Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by april_does_feral_sometimes
You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles
4.0
Reading 'You Have Arrived At Your Destination' by Amor Towles intrigued and depressed me. It brought to my mind the book [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575509280l/5129._SY75_.jpg|3204877] by Aldous Huxley.
The cover blurb describing the plot makes it seem the book is about how in vitro fertilization combined with gene editing could be manipulated to make the nature/nurture process in the formation of a person's personality traits almost obsolete or not applicable. Ignore the blurb. I think the author's plot is more subtle and multilayered than that. The word eugenics is never used, and perhaps discussing the more toxic byways of eugenics was not the author's intention at all. However, what the author does posit in these pages is an intriguing look at how a sophisticated urban married couple might end up picking the best personality for their child.
What would parents want for, or from, their child? That is the decision the couple, Sam and Annie, need to decide. Do they want an Artist? Or business entrepreneur? Scientist? Psychiatrist? Soldier? All of the above? The agency, Vitek, has scientifically extrapolated possible outcomes for lives of people with specific personality traits from massive datasets obtained by statistic analysis of the past lives of people with those traits. Of course, it must be a generalized guess, but since the majority of folks having specific personality traits seem to be fated for specific outcomes in our modern society, accurate predictions can be made. This is indicated by the extrapolations from actual life outcomes, predictions CAN be made! Or so Vitek has learned. People are similar to car models, right? With gene editing, futures are utterly predictable as the chosen features of a car. At least, Vitek's in vitro techniques make it so.
But what about the accompanying 'side effects' of a personality type? Rogue? Uninspired and dull-witted? Bourgeois? Shallow or hollow? Brilliant? Innovative? Vitek predicts these traits will be managed by maturity. The person eventually will find their successful niche in navigating jobs and relationships and errors of judgement - all of which is utterly predictable based on statistics and datasets.
Sam, the narrator, has a decision to make about engaging Vitek's services. However, he is unexpectedly upset about Vitek's presentation. He himself was born naturally to his parents, worked his way upwards into the urban upperclass. He made certain choices. His choices in his marriage has, maybe, caused his wife to make unpleasant accommodations or sacrifices. Is Sam's life 'wrong' in some ways? What IS 'wrong' in life? Blue-collar classes certainly think of his life as elitist and 'wrong' in many ways. Does that matter?
If, gentle reader, you thought the future of being able to select your babies' exact eye color and height and maybe other features which are generally thought of as beautiful and strong or intelligent was only what the controversies surrounding IVF is about today, I think you should check out 'You Have Arrived At Your Destination." Having blue eyes might not be as big a deal in how a life plays out as we tend to believe. Is personality truly destiny? What things actually comprise equal opportunity?
Perhaps, gentle reader, you are unfamiliar with invitro fertilization and CRISPR. I have included a link to Wikipedia about it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_fertilisation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRISPR_gene_editing
The cover blurb describing the plot makes it seem the book is about how in vitro fertilization combined with gene editing could be manipulated to make the nature/nurture process in the formation of a person's personality traits almost obsolete or not applicable. Ignore the blurb. I think the author's plot is more subtle and multilayered than that. The word eugenics is never used, and perhaps discussing the more toxic byways of eugenics was not the author's intention at all. However, what the author does posit in these pages is an intriguing look at how a sophisticated urban married couple might end up picking the best personality for their child.
What would parents want for, or from, their child? That is the decision the couple, Sam and Annie, need to decide. Do they want an Artist? Or business entrepreneur? Scientist? Psychiatrist? Soldier? All of the above? The agency, Vitek, has scientifically extrapolated possible outcomes for lives of people with specific personality traits from massive datasets obtained by statistic analysis of the past lives of people with those traits. Of course, it must be a generalized guess, but since the majority of folks having specific personality traits seem to be fated for specific outcomes in our modern society, accurate predictions can be made. This is indicated by the extrapolations from actual life outcomes, predictions CAN be made! Or so Vitek has learned. People are similar to car models, right? With gene editing, futures are utterly predictable as the chosen features of a car. At least, Vitek's in vitro techniques make it so.
But what about the accompanying 'side effects' of a personality type? Rogue? Uninspired and dull-witted? Bourgeois? Shallow or hollow? Brilliant? Innovative? Vitek predicts these traits will be managed by maturity. The person eventually will find their successful niche in navigating jobs and relationships and errors of judgement - all of which is utterly predictable based on statistics and datasets.
Sam, the narrator, has a decision to make about engaging Vitek's services. However, he is unexpectedly upset about Vitek's presentation. He himself was born naturally to his parents, worked his way upwards into the urban upperclass. He made certain choices. His choices in his marriage has, maybe, caused his wife to make unpleasant accommodations or sacrifices. Is Sam's life 'wrong' in some ways? What IS 'wrong' in life? Blue-collar classes certainly think of his life as elitist and 'wrong' in many ways. Does that matter?
If, gentle reader, you thought the future of being able to select your babies' exact eye color and height and maybe other features which are generally thought of as beautiful and strong or intelligent was only what the controversies surrounding IVF is about today, I think you should check out 'You Have Arrived At Your Destination." Having blue eyes might not be as big a deal in how a life plays out as we tend to believe. Is personality truly destiny? What things actually comprise equal opportunity?
Perhaps, gentle reader, you are unfamiliar with invitro fertilization and CRISPR. I have included a link to Wikipedia about it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_fertilisation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRISPR_gene_editing