Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
A dense, thrilling, exhausting, complicated ride that took me an entire month to finish. I'm not sure if everything paid off in the end, or if I even understood much of what the novel wanted me to understand, but the writing is brilliant and mind-expanding and I often found myself just swimming in a churning sea of language and imagery. Definitely a great read, and one that I might find myself actually loving if I sat down to talk about it with someone with a better grasp on it than me.
What just happened? I really liked this at the beginning, but don't feel like there was really a resolution. I think I might just need to read it again? Lots of good words.
I have a feeling this is going to be a love it or hate it kind of book. I feel mostly positive about it, but I can't really give it a higher rating than three because I feel like it's the kind of book that demands re-reading to fully comprehend everything that's going on.
On it's surface, Gnomon is the story of a surveillance state and what happens when someone slips through the cracks. However it also weaves in other stories that twist and fold in on themselves. Structurally, I really liked what the author was doing. But a long, twisty and turny book like this is hard to fully grasp on just one reading. I don't know if I'll have time to read a 700-page book like this again to get everything I can from it, or if I even want to. But it's definitely something that will reward careful and attentive readers.
I received this book free from Penguin's First to Read program.
On it's surface, Gnomon is the story of a surveillance state and what happens when someone slips through the cracks. However it also weaves in other stories that twist and fold in on themselves. Structurally, I really liked what the author was doing. But a long, twisty and turny book like this is hard to fully grasp on just one reading. I don't know if I'll have time to read a 700-page book like this again to get everything I can from it, or if I even want to. But it's definitely something that will reward careful and attentive readers.
I received this book free from Penguin's First to Read program.
In the future UK, society is ruled by the System, a truly representative democracy, and policed by the Witness, an institution with total powers of surveillance, the citizenry completely sacrificing privacy for the promise of security.
Diana Hunter was brought in by the Witness for interrogation but died, the first time a suspect died in government custody. Assigned to the case, Inspector Nieth reviews neural recordings of Hunter’s memory. Instead of finding Hunter, Nieth encounters three personas: a financier from Greece who had a mystical encounter with a shark, an alchemist from ancient Carthage who discovered the universal solvent, and an ex-painter from Ethiopia living in London working on a video game. Untangling the disparate narrative strands, Nieth learns truths about the System—and herself.
Some reviews I’ve read criticize the length of the book (~700 pages) is too long and the book would have been tighter and more effective if it had been edited for length. Additionally, more than one talked about the author using obscure and obfuscating vocabulary. I agree with these criticisms. Furthermore, there are too many long sections in which characters list a litany of questions.
I honestly didn’t think I would be able to finish this book. I was downright bored at times and had to force myself to continue partly because I am obsessive about finishing books I begin and finding out what happened but also because I hoped there would be some big payoff. The last fifteen percent of the book was more interesting (though confusing) but it didn’t have the big denouement I had hoped for (and expected).
Diana Hunter was brought in by the Witness for interrogation but died, the first time a suspect died in government custody. Assigned to the case, Inspector Nieth reviews neural recordings of Hunter’s memory. Instead of finding Hunter, Nieth encounters three personas: a financier from Greece who had a mystical encounter with a shark, an alchemist from ancient Carthage who discovered the universal solvent, and an ex-painter from Ethiopia living in London working on a video game. Untangling the disparate narrative strands, Nieth learns truths about the System—and herself.
Some reviews I’ve read criticize the length of the book (~700 pages) is too long and the book would have been tighter and more effective if it had been edited for length. Additionally, more than one talked about the author using obscure and obfuscating vocabulary. I agree with these criticisms. Furthermore, there are too many long sections in which characters list a litany of questions.
I honestly didn’t think I would be able to finish this book. I was downright bored at times and had to force myself to continue partly because I am obsessive about finishing books I begin and finding out what happened but also because I hoped there would be some big payoff. The last fifteen percent of the book was more interesting (though confusing) but it didn’t have the big denouement I had hoped for (and expected).
This one took me a while. When I finally hit the point of no return I devoured it in just a few days. Puzzle-y and weird. The Gibson and Mitchell comparisons are apt. The ending is worth it.
Wow. An amazingly dense and layered book, long, twisting, challenging, and rewarding. I feel like it needs waaaaay more examination than just one reading. There are so many subtleties in it that I'm sure I missed a ton of nuances that would have made the story even richer than it was. It makes you think of a possible future, its potential and its dangers. A satisfying read overall but not a straightforward one.
A dense, opaque book of big ideas wrapped in tiny packages that wait to explode out into the world via the mind of wherever reads it. Like William Gibson writing 1984. Hard to fathom, harder to swallow, but world changing if you allow it.
You know how Lee Child and other modern detective writers work tirelessly to strip out every inconvenience or hinderance to their story. So that when you're reading it, it's like sipping a mojito through a straw? Well Harkaway basically throws the lime, mint, sugar syrup, white rum, ice, cocktail shaker, glass, and a full size wombat at your head at 100 miles an hour and expects you to create a mojito yourself and get the wombat to drink it. Admittedly he gives you a slightly longer time-frame than the average detective novel to achieve this superhuman feat but it certainly doesn't feel like a holiday. This book will have you working harder than a one-legged man in an arse kicking contest.
Nested stories. Stories within stories, within stories. Among all these stories is a fascinating take on how one could fight an omniscient A.I. I feel that those living in the UK or US would find this more realistic, given the prevalence of CCTV cameras there. Both countries are just one algorithm away from the kind of "system" the people of Gnomon live by (it may even be the case that China is already there). Surveillance is significantly less prevalent in Australia and New Zealand. Harkaway didn't really address the concept of self surveillance by which I mean people carrying around smartphones with location data enabled and freely publishing what they're up to; which is probably going to be the flavour of our dystopic future, not the all seeing eye on every lamp post and street corner. If you're one of those people who wax lyrical about the power of story-telling and how what makes humans different is our imagination etc. Then you'll probably hate this book. Because you won't be the sort of person willing to put in the work needed to actually understand it. Yes it's about the power of story but not in the This American Life way. It's more Pynchon, Joyce, Foster Wallace, where you have to work to fully appreciate it, and no it's not on par with those but it wants to be. There'll be a few people looking down their nose at this comment thinking it's such an easy read. It's not.
Harkaway has done his absolute best to keep the novel measured and precise but it gets away on him quite a few times. The book could have had a considerable bit chopped out and been much better for it. Those who've read it might disagree and say everything is there for a reason but I think you'll find there's a lot of info dumps and character's impressions that don't add to the plot and could have been cut. Just as some more info on how the interrogation was actually conducted and more action at the highest level of story would have helped a lot. Also the melodrama and dysfunctional sections where the character's brain is under load were too long and overwrought. The establishing of the narrative threads is done exceptionally well, it's the weaving together that at times becomes drawn out and messy. This isn't helped by all the narrative voices having reasonably similar diction and delivery. I'm sure Harkaway's choice of similar sounding narrative voices is explainable but it became increasingly difficult to know who was talking as the dozens of narratives were woven into the single golden thread. This culminated in more of a bottleneck than a clear unified signal.
It's still a fun read, especially if you're looking for something to shake up your usual sci-fi, fantasy reads. Hence the four stars. I loved huge parts of the book, but the whole doesn't equal more than the sum of it's parts.
The flavours I sensed in this narrative include: [b:The Minority Report|581125|The Minority Report|Philip K. Dick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390719396l/581125._SY75_.jpg|63086], [b:1984|40961427|1984|George Orwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532714506l/40961427._SX50_.jpg|153313], Black Mirror, [b:The City & the City|4703581|The City & the City|China Miéville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320475957l/4703581._SY75_.jpg|4767909], [b:Void Star|29939057|Void Star|Zachary Mason|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485963654l/29939057._SY75_.jpg|50329713], [b:Farenheit 451|56302573|Farenheit 451|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608059811l/56302573._SY75_.jpg|1272463], iRobot (the movie), [b:The Circle|18302455|The Circle|Dave Eggers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1376419833l/18302455._SX50_.jpg|25791820], [b:Paycheck and Other Classic Stories|216369|Paycheck and Other Classic Stories|Philip K. Dick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386922196l/216369._SY75_.jpg|209476]
If you are planning on making this catabatic journey; keep a dictionary close.
Nested stories. Stories within stories, within stories. Among all these stories is a fascinating take on how one could fight an omniscient A.I. I feel that those living in the UK or US would find this more realistic, given the prevalence of CCTV cameras there. Both countries are just one algorithm away from the kind of "system" the people of Gnomon live by (it may even be the case that China is already there). Surveillance is significantly less prevalent in Australia and New Zealand. Harkaway didn't really address the concept of self surveillance by which I mean people carrying around smartphones with location data enabled and freely publishing what they're up to; which is probably going to be the flavour of our dystopic future, not the all seeing eye on every lamp post and street corner. If you're one of those people who wax lyrical about the power of story-telling and how what makes humans different is our imagination etc. Then you'll probably hate this book. Because you won't be the sort of person willing to put in the work needed to actually understand it. Yes it's about the power of story but not in the This American Life way. It's more Pynchon, Joyce, Foster Wallace, where you have to work to fully appreciate it, and no it's not on par with those but it wants to be. There'll be a few people looking down their nose at this comment thinking it's such an easy read. It's not.
Harkaway has done his absolute best to keep the novel measured and precise but it gets away on him quite a few times. The book could have had a considerable bit chopped out and been much better for it. Those who've read it might disagree and say everything is there for a reason but I think you'll find there's a lot of info dumps and character's impressions that don't add to the plot and could have been cut. Just as some more info on how the interrogation was actually conducted and more action at the highest level of story would have helped a lot. Also the melodrama and dysfunctional sections where the character's brain is under load were too long and overwrought. The establishing of the narrative threads is done exceptionally well, it's the weaving together that at times becomes drawn out and messy. This isn't helped by all the narrative voices having reasonably similar diction and delivery. I'm sure Harkaway's choice of similar sounding narrative voices is explainable but it became increasingly difficult to know who was talking as the dozens of narratives were woven into the single golden thread. This culminated in more of a bottleneck than a clear unified signal.
It's still a fun read, especially if you're looking for something to shake up your usual sci-fi, fantasy reads. Hence the four stars. I loved huge parts of the book, but the whole doesn't equal more than the sum of it's parts.
The flavours I sensed in this narrative include: [b:The Minority Report|581125|The Minority Report|Philip K. Dick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390719396l/581125._SY75_.jpg|63086], [b:1984|40961427|1984|George Orwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532714506l/40961427._SX50_.jpg|153313], Black Mirror, [b:The City & the City|4703581|The City & the City|China Miéville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320475957l/4703581._SY75_.jpg|4767909], [b:Void Star|29939057|Void Star|Zachary Mason|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485963654l/29939057._SY75_.jpg|50329713], [b:Farenheit 451|56302573|Farenheit 451|Ray Bradbury|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608059811l/56302573._SY75_.jpg|1272463], iRobot (the movie), [b:The Circle|18302455|The Circle|Dave Eggers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1376419833l/18302455._SX50_.jpg|25791820], [b:Paycheck and Other Classic Stories|216369|Paycheck and Other Classic Stories|Philip K. Dick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386922196l/216369._SY75_.jpg|209476]
If you are planning on making this catabatic journey; keep a dictionary close.
I struggled with this one. Plenty of interesting ideas, and flashes of brilliant writing, but it was too conceptual and metaphorical to follow for long sections, and generally too long.
Inspector Mielikki Neith is one of the most trusted members of the justice department in a future version of Britain. This Britain operates via immediate democracy; every societal decision is decided by a vote of some randomly chosen representative sample of the population. Every moment of a person's life is watched and recorded by a computer system that lacks all prurient or personal motives but will intervene in the name of health and safety. An old woman who once wrote cult-favorite books and eventually became a reclusive dissident dies during an interrogation, and Britain is shocked. Immediately Neith is put on the case, to find out if Diana Hunter's death was an accident or foul play--and if the latter, who was involved.
Or at least, that's how I entered into the book. I was fascinated by the society Neith was living in, and read avidly as each little clue to how it operates and is viewed by those within it. And I really like Neith, who is brave, sensible, has an affectionate weakness for noir, and eminently moral. But then a whole bunch of other narratives join the fray: St.Augustine's ex, who became an alchemist and is now begged by the Romans to resurrect a favored commander; a bombastic Greek mathematician living in the modern day; an Ethiopian painter in the very near future who creates art for a new video game that seems suspiciously like Neith's Britain; an interplanetary, multi-bodied intelligence that seeks to consume universes. And I liked all of those characters too, and was fascinated by their tales too. I kept trying to pick out what the "real" story was, and which were "just" framing devices, dreams, or tricks...and I kept having my entire view of the book flipped on its head when I least expected it.
I thought this was an absolutely fascinating exploration of identity, surveillance, democracy, what actually constitutes freedom...Highly recommend it to anyone willing and able to put in the time to work through it.
Or at least, that's how I entered into the book. I was fascinated by the society Neith was living in, and read avidly as each little clue to how it operates and is viewed by those within it. And I really like Neith, who is brave, sensible, has an affectionate weakness for noir, and eminently moral. But then a whole bunch of other narratives join the fray: St.Augustine's ex, who became an alchemist and is now begged by the Romans to resurrect a favored commander; a bombastic Greek mathematician living in the modern day; an Ethiopian painter in the very near future who creates art for a new video game that seems suspiciously like Neith's Britain; an interplanetary, multi-bodied intelligence that seeks to consume universes. And I liked all of those characters too, and was fascinated by their tales too. I kept trying to pick out what the "real" story was, and which were "just" framing devices, dreams, or tricks...and I kept having my entire view of the book flipped on its head when I least expected it.
I thought this was an absolutely fascinating exploration of identity, surveillance, democracy, what actually constitutes freedom...Highly recommend it to anyone willing and able to put in the time to work through it.