Memoirs of a Spacewoman

(...)

The fact that part of this book is satire seems hardly noticed by reviewers. Maybe my reading was influenced the review of Sirius on Gaping Blackbird. That review highlighted the comic significance of a scene I didn't perceive as comedy at all, so that may have sharpened my senses a bit. Still, this next quote more or less puts all the deep thoughts about empathic communication in a different light.

We used to take our rations and eat them where the creatures could observe us. This roused their sympathy, though they wanted to see the results of the digestive process. I believe Françoise obliged, but they found the result aesthetically disappointing, and tried to express to her their pity and even some thoughts on how a better results could be achieved. This was a first important point of higher communication between our groups.

For those who missed it: they are talking about the aesthetics of shit, as the alien creatures' main occupation is shitting in patterns. The book is worth the price of acquisition for this passage alone, and with it Mitchison brilliantly subverts her own set up.

(...)