Reviews

Every Version of You by Grace Chan

tahlia1234's review

4.75

I enjoyed this book so much!! Grace Chan is such a gifted writer in making the reader feel at home in the imagined worlds that she creates. Not for a moment did I feel like the writing was forced or too far out of reach from our worldview. I think about the book constantly and relate it to our world now, the main character does what I would probably do and is so interesting to watch her thought process. I can’t wait to read more of Chan’s work and also delve into speculative fiction more which is a newfound genre for me.

snewgoblin's review

emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

maree_k's review

challenging emotional 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

4.0

zoylicious's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

billybear72's review

5.0

I’m going to need processing time after reading this, but the intricate life stories along with the incredible future world building is incredibly detailed and intelligent

endure_survive24's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

daniella84's review

3.0

I can see this doing wonderful things for the Australian sci-fi scene, but sadly I didn't love this as much as I was hoping.

Very interesting topics of the Metaverse, capitalism, disability, climate change, and the nature of humanity itself. I just don't think it did quite enough on any one of these topics - the climate was probably the most prominent but I feel it could have engaged with these ideas more. I think it could have done this by having the book be vignettes about characters in different situations - our current protagonist Tao-Yi but also Nivan as someone seeing the digital sphere as a way to escape pain and the limitations of the physical body; someone who gave up everything for a digital life but then realised immortality and Gaia weren't for them; someone too poor to afford the technology; or someone who lives off grid and finds out one day no one is in their small town anymore because they've all gone digital. I think following multiple characters could have breathed more life into this world and gone more in depth on the big - and very relevant - themes that the book covers.

Not to say Tao-Yi's story wasn't interesting, but it did feel like we were being held at a bit of a distance. I didn't really feel invested in her relationship with Nivan, but I did like that the idea of not going digital helped her want to connect more with her family that she never really knew and now never will. It reminded me a bit of [b:The Memory of Animals|62972519|The Memory of Animals|Claire Fuller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667667134l/62972519._SY75_.jpg|97209334] and [b:Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow|58784475|Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow|Gabrielle Zevin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636978687l/58784475._SY75_.jpg|89167797] - but like Memory of Animals I wanted it to really GO THERE, and like Tomorrow x3 there wasn't quite the emotional punch I was hoping for.

Would be really interested to see where this author goes from here, and I am glad this book is getting a lot of attention and praise. If nothing else I feel it would be a great conversation starter and is an incredibly prescient warning about what our lives might soon look like.

mishlist's review

5.0

I loved this - it starts out so gentle and small - two lovers, caring for each other, living life. It's playful and creative, in giving the reader a glimpse at a possible technologically enabled future life - in gel-filled pods, cleaning machines, a digital world where you can be yourself or anyone else.

At the same time, Chan is slowly weaving together the terrifying background of climate change's effects on the Earth for us to see. The story and its questions widens in scope as things change - examining Tao- Yi's reflections on her heritage, her relationship with her mum and Navin, how her job fits into a broader society and this future. It begins to examine our dreams and fears of our place in the world and really - what it means to live a good life. In the the narrative, the cocoon of normality - or what the reader gets used to as normality - is being steadily stripped away , as the mega- corporation running the world, Neuronetica- Somners, perfects the technique of uploading people's consciousness to Gaia. And slowly, suddenly,  our main character, Tao-Yi, is left very nearly alone, one of 5,000 people left in Australia as people choose a different world, to leave their bodies behind on a burning planet. There's so much to say about Every Version of You and I don't really have the language to spell it all out, or the ability to summarise all the wandering questions it raises, but this was one of the best books I have read in a while that captures in so many many ways the things that I am scared of. 

It's much more than a post-apocalyptic novel, but I haven't stopped thinking about those last few post-apocalyptic chapters when Tao-Yi, carrying her mother's ashes, is trying to leave Australia and finds there are no flights - when she's desperately run out of water and is trying to get to one of the last ships still docking in Queensland - it's haunting. Her refusal to Upload and internal debate, filled with memories, feelings, uncertainties - are some of the best parts of the book. The only question I had was how Gaia gets maintained if everyone on Earth is gone - maybe I missed an explanation.

iamhausfrau's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective fast-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

4.25

ravenna_wyrmwood's review

4.0

This book made me feel things. Sad and hopeful at the same time. It will stay with me.