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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
This book was weird. I liked it, but it was very odd and I am not sure how I feel about it, and am also not 100% sure what happened. The writing was delightful (I especially liked the Berihun Bekele story) and the concept was intriguing. I feel like there were more layers and puzzles than I unravelled but also more than I felt like unravelling, which I think was also probably why I am not rating this book higher. I think it really wanted you to work at the puzzles and unravelling the meaning in between each layer, and maybe take time to think about it, and that is not really my preferred leisure reading style, so it was a slight mismatch. I'm still glad I read it, though.
There’s a review on the jacket of the book that calls the story “magnificently strange”; that’s probably the most accurate description of this futuristic story based on a complex cast of characters, blurred reality and a little too real government big brotherism.
In truth, this rating should be more of a 3.5. Some of the character story and development felt more tedious and weird, but the overall all cautionary tale of a plot kept me turning page after page (all 661 of them).
In truth, this rating should be more of a 3.5. Some of the character story and development felt more tedious and weird, but the overall all cautionary tale of a plot kept me turning page after page (all 661 of them).
I found this a hard book to read. There are a set of nested stories, and just as you start to get drawn into them it jumps. Several times I nearly put it down. My rating was jumping around from 2 to 5, depending on what I was reading. Hard work, but ultimately I'm glad that I didn't abandon it.
I ended up skimming the last third. Just SO WEIRD. At one point I thought, oh, this isn’t as weird as I thought, just a fun romp, but no, it was much weirder.
This is definitely Harkaway's most ambitious novel so far, but it's not my favourite. The middle 50% or so could have been tightened up, it got a little sloggy. And there's a new element introduced at the halfway point that nearly made me put the book down cuz I was just getting exhausted. It seems like he is aiming for a Neal Stephenson kind of experience with this one, but I'm not quite sure he makes it there. Although I do like his characters more than Stephenson's.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
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:
Complicated
Mielikki Neith is an Investigator for the System, the all-knowing network that administers Britain and deals with crime. Diana Hunter was a suspected dissident who died in interrogation and Inspector Neith has the case – no one has been killed during an interrogation before. Watching Hunter’s interrogation entails being immersed in her memories, and what Neith finds is alternate personalities: a Greek businessman, an ancient alchemist, and an Ethiopian painter. Neith must find what the stories mean to discover what Hunter was hiding, but also discover how the System could’ve let Hunter die. This story is a fascinating puzzle. I honestly would’ve read a book about each individual story, and the way they connect is captivating.
4/5 Probably. This was a long read and at times very hard work. I struggled between periods of boredom and excitement trying to get to grips with the multiple layers, of often, very dense prose. I'm still not sure if the portrayed reality of the story is what I think.
A second read? Maybe, but not yet.
A second read? Maybe, but not yet.
I truly, truly wanted to love this. Instead I finished the book fed up and with a mild headache (to go with the major arm-ache involved in wrangling with this 700+ page hardcover behemoth). It started out so tight and promising, a noir detective novel set in a dystopian near-future Britain which is overseen by an omniscient AI, with a hardboiled inspector investigating the death of Diana Hunter, who seems at first glance to be a wacky old lady-type but turns out to be .
The story splinters off into discrete narratives, each telling a portion of the story. When viewed laid over each other like a palimpsest, they tell the full story of Diana Hunter and the System... OR DO THEY??
I think what I found terrifically frustrating about this book is that the author does not seem to know where to draw the line. He overeggs and overeggs his central conceit until you're just like, "Wait, what is this story meant to be about again?" I enjoy dense books that make the reader work for it. But there needs to be something to be worked for, and I wasn't really sure that Nick Harkaway himself knew what that core of the story was by the time he finished writing this.
Overall, I don't regret reading this book. It's better than many other books I've read and the author's ambition and chutzpah is to be commended. Harkaway is a talented author with a plethora of interesting ideas and the characters are skilfully drawn: my personal favourite was hardboiled Inspector Neith. But this was definitely not the unmitigated awesomeness that I was expecting when I pre-ordered. The middle sagged, and it only really picked up towards the end.
To anyone planning to read this book, I would say, wait for the paperback or spring for the Kindle version. Not only was the story hard work, but the hardback weighs a ton and is murder to read or carry around comfortably.
Spoiler
a revolutionaryThe story splinters off into discrete narratives, each telling a portion of the story. When viewed laid over each other like a palimpsest, they tell the full story of Diana Hunter and the System... OR DO THEY??
I think what I found terrifically frustrating about this book is that the author does not seem to know where to draw the line. He overeggs and overeggs his central conceit until you're just like, "Wait, what is this story meant to be about again?" I enjoy dense books that make the reader work for it. But there needs to be something to be worked for, and I wasn't really sure that Nick Harkaway himself knew what that core of the story was by the time he finished writing this.
Overall, I don't regret reading this book. It's better than many other books I've read and the author's ambition and chutzpah is to be commended. Harkaway is a talented author with a plethora of interesting ideas and the characters are skilfully drawn: my personal favourite was hardboiled Inspector Neith. But this was definitely not the unmitigated awesomeness that I was expecting when I pre-ordered. The middle sagged, and it only really picked up towards the end.
To anyone planning to read this book, I would say, wait for the paperback or spring for the Kindle version. Not only was the story hard work, but the hardback weighs a ton and is murder to read or carry around comfortably.
It's very long. It took me a month to read and I want to read it again to truly appreciate it but I don't have another month right now. There is so much good writing in these endless paragraphs.