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scottt's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
devrim's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rebeccatc's review against another edition
4.0
Popsugar reading challenge - A book with a palindromic title
simplyme's review against another edition
inspiring
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? No
3.75
ratgrrrl's review against another edition
5.0
I am an absolute mess. My face and top are soaked. I will have the capacity to have more thoughts about this book another time. For now, this is one of the most strange, sad, beautiful, hopeful, and original books I have ever read. I am the queen on ADHD and every wonderful thing I experience being my new favourite thing, but this is now one of my favourite books of all time.
The narration by Soneela Nankani is sheer perfection and adds so much to the emotional impact. Truly sensational.
The narration by Soneela Nankani is sheer perfection and adds so much to the emotional impact. Truly sensational.
nonabgo's review against another edition
3.0
Had this novella been developed into a fully grown novel, it would have had potential to be remarkable. As it is, this book is a teenager who just discovered that there's a meaning to life, but cannot yet grasp what that meaning is. More or less like our ramblings during out high-school philosophy classes.
I liked the premise - the ability to extract people's traumatic memories as Mem's (copies, or clones, if you will, of the original "source", but who are merely shells, zombies, similar in body, but with only one memory in their minds - the extracted one), in order to live a better, more balanced life. But what are we without our traumas? Are we the same people, do we learn the same lessons, can we really become better versions of ourselves if we simply forget - extract - the unpleasantness from our lives? Or will we remain like children, incapable to interiorize any unpleasant event, innocent and emotionally immature?
This novella does not answer these questions, but rather tells a story and leaves the reader to decide what would be the desirable approach. Not even the characters of the story - the ones who have the most information, who know the consequences of such an "extraction" on the so-called source - know what the correct answer is, as it turns out.
The story follows one particular Mem, who is different from the others, not merely a mindless shell, but capable of rational thinking and of creating memories of her own. There are morality issues posed by the author through this text, besides the philosophical questions I spoke of above. She also touches on the discussion regarding the rights of these clones - are they individuals or are they property?
I found the plot intriguing and delightfully written. The setting (1920s Montreal) could have been explored in more depth - as it stands, the plot could have happened in any time period, there are very few (and mostly only fashion-related) references that would truly place the events in the Jazz Age. In fact, my main quibble about this book is that it was not explored enough, it felt rushed and unsatisfyingly illustrated.
I liked the premise - the ability to extract people's traumatic memories as Mem's (copies, or clones, if you will, of the original "source", but who are merely shells, zombies, similar in body, but with only one memory in their minds - the extracted one), in order to live a better, more balanced life. But what are we without our traumas? Are we the same people, do we learn the same lessons, can we really become better versions of ourselves if we simply forget - extract - the unpleasantness from our lives? Or will we remain like children, incapable to interiorize any unpleasant event, innocent and emotionally immature?
This novella does not answer these questions, but rather tells a story and leaves the reader to decide what would be the desirable approach. Not even the characters of the story - the ones who have the most information, who know the consequences of such an "extraction" on the so-called source - know what the correct answer is, as it turns out.
The story follows one particular Mem, who is different from the others, not merely a mindless shell, but capable of rational thinking and of creating memories of her own. There are morality issues posed by the author through this text, besides the philosophical questions I spoke of above. She also touches on the discussion regarding the rights of these clones - are they individuals or are they property?
I found the plot intriguing and delightfully written. The setting (1920s Montreal) could have been explored in more depth - as it stands, the plot could have happened in any time period, there are very few (and mostly only fashion-related) references that would truly place the events in the Jazz Age. In fact, my main quibble about this book is that it was not explored enough, it felt rushed and unsatisfyingly illustrated.
grae's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
looloolibby's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0