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stacthor's review against another edition
2.0
This is a really different book and I was ready to recommend it to everyone I knew, until the ending disappointed me!!
thebearlinwall's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning was too long and the end a bit cliche, but the meat of the book was an enjoyable read.
mon_noble's review against another edition
4.0
The first thing I noticed about this book was the writing style. It's very different and at first it was a bit of a distractor for me. I didn't completely understand who the narrator was at the beginning and that really messed with my perception of the novel. Once I kept at it it was better though, and so my only advice is to keep at it. All the same I don't think I would have continued with it if I didn't have an exam on it tomorrow haha.
The characters were something that I really loved about the book. Each one had a depth to them that was really respectable, and even minor characters were given at least a bit of a backstory and a life outside of the main characters. Building on that, I loved the development of the relationships between the main characters. Russell and Candace of course, but also between Candace and Thassa and Thassa and Gabe. I think out of all of them my favourite was Thassa and Gabe - the big sister/little brother dynamic was so lovely to see.
I also like the theme of the book that some parts of you cannot change, but sometimes something that we think is fixed can change under great duress. Also that it takes a lot of courage to be happy. These ideas were really explored in the book and I think it was done in a subtle enough way that we weren't too overwhelmed with the genetics side of it. This also might've made us made inclined to connect with Russell, a scientific illiterate if you will haha.
I also really liked how at the end Thassa was seen as just normal - something that should've been the norm the whole novel, but her light and exuberance had to be extinguished before that could happen. That's a wicked critique on the world - that nothing beautiful can stay that way for long before we wreck it.
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The characters were something that I really loved about the book. Each one had a depth to them that was really respectable, and even minor characters were given at least a bit of a backstory and a life outside of the main characters. Building on that, I loved the development of the relationships between the main characters. Russell and Candace of course, but also between Candace and Thassa and Thassa and Gabe. I think out of all of them my favourite was Thassa and Gabe - the big sister/little brother dynamic was so lovely to see.
I also like the theme of the book that some parts of you cannot change, but sometimes something that we think is fixed can change under great duress. Also that it takes a lot of courage to be happy. These ideas were really explored in the book and I think it was done in a subtle enough way that we weren't too overwhelmed with the genetics side of it. This also might've made us made inclined to connect with Russell, a scientific illiterate if you will haha.
I also really liked how at the end Thassa was seen as just normal - something that should've been the norm the whole novel, but her light and exuberance had to be extinguished before that could happen. That's a wicked critique on the world - that nothing beautiful can stay that way for long before we wreck it.
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
nwhyte's review against another edition
2.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1713493.html
To be honest I was a little underwhelmed by this book, set in the present day, featuring an Algerian refugee living in Chicago who turns out to have been genetically programmed for permanent happiness and ends up fleeing her own sudden celebrity. I thought it was charming enough but not terribly profound, and the author's appearances in parentheses wondering about what he will write next seemed to me rather precious. At least it's not very long.
To be honest I was a little underwhelmed by this book, set in the present day, featuring an Algerian refugee living in Chicago who turns out to have been genetically programmed for permanent happiness and ends up fleeing her own sudden celebrity. I thought it was charming enough but not terribly profound, and the author's appearances in parentheses wondering about what he will write next seemed to me rather precious. At least it's not very long.
carolined314's review against another edition
4.0
I like Richard Powers--I want to invite him out for coffee and talk about science with him. Each of his books explores a scientific topic in a way that makes me think, makes me react, and makes me a little bit sad that he isn't better at fleshing out characters and creating a plot arc. This book focuses on hyperthymia and the biological basis for happiness. The topic of where an individual's normal baseline is set fascinates me anyway, and so reading about this glowingly happy person from the eyes of a melancholic absolutely fascinates me.
5wamp_creature's review against another edition
5.0
Full of clever, plausible ideas from end to end. Neat meta-fiction drop-ins throughout. Characters are normal people. A fun and interesting read.
Highly recommended!!
Highly recommended!!
fmspqr's review against another edition
4.0
not on par with "The time of our singing" or "the Echo maker". nevertheless, this book confirms for me that Richard Powers is one of the, if not the one, best American writers living today
sarahc3319's review against another edition
4.0
I think Powers is the best American author writing today.