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rorikae's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
'The Intuitionist' by Colson Whitehead is a novel about an elevator inspector caught up in the scandal surrounding an elevator crash.
Lila Mae Watson is the first female Black elevator inspector. Watson is part of the Intuitionists, a group that uses their intuition to inspect and diagnose elevator problems. The Intuitionists are in direct competition with the Empiricists, who use traditional methods and tools to inspect elevators. When an elevator falls at a building that Watson has recently inspected, she is pulled into the fight between the two groups that encompasses the Elevator Guild elections and a mysterious speculative elevator supposedly developed by the creator of the Intuitionist movement.
'The Intuitionist' is a fascinating speculative work, even more so as Whitehead's first novel. Watson is a complex character surrounded by a flawed and fascinating supporting cast. Whitehead creates a fascinating world with elevators at its core where the characters regard the machines with a religious reverence. The conspiracy at the center of the story is interesting though it's resolution didn't have as much going on as I would have hoped. Whitehead does a great job of taking a speculative concept and making it feel lived in. If you are looking for some slightly weird fiction with good characters and an interesting plot, I would recommend The Intuitionist.
Lila Mae Watson is the first female Black elevator inspector. Watson is part of the Intuitionists, a group that uses their intuition to inspect and diagnose elevator problems. The Intuitionists are in direct competition with the Empiricists, who use traditional methods and tools to inspect elevators. When an elevator falls at a building that Watson has recently inspected, she is pulled into the fight between the two groups that encompasses the Elevator Guild elections and a mysterious speculative elevator supposedly developed by the creator of the Intuitionist movement.
'The Intuitionist' is a fascinating speculative work, even more so as Whitehead's first novel. Watson is a complex character surrounded by a flawed and fascinating supporting cast. Whitehead creates a fascinating world with elevators at its core where the characters regard the machines with a religious reverence. The conspiracy at the center of the story is interesting though it's resolution didn't have as much going on as I would have hoped. Whitehead does a great job of taking a speculative concept and making it feel lived in. If you are looking for some slightly weird fiction with good characters and an interesting plot, I would recommend The Intuitionist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Violence, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship
booksthatburn's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Lila Mae Watson is the first Black female elevator inspector ever in the department, she's an Intuitionist who can enter an elevator and "intuit" any defects. She's outnumbered by Empiricists in the department, who are almost all white and male, and eager to blame an Intuitionist when an elevator goes into freefall after Lila Mae's inspection.
The divide between Empiricists and Intuitionists seems like a simple ideological divide at first, but that central question becomes more complicated as Lila Mae learns more about Intuitionism's founder while investigating the crash. Lila Mae isn't the first Black inspector, and I'm unsure whether she's the first female one, but the combination of the two means that a nearly endless slurry of sexism and racism are directed her way, either singly or in combination. It's consistent but not constant, and whether and how characters disparage her is part of their characterization and contributes to the worldbuilding as a whole. The antagonists attempt to weaponize her identity for their own gain in a variety of ways, whether from things she chose (being an Intuitionist) or things she didn't choose (being Black and female).
There are long sections which contain delightful thoughts about elevators, including but not limited to competing theories of elevators, how the passenger exists in context with the elevator, where escalators fit in as vertical conveyances, and many more.
The mystery is tense and engaging, I was hooked almost immediately, became riveted about a third of the way in, and was completely engaged through to the end. Lila Mae is purposeful and conscientious, which are excellent qualities for the protagonist of a mystery. Excellently layered, I love this.
The divide between Empiricists and Intuitionists seems like a simple ideological divide at first, but that central question becomes more complicated as Lila Mae learns more about Intuitionism's founder while investigating the crash. Lila Mae isn't the first Black inspector, and I'm unsure whether she's the first female one, but the combination of the two means that a nearly endless slurry of sexism and racism are directed her way, either singly or in combination. It's consistent but not constant, and whether and how characters disparage her is part of their characterization and contributes to the worldbuilding as a whole. The antagonists attempt to weaponize her identity for their own gain in a variety of ways, whether from things she chose (being an Intuitionist) or things she didn't choose (being Black and female).
There are long sections which contain delightful thoughts about elevators, including but not limited to competing theories of elevators, how the passenger exists in context with the elevator, where escalators fit in as vertical conveyances, and many more.
The mystery is tense and engaging, I was hooked almost immediately, became riveted about a third of the way in, and was completely engaged through to the end. Lila Mae is purposeful and conscientious, which are excellent qualities for the protagonist of a mystery. Excellently layered, I love this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Torture
Moderate: Cursing, Classism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Excrement, Blood, Violence, Death, and Kidnapping
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Car accident, Rape, Slavery, Animal death, Sexual content, and Fatphobia
themysteriouserk's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is an inventive novel that balances the top-notch prose, strong character work, and commentary on race/racism for which Colson Whitehead’s later books are so well-known with elements of speculative fiction/alternate history and a more thriller-adjacent plot. Whether you’re already a fan of his work or not, it’s an excellent read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
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