The short story “Mono no Aware” by Ken Liu has been published for the first time in 2012. It won the Hugo Award for best short story of the year.

Hiroto Shimizu is part of the crew of the Hopeful, a starship that set off for a journey of more than three centuries to a star called 61 Virginis to escape a disaster caused by the impact of an asteroid on Earth. When a damage to the giant solar sail used as a propulsion system is discovered, Hiroto is the most qualified for the difficult repair work.

In “Mono no Aware” Ken Liu can concentrate a complex tale in a short story. With well-weighed words, the author tells the role of Hiroto on the starship Hopeful with his regular job but also with his attempt to teach someone else the Japanese culture even if he himself doesn’t know much about anymore. Through the protagonist, he also tells the story of the end of the Earth using flashbacks and the Hopeful journey to a new world .

“Mono no Aware” is much more than an apocalyptic tale, in fact it’s the story of the reactions to the apocalypse. Hiroto remembers what happened in the world since the discovery that the asteroid would hit the Earth. In particular, he remembers his parents’ behavior and the sacrifices they made to save him.

It’s his parents’ example that guides Hiroto’s actions so he doesn’t hesitate when the 1,021 inhabitants of the Hopeful are endangered by a damage to the solar sail. If the damage wasn’t repaired as soon as possible, the tear would get bigger, the sail would soon collapse and the starship would be adrift into space.

Ken Liu is very good at explaining Hiroto’s motives, learned from his father, without making the story heavier. We can say that “Mono no Aware” is in part a philosophical tale because the author also includes explanations of that kind to the reasons for the characters’ behavior, starting from the meaning of the title.

In “Mono no Aware” there are technological elements such as the generation starship and the solar sail but they’re functional to the story. This is humanistic science fiction, in which human beings and their behavior, their desires and their motives are the fundamental element.

From that point of view, “Mono no Aware” is a very profound, emotional story. I think it’s a real gem so I strongly suggest reading it, taking advantage that it’s also available online.