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veronicaaaa 's review for:
The New Me
by Halle Butler
In the hands of the wrong author, this book could have been a lot worse.
Halle Butler's ability to capture the inner monologue of an upper-middle-class-college-fund-adult/pseudo-intellectual/ "holier than thou"pessimist is impressive. The book isn't very long, and I was able to finish the audio book in about 4 hours. (I HIGHLY recommend the audio book if you're interested in reading, it's read by the author and the character voice she uses for Millie makes the book infinitely more entertaining.) The book's length adds to the appeal because, in my opinion, the book's lack of purpose/thesis would shine through if it was any longer.
That's my main problem with the book. It feels pointless. I understand it's supposed to be a "witty satire" about the soul-crushing experience of surviving American-capitalism, but did I really need to spend 4ish hours of my life reading about mundane activities to understand that? "being a cog in the machine is boring and unfulfilling" isn't exactly a new or interesting take, and I'm disappointed that Butler didn't leave me with anything to think about or process after finishing this book. Yeah, I know capitalism is sucking the life out of me, most people know that. Stay tuned for my new novel where readers will learn that santa isn't real with "biting social commentary" about how it's kind of messed up that we lie to children on such a large scale.
In my opinion, satire works best when certain aspects of a concept are exaggerated to emphasize the inherent absurdity of the original concept. "The New Me" misses the mark for me, it feels TOO mundane to be considered a true "satire". Maybe that's the point! Maybe I'm supposed to feel bored with this book because capitalism is boring and mundane. Maybe I would have been more open to that interpretation if this had been a short story, concluding in under 5,000 words.
I didn't hate this book, it's short, the writing is enjoyable, and the lack of anything interesting or meaningful happening didn't sink in until I had finished reading. If Butler had left me with something to think about after reading, I could easily see this book being a 4 star read. But without a strong thesis/message, I'm afraid the content of this book will fade away and get lost in my own experience in "the machine".
Halle Butler's ability to capture the inner monologue of an upper-middle-class-college-fund-adult/pseudo-intellectual/ "holier than thou"pessimist is impressive. The book isn't very long, and I was able to finish the audio book in about 4 hours. (I HIGHLY recommend the audio book if you're interested in reading, it's read by the author and the character voice she uses for Millie makes the book infinitely more entertaining.) The book's length adds to the appeal because, in my opinion, the book's lack of purpose/thesis would shine through if it was any longer.
That's my main problem with the book. It feels pointless. I understand it's supposed to be a "witty satire" about the soul-crushing experience of surviving American-capitalism, but did I really need to spend 4ish hours of my life reading about mundane activities to understand that? "being a cog in the machine is boring and unfulfilling" isn't exactly a new or interesting take, and I'm disappointed that Butler didn't leave me with anything to think about or process after finishing this book. Yeah, I know capitalism is sucking the life out of me, most people know that. Stay tuned for my new novel where readers will learn that santa isn't real with "biting social commentary" about how it's kind of messed up that we lie to children on such a large scale.
In my opinion, satire works best when certain aspects of a concept are exaggerated to emphasize the inherent absurdity of the original concept. "The New Me" misses the mark for me, it feels TOO mundane to be considered a true "satire". Maybe that's the point! Maybe I'm supposed to feel bored with this book because capitalism is boring and mundane. Maybe I would have been more open to that interpretation if this had been a short story, concluding in under 5,000 words.
I didn't hate this book, it's short, the writing is enjoyable, and the lack of anything interesting or meaningful happening didn't sink in until I had finished reading. If Butler had left me with something to think about after reading, I could easily see this book being a 4 star read. But without a strong thesis/message, I'm afraid the content of this book will fade away and get lost in my own experience in "the machine".