Reviews with content warning for Violence - Little Eyes

This made me feel so many different emotions but ultimately was super unsettling and also so human, is the only way I can describe it. It asks lots of important questions, like about your consciousness and what is an ‘extension of u’ and what is not. Super close and intimate (sometimes too intimate) look at the human condition if it was ruled by little portals. Also, this book is translated beautifully.

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emily_koopmann's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-paced

4.5

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evelynritzi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

This one definitely was odd, familiar, and unsettling - black mirror vibes - as advertised! Technology at its worst. It really made me think about how loose we are about trusting strangers on the internet, revealing so much about our lives in subtle ways. Our social media is our Kentukis in a way, giving strangers a glimpse at our personal lives free of charge. At the same time, for viewers, we are so drawn to the most mundane content (get ready with me, eat with me etc) because in a way it provides a sense of adventure and connectedness. It also made me think a lot about “sharenting” and how parents are way too comfortable sharing everything about their kids without thinking about who is on the other end watching with ill intentions. It was a little hard to keep up with all the characters and locations, that would be my only complaint!

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savvylit's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Each chapter of Little Eyes features a perspective of either a kentuki keeper or dweller. What follows is possibly the best fictional take on human nature on the Internet. Kentukis serve as the perfect symbol for fully-online parasocial relationships. The concept of a kentuki seems exaggeratedly far-fetched at first -- who would want to let an anonymous stranger into their home in the form of a moving camera? However, how different is that from extremely online folks who chronicle most of their days for viewers? I'd say not very. Kentukis are the perfect vessel for Schweblin to explore socializing in the digital age and all of its motivations and consequences. Distilled to its essence, Little Eyes is an expertly crafted meditation on loneliness, voyeurism, cruelty, and projection.

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kaabtik's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Read this for the Book Lust Reading Guild's BOTM.

A very unique premise that was executed well. The beauty in it was that it gave the readers enough of a glance of the world from all angles, but still keeping the story within that of the characters. It mirrored reality in a way that didn't come off as pretentious or too on the nose, which I appreciated. Also had me changing and fixing up my digital footprint lololol.

BOTM Discussion:

Q1: Kentuki
Do you think that something similar to the kentuki could ever exist in the real world? Would you like it to be?

Though I wouldn't want there to be little anonymous people in my house, something similar to the Kentuki is definitely possible. Autonomous delivery robots already exist, and drones have become more commonplace.

Q2: Owner or dweller?
If the kentuki were real and you were to receive one (you can't say no!), would you prefer to be a dweller or to own one? Why?

Dweller, definitely, as I'm someone who liked to cut back on travel expenses as much as possible lolol. A pretty shallow reason but to be an owner and to have a stranger in my house at all times is something that would take years off my life every day.

Q3: The stories
Do you think the stories were easy to follow? Which ones did you like more? The creepy ones, the ones that gave just a glimpse of a connection, the sad ones...

The stories were pretty easy to follow, and I think I liked Emilia's and Grigor's the best as they were the most intriguing. Their stories were opposites, with Emilia having little tech experience to Grigor's wide understanding of it. I didn't like Marvin's a lot as I found the 'revolution' very meh and couldn't really get behind the whole cause. I did like the touch of how the kentuki would be involved in legal stuff though, but the whole "liberation" thing was... not it.

Q4: Characters
Which character (or characters) did you like best?

I liked Enzo the best as his interactions with his Kentuki were very sincere imo. Though it turned out for the worse, I still think he was acting out of a place of love for his son — and one out of loneliness.

Q5: The vibes
One thing I really enjoyed of this book was the subtle creepiness that emerged from time to time. What about you?

I liked how it didn't shy away from the darker aspects of the kentuki being used and what was in store for them. There had never been a moment in the book that I felt safe in the presence of the kentuki, yet I could see why the characters acted the way they did. Which made it more creepy and fun to read. A bit emotionally exhausting though, not going to lie.

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elledanie's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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pages_with_a_preoccupied_prin's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a really interesting read thar was incredibly unnerving. It felt like I was reading an episode of Black mirror.
I was really intrigued by the various characters portrayed in this novel and found the concept fascinating. I think this book looked really well at society and how people interact, considering how much everyone is interested in how other people live.
It was incredibly graphic at points, with one scene I had to actually skim read because I found it so gross.
I can't lie, but I am incredibly glad the Kentuki's don't actually exist.

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mangofandango's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

"Little Eyes" is a narrative made up of a series of alternating vignettes from the POV of several recurring characters and a few one-offs as well. That set up makes it sometimes a bit hard to follow at first, though as things go along the recurring characters firmed up for me and I could easily keep track of who was who. It's like a collection of short stories set up around the concept of the technology central to the plot - internet connected toys who are operated by a random "dweller" anywhere in the world, and owned by "keepers" who allow the toy access to their home through movement and webcam/audio. Those are one-way connections, so unless the involved users devise a way to communicate, the dwellers can see and hear the keepers but the keepers cannot tell who dwells in their device. Obviously there is a huge range of possible ways this scenario can play out touchingly, heroically, sweetly, and a zillion ways it can be absolutely horrific to consider. These short stories are basically brief explorations of some of those possibilities. I enjoyed it, and I wished for a bit more depth, exploration, and back story to some of them - which honestly, may have been an intentional choice on the part of the author, since those feelings are very similar to the one-way connection a dweller has with a keeper? Anyway, I thought it was interesting. While it's very obviously A Commentary For Our Times, it's...well, it's a fair assessment. Of course, this book leans heavily into the darkest interpretations, but we all know the darkest ones do exist in the technologies we consider (culturally, if not factually) to be benign.

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