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heyheyhaley's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
How does one go about rating a book that was good yet you did not enjoy?
I always have this problem when I find books that I can acknowledge are good and have good themes and are well written, but I did not enjoy reading nor do I want to read similar books. I tend to just rate upon my enjoyment with the acknowledgement of its good features
The Employees cemented that poetry is not for me. It explored some very interesting ideas regarding what it means to be human and feelings of isolation but while I could like individual poems or lines, I could not fully connect as poetry is not a medium I enjoy.
3 stars but it would be higher if I liked poetry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Confinement
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Body horror
smolfem's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, and Death
owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
‘He tells me about the bridge and the woods near his childhood home, about the stream that flowed under the bridge, how they used to swim there, and a lot of other things from the place he calls Earth. He's shown me a stream that runs down in the valley. Obviously I can't leave the ship, but he's pointed it out to me from the panorama room. The stream glitters, and it runs like a silvery thought through the landscape. He put his hand on my shoulder. It was warm. A human hand. He said: 'You've lots to learn, my boy.’ An odd thing to say, seeing as how I was made a man from the start.’
I can’t lie, I was almost in tears at the end of this novel. I don’t want to be reductive about a refined and original piece of writing, but the best way I could describe it to my sister without spoilers was like an expanded version of that ‘cells within cells’ scene in Bladerunner 2049, based on Nabokov’s Pale Fire. It has so much to say about people being exploited by capitalism, to the very end, and demonstrates this by stripping characters of names, instead turning their individual narrative passages into witness statements. As such, it might be difficult for some readers to piece together plot and character threads, but I feel like once you adjust to the book’s narrative style, you get swept up in it regardless. There are so many lines of beautiful prose about humanity and the qualities and meanings of being alive, of community, connection, memory, experience and survival. It sort of feels like a novel that is inherently about climate change without ever mentioning that overtly? Or at least collective responses to it. There were so many images in this that made me want to cry. I really loved it.
I can’t lie, I was almost in tears at the end of this novel. I don’t want to be reductive about a refined and original piece of writing, but the best way I could describe it to my sister without spoilers was like an expanded version of that ‘cells within cells’ scene in Bladerunner 2049, based on Nabokov’s Pale Fire. It has so much to say about people being exploited by capitalism, to the very end, and demonstrates this by stripping characters of names, instead turning their individual narrative passages into witness statements. As such, it might be difficult for some readers to piece together plot and character threads, but I feel like once you adjust to the book’s narrative style, you get swept up in it regardless. There are so many lines of beautiful prose about humanity and the qualities and meanings of being alive, of community, connection, memory, experience and survival. It sort of feels like a novel that is inherently about climate change without ever mentioning that overtly? Or at least collective responses to it. There were so many images in this that made me want to cry. I really loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Body horror, Murder, and Grief
radtj's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Body horror, and Confinement
tashba's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Confinement
kp_brynn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Grief
perkyanda's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This book is weird as fuck and immediately upon finishing it I flipped back to the beginning to start again with added context. Not sure I’ll read all the way through a second time but I definitely recommend rereading at least the beginning! It’s such a weird little thing, an object itself as much as a novel, really, because of the unconventional way it’s told and the very limited way that information is given. It was engaging and off putting snd interesting and I just loved that I got to read something that really shook up my typical experience.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, and Medical content
meaghanelizabook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death
Minor: Murder
biblioghoul's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, and Death
beckyjc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was one of a few on the international Booker shortlist that I bought recently. It's very short so can be read in one or two sittings.
It's structured as a series of witness statements taken from both human and humanoid employees (tellingly, you can't always determine which is which) of an organisation working on a ship in deep space, as a series of unplanned events take place - perhaps caused by strange unidentified objects discovered on an alien planet.
I found the sterile and dehumanising lens of workplace productivity and employee performance both interesting and disturbing - it feels very late-stage disaster capitalism! The statements show how work does not give ultimate purpose to the employees, as many wrestle with their changing emotions and mental disturbances - even the humanoids - and struggle to maintain focus and satisfaction. The narrative, stripped of any character names or context - save that alluded to in their testimonies - is detached which adds to the mysterious tone. In stark contrast to this are the mentions of very earthly and embodied experiences, like the smell of the air, soil, and plant-life, or the touch of a loved one. These are nostalgic in tone and quite affecting in an age of climate crisis.
What are the objects? Why do they elicit such powerful reactions in the crew? What is the 'programme' they are fulfilling? What makes someone 'human'? How do we find or build community? How do we think of death? What should the role of work be in our lives? This book asks these questions and leaves the reader to answer them.
If you're a fan of smart sci-fi fiction, I would suggest reading this short, thoughtful novel, which manages to pack a lot into a small space.
It's structured as a series of witness statements taken from both human and humanoid employees (tellingly, you can't always determine which is which) of an organisation working on a ship in deep space, as a series of unplanned events take place - perhaps caused by strange unidentified objects discovered on an alien planet.
I found the sterile and dehumanising lens of workplace productivity and employee performance both interesting and disturbing - it feels very late-stage disaster capitalism! The statements show how work does not give ultimate purpose to the employees, as many wrestle with their changing emotions and mental disturbances - even the humanoids - and struggle to maintain focus and satisfaction. The narrative, stripped of any character names or context - save that alluded to in their testimonies - is detached which adds to the mysterious tone. In stark contrast to this are the mentions of very earthly and embodied experiences, like the smell of the air, soil, and plant-life, or the touch of a loved one. These are nostalgic in tone and quite affecting in an age of climate crisis.
What are the objects? Why do they elicit such powerful reactions in the crew? What is the 'programme' they are fulfilling? What makes someone 'human'? How do we find or build community? How do we think of death? What should the role of work be in our lives? This book asks these questions and leaves the reader to answer them.
If you're a fan of smart sci-fi fiction, I would suggest reading this short, thoughtful novel, which manages to pack a lot into a small space.
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement and Death
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