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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
Not sure I think that the
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At times funny, at others very moving, consistently beautifully written.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Transphobia
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really thought I would love this book. I was so excited to read it. The description was so enticing to me, and I thought it would be a book I really engaged with. I did enjoy it at the beginning, but was quickly thrown off.
The concept is interesting, and the prose flows beautifully, but the depiction of Ry as a trans man really sullies the book for me. I feel even if he had been presented as gender nonconforming/fluid/non-binary, his depiction may have been less jarring,but as he repeats, parrot like throughout, he is a trans man. This is the whole sum of identity he is given in the text, only to be constantly dismissed as a hybrid/half-man half-woman.
While early in the novel it did annoy me that Victor did not seem to acknowledge and respect his gender, I thought this was a character flaw that would have an impact later. I thought wrong. I think biases of the author have just bled through into this work. It feels so entirely unnecessary too, as there was no need for Ry’s character to be trans for the plot, and given how poorly it was handled the novel probably would have been stronger overall if he were not. She might actually have had to give him a personality then.
Also the sudden and explicit sexual assault felt so incredibly unnecessary. Added nothing to the plot. And the idea that “this is just the price” Ry pays to live authentically as himself? Harmful & sickening rhetoric.
A shame for a book that had so much potential in theory.
The concept is interesting, and the prose flows beautifully, but the depiction of Ry as a trans man really sullies the book for me. I feel even if he had been presented as gender nonconforming/fluid/non-binary, his depiction may have been less jarring,
While early in the novel it did annoy me that Victor did not seem to acknowledge and respect his gender, I thought this was a character flaw that would have an impact later. I thought wrong. I think biases of the author have just bled through into this work. It feels so entirely unnecessary too, as there was no need for Ry’s character to be trans for the plot, and given how poorly it was handled the novel probably would have been stronger overall if he were not. She might actually have had to give him a personality then.
Also the sudden and explicit sexual assault felt so incredibly unnecessary. Added nothing to the plot. And the idea that “this is just the price” Ry pays to live authentically as himself? Harmful & sickening rhetoric.
A shame for a book that had so much potential in theory.
A robot story with a very Mancunian feel. Mary Shelley, sexbots, Ada Lovelace, a secret network of tunnels under the Irwell. This had lots to appeal but unfortunately, for me, it missed the mark.
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
this was extremely uncomfortable to read. some parts of it read as transphobic and very ignorant to me. even though the parts about literature and literary figures were very well-written and engaging, everything regarding the protagonist's gender identity left a bad taste in my mouth, so i cannot recommend this book
I wanted to like this a lot more than I actually did. There are several lines that made me laugh out loud, which is always a positive for a book. It also discusses what it means to be human and the definition of the soul all in terms of where AI and robot tech is heading. I recently copy edited a dissertation on a similar topic so I was familiar with a lot of the philosophical debates and moral quandaries; however I wonder how accessible this is to most people. I also think the trans rep in this book is a bit questionable: often Ry's identity is used as a punchline or Ry is being used as a punching bag. Although this mixed Frankenstein, literary history, humor, and a modern problem I've thought a lot about recently, I wanted it to be a different book than what it was.