "human waste can" by the men around her, flees to the stars in pursuit of the Voice who has been her only comfort, and discovers its true nature.

Why is it worth your time?: This story is so good, it made us cry. CP is one of the most relatable fictional depictions of a person with a story continuously running through her head that we've seen. It is a story of daring to embrace madness and the stars.

Plural Tags: abuse intermediate focus, otherworld (Empire of the Pigs), nonhumans, romantic relationships, visions, voices

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available on paperback, hardback, ebook, and audiobook forms, in English, German, and Japanese.

Misc Notes: This is a queer story. According to James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, "The story of Tiptree's that Alice considered her most romantic was 'With Delicate Mad Hands.' [...] Alli thought of this as a lesbian story, yet she also told an editor that 'the lesbianity (!! word??) isn't really important between beings so alien--so very alien" (107).

Comments

Content Warnings (MAJOR spoilers!)

[lb_lee]

CP, due to her appearance, is ridiculed and treated with disdain and contempt by the men around her, and lives in a misogynist society. Her breaking point is a brutal point, at which point she murders her rapist and the other scout so she can steal their ship and flee for the stars.

When she does make it to the planet her Voice lives on, the massive radiation of the planet insures she will not live, and she dies with her beloved together. It is a good death and we did not find the ending unhappy, though it is very bittersweet.