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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
I've contemplated the numerous ways I can review this book and each time I do I feel like I'll miss something out. And so many things happen in this novel that I truly cannot miss out on. I would go as far as say it's some form of literary genius, but that's a bit farfetched. This book dealt with 2 main aspects; being forgotten, and obtaining Perfection. The latter was never introduced with clarity in the synopsis but it plays a massive role in the entirety of Hope's story.
This book felt like a dramatized, but still somewhat realistic, episode of Black Mirror. Yeah, that Netflix show about technology ruining your life? This is pretty much what this book felt like. It felt like these series of events that would lead up to some massive conundrum and, ultimately, it did. Hope was a sad character, I felt so sad for her that I felt myself excusing her every flaw, knowing that, she's a pretty messed up person. North managed to write Hope in such a way that I actually had a dream of me waking up and being completely and utterly forgotten. And it riddled me with this sense of anxiety that I finally connected to every lonely aspect of Hope's life and the decisions she makes to survive. No matter how unethical they might be.
Perfection is a whole other story. It taps into the true core of our unadulterated society and nitpicks the way we think. From the very beginning we know how horrible this thing is. This app that has somehow hacked into everyone's lives and morphed them into their "perfect" selves. It was scary to say the least. And it was also so connective to Hope's story that it actually throws you off in the beginning, especially because of how defiant it is in brainwashing everyone. It was like a meld of elitism and loss of morality all in one go.
This book dealt with so many underlying themes and contexts that it feels really dismissive to talk about only those two things, but it's as much as I can say without giving away everything this book talks about. I would also say that this book probably isn't everyone's cup of tea. The writing style is unique and jarring, and overtly descriptive. Which I loved, but some might find endearing. I would say it's worth the intrigue and honestly I'll be thinking about this one for quite some time.
[4.5/5 stars]
This book felt like a dramatized, but still somewhat realistic, episode of Black Mirror. Yeah, that Netflix show about technology ruining your life? This is pretty much what this book felt like. It felt like these series of events that would lead up to some massive conundrum and, ultimately, it did. Hope was a sad character, I felt so sad for her that I felt myself excusing her every flaw, knowing that, she's a pretty messed up person. North managed to write Hope in such a way that I actually had a dream of me waking up and being completely and utterly forgotten. And it riddled me with this sense of anxiety that I finally connected to every lonely aspect of Hope's life and the decisions she makes to survive. No matter how unethical they might be.
Perfection is a whole other story. It taps into the true core of our unadulterated society and nitpicks the way we think. From the very beginning we know how horrible this thing is. This app that has somehow hacked into everyone's lives and morphed them into their "perfect" selves. It was scary to say the least. And it was also so connective to Hope's story that it actually throws you off in the beginning, especially because of how defiant it is in brainwashing everyone. It was like a meld of elitism and loss of morality all in one go.
This book dealt with so many underlying themes and contexts that it feels really dismissive to talk about only those two things, but it's as much as I can say without giving away everything this book talks about. I would also say that this book probably isn't everyone's cup of tea. The writing style is unique and jarring, and overtly descriptive. Which I loved, but some might find endearing. I would say it's worth the intrigue and honestly I'll be thinking about this one for quite some time.
[4.5/5 stars]
This book is a hard one to rate. I liked it, and I LOVED about the first half of it, but then it just kept getting duller and duller and went on and on and got tedious. I like to rant/talk a lot, but some of the dialogue was 1 person talking for a full page about scientific stuff that made my eyes hurt. It just lost me somewhere around 60% and I just really wanted it to be over with, which is a shame because it started out so well.
The good: the concept, the 1st half of the book, Hope, what she was able to do and how she did it. She was lovable, for a thief.
The not-so-good: The writing style at times, unique but not something I liked. The "definitions" that made me feel like I was reading a dictionary have of the time.
The bad: the scientific stuff that went on and on and on. The 1 page dialogue from one person just rambling. The length. If this book was closer to 300 pages instead of 500 pages, all the dull stuff could have been taken out and all the fun good stuff left in and it would have been a great book.
The good: the concept, the 1st half of the book, Hope, what she was able to do and how she did it. She was lovable, for a thief.
The not-so-good: The writing style at times, unique but not something I liked. The "definitions" that made me feel like I was reading a dictionary have of the time.
The bad: the scientific stuff that went on and on and on. The 1 page dialogue from one person just rambling. The length. If this book was closer to 300 pages instead of 500 pages, all the dull stuff could have been taken out and all the fun good stuff left in and it would have been a great book.
When I read about this book on NetGalley, I had convinced myself that the author would explain how we get to a situation where a sixteen year old can, to all intents and purposes, be invisible. What I got was something very different, which did mean I took some time to feel I was really engaging with the story.
Hope Arden is our narrator. We're told that moments after meeting her, people forget her. This started when she was in school, and I got the impression some considerable time had elapsed since then though this is never explicitly said.
Having realised that many of the things we take for granted are not an option for someone who is forgotten the moment they walk out of a room, Hope turns to criminal activity to survive.
We meet her during a fairly audacious theft, and it's clear that this time she has tangled with the wrong people.
Hope's story is intertwined with what sounds like a very plausible, though terrifying, app called Perfection.
Throughout the novel I felt myself fascinated by the character of Hope and her relationships with some of the people that she meets time and time again. Personally, I felt that after the pretty graphic scenes that lead to matters being resolved I would have liked things ended sooner.
Though it wasn't what I thought, this was an entertaining read.
Hope Arden is our narrator. We're told that moments after meeting her, people forget her. This started when she was in school, and I got the impression some considerable time had elapsed since then though this is never explicitly said.
Having realised that many of the things we take for granted are not an option for someone who is forgotten the moment they walk out of a room, Hope turns to criminal activity to survive.
We meet her during a fairly audacious theft, and it's clear that this time she has tangled with the wrong people.
Hope's story is intertwined with what sounds like a very plausible, though terrifying, app called Perfection.
Throughout the novel I felt myself fascinated by the character of Hope and her relationships with some of the people that she meets time and time again. Personally, I felt that after the pretty graphic scenes that lead to matters being resolved I would have liked things ended sooner.
Though it wasn't what I thought, this was an entertaining read.
Hope has a superpower of a sort, but it is more of a curse: no one remembers her. It started with casual acquaintances people forgetting she was nearby, then escalated to her friends until finally even her parents forgot her. To survive, she has become an excellent thief, as it’s hard to collect a paycheck if your boss doesn’t remember hiring you, your coworkers don’t remember you showing up, and no one remembers who did your work. While stealing a famous necklace, Hope becomes aware of an app called Perfection which claims to do just that – make people perfect. After a woman named Reina who Hope admires dies partially because Perfection doesn’t heal her depression, Hope becomes determined to stop Perfection. This book raises interesting questions about what freedom is, what it means to live a worth life and what perfection is, but it also features a fascinating character and a compelling plot.
Interesting concept, good writing, but lagged in the middle.
There's a cool SF thriller buried inside this book that is rather deflated by pacing issues. Still recommended, but with reservations.
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2016/07/do-you-use-perfection.html
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2016/07/do-you-use-perfection.html
I like books that weave the story around an interesting twist. The twist in this is that Hope slowly develops the power to be forgettable to anyone she meets. She uses this ability to start a successful life of crime until she stumbles into a major tech conspiracy that forces her to choose between selfish needs and selfless needs. Well-written and constantly twisting your mind and expectations.
This is the second book of North’s that I’ve read and I’ve grown more adjusted to her writing style which I often find choppy and uneven. However, this lends her books the fascinating quality of being both thrilling realistic fantasy (if that’s a genre), and a Jeopardy esque trivia novel. This novel is constantly asking the reader to not only deal with questions about our humanity but also policy questions about privacy and medical ethics. I found the novel complex and fast-paced which I think the writing style contributes to. I’m not sure if I’d rate this a full five stars but maybe 4.5. Looking forward to reading another one of her novels.
La soudaine apparition de Hope Arden est un roman que je vous conseille si la thématique de la perfection et des dangers de l’omniprésence de la technologie dans nos vies vous intéresse. Si vous êtes, en revanche, à la recherche d’un livre mené tambour battant, je ne suis pas certaine que vous trouverez votre bonheur avec ce titre.
Chronique complète sur le blog : https://lightandsmell.wordpress.com/2019/08/30/la-soudaine-apparition-de-hope-arden-claire-north/
Chronique complète sur le blog : https://lightandsmell.wordpress.com/2019/08/30/la-soudaine-apparition-de-hope-arden-claire-north/
I had high hopes for this book (no pun intended), but this book is just word vomit. It consists of the author going on and on and on about various topics, rambling almost, having tons of info dumps -- even in dialogue. Hello? People don't actually talk that way. Ugh.