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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Sometimes some good ol’ plot-driven speculative fiction hits the spot. Half a point off for some fat phobia.
I thought this was a great read, although I found the first half more exciting then the second.
I love dystopian and the worlds that authors come up with and this was a cool, and seemingly very creepily real one.
Great read!
I love dystopian and the worlds that authors come up with and this was a cool, and seemingly very creepily real one.
Great read!
I devoured this book. It's rare to have a book that is this thoroughly engrossing on a story/character level while still being incredibly thought-provoking. "The Followers" strikes an impressive balance, giving us readers lot of food for thought on technology, fame, social media, and female relationships--and in fact, making pretty important arguments about them--but never feeling didactic. The book is dark and haunting (I don't know if I can look at the blue light on my phone the same way) but also, at moments, laugh-out-loud funny. It also completely stuck the landing, which, considering the book's 40-year scope and alternating POVs, is quite impressive.
Luisterboek
Het einde voelde een beetje afgeraffeld, maar het verhaal vond ik heel interresant!
Het einde voelde een beetje afgeraffeld, maar het verhaal vond ik heel interresant!
Excellent book. I loved every minute of it! What a fantastic commentary on social media and our "need" to be seen. I enjoyed how it alternated between the two characters and in their timeline. Highly recommended!
I did think the ending could have had a bit more too it. It basically explained what happened at the end and the years beyond instead of giving us more. However, despite this, I was not disappointed.
The part of the book that really resonated with me was when "seeing people looking up and not at their screens" seemed like an anomaly. That's how it is these days, isn't it? Will this book make me put my tablet or phone down and post less on social media? Probably not. However, it may make me think twice about some things.
I did think the ending could have had a bit more too it. It basically explained what happened at the end and the years beyond instead of giving us more. However, despite this, I was not disappointed.
The part of the book that really resonated with me was when "seeing people looking up and not at their screens" seemed like an anomaly. That's how it is these days, isn't it? Will this book make me put my tablet or phone down and post less on social media? Probably not. However, it may make me think twice about some things.
"Followers" reads like Mean Girls on steroids and I don't mean this in a good way.
Umm, no. It's not a "darkly funny" story. Honestly, this novel feels... juvenile. I mean, what? An internet terrorism from Russia? Clock stopping at 6:66? Technology so advanced and new talents appearing like mushrooms in the rainy season in the year 2051 but people always play Brahms like there have been no newer classical musicians for decades? Two nobodies getting extremely famous within months just from Instagramming and Tweeting when millions other people do the same in NYC? Someone who has an angelic voice AND is skilled in hacking the internet choosing to become a fake-it-all celebrity rather than find employment in the things she's good at?
Huh?
It feels like, you know, the protagonist in Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" video writing a book about other people who are more good-looking and popular than her. The narrative wasn't written in good faith and there is this underlying sense that it tries to become something like Black Mirror (but didn't quite reach).
The characters feel like a bunch of caricatures. Everyone is shallow and ridiculously mean. The reason I couldn't give it just one star is because one of the main characters, Orla Cadden, is slightly better written than the other two and I managed to be empathic with her story. However, I suspect that Orla actually is the self-insert character, the one the author relates to the most, and thus she painted Orla Cadden in a more sympathetic, if not better, light than Florence (or Floss, whatever) and Marlow.
(Don't get me started about Florence's/Floss's last-minute reflection and introspection; I didn't buy it at all. AT. ALL.)
...this darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection.
Umm, no. It's not a "darkly funny" story. Honestly, this novel feels... juvenile. I mean, what? An internet terrorism from Russia? Clock stopping at 6:66? Technology so advanced and new talents appearing like mushrooms in the rainy season in the year 2051 but people always play Brahms like there have been no newer classical musicians for decades? Two nobodies getting extremely famous within months just from Instagramming and Tweeting when millions other people do the same in NYC? Someone who has an angelic voice AND is skilled in hacking the internet choosing to become a fake-it-all celebrity rather than find employment in the things she's good at?
Huh?
It feels like, you know, the protagonist in Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" video writing a book about other people who are more good-looking and popular than her. The narrative wasn't written in good faith and there is this underlying sense that it tries to become something like Black Mirror (but didn't quite reach).
The characters feel like a bunch of caricatures. Everyone is shallow and ridiculously mean. The reason I couldn't give it just one star is because one of the main characters, Orla Cadden, is slightly better written than the other two and I managed to be empathic with her story. However, I suspect that Orla actually is the self-insert character, the one the author relates to the most, and thus she painted Orla Cadden in a more sympathetic, if not better, light than Florence (or Floss, whatever) and Marlow.
(Don't get me started about Florence's/Floss's last-minute reflection and introspection; I didn't buy it at all. AT. ALL.)