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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
It felt like half a story. I enjoyed the world and the idea but the ending felt too abrupt. Plus the gregarious product placement always takes me out of a story.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Objectively, this is probably the most well-written story in this collection, even if it's not my personal favorite. I haven't read anything by Amor Towles before because none of his books sounded interesting to me, but this was great, so I might change my mind about him going forward. We'll see.
The story takes place in the course of one afternoon going into the evening. Sam and his wife Annie are well-off due to sound business choices on Sam's part, and they have been trying to have a baby, but are now going to try IVF. Sam was referred to Vitek by a colleague, and he understands it to be *the* top-shelf fertility center ("You get what you pay for," says the colleague, who said the same thing about Sam's Tesla). But Vitek isn't just a fertility center, and you don't just select your baby's gender or screen for genetic diseases, you can select a trajectory for your baby, their personality and the future arc of their lives.
The revelations here about what Vitek does aren't the real story, though, that's all to do with Sam. Towles keeps it very character focused, even as the science and the scenarios get wackier as you go. Wacky probably isn't the best word. Out there, maybe, on the fringe of what should be possible.
Towles really does a great job showing you what you need to know to understand Sam's crisis here, and why he makes the choices he does, without holding your hand. I bet he's very good in his normal genre (and lit-fic is a genre, don't kid). This story makes me wish he would play around in the speculative fiction sandbox instead.
[4.5 stars, might round up in the future]
The story takes place in the course of one afternoon going into the evening. Sam and his wife Annie are well-off due to sound business choices on Sam's part, and they have been trying to have a baby, but are now going to try IVF. Sam was referred to Vitek by a colleague, and he understands it to be *the* top-shelf fertility center ("You get what you pay for," says the colleague, who said the same thing about Sam's Tesla). But Vitek isn't just a fertility center, and you don't just select your baby's gender or screen for genetic diseases, you can select a trajectory for your baby, their personality and the future arc of their lives.
The revelations here about what Vitek does aren't the real story, though, that's all to do with Sam. Towles keeps it very character focused, even as the science and the scenarios get wackier as you go. Wacky probably isn't the best word. Out there, maybe, on the fringe of what should be possible.
Towles really does a great job showing you what you need to know to understand Sam's crisis here, and why he makes the choices he does, without holding your hand. I bet he's very good in his normal genre (and lit-fic is a genre, don't kid). This story makes me wish he would play around in the speculative fiction sandbox instead.
[4.5 stars, might round up in the future]
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A good short read. I thought it would be about the ethics of genetically picking ur off springs. But really in was slightly more applicable to us. It was really about how no matter ur strengths and weaknesses you will struggle and ur character will grow. It was reassuring especally for my stage in life and I can see it being similarly assuring to someone who has lived more life than me too.
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes