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A review by readingwithkt
Lovestar by Andri Snær Magnason
4.0
Found this review in the notes on my phone:
LoveStar is an enigmatic and obsessive corporate titan based in North Iceland. He has unlocked the key to transmitting data via bird waves, thus freeing mankind from wires and devices, and allowing consumerism and technology to run rampant over all aspects of daily life. Cordless modern men and women are paid to howl advertisements, REGRET machines eliminate doubt over roads not taken, and soulmates are scientifically identified and brought together.
Indridi and Sigrid, two happy young lovers, have their perfect world threatened when they are “calculated apart” and are forced to go to extreme lengths to prove their love.
What I enjoyed about this book:
- I loved the parts of the book where Indridi and Sigrid were the focus. I found their relationship interesting and was so curious to know how it would end up.
- I think it is so clever what Magnason did here by forcing the reader to think about the way technology and consumerism is taking over the way we live our lives. In this dystopian world, rejecting technology and consumerism has grave consequences. Here there were some interesting parallels with modern day.
- I find in Icelandic literature, there are always some seriously weird and wacky things that happen. The thing I liked about this dystopian novel is that this weird and wacky side flourished and made the book all the more hilarious/startling.
What didn’t work for me:
- At times I found the pace of the writing to be slow. This was especially the case in the first half of the book. After the half way point, I barely put the book down.
- I was less invested in the story of LoveStar, though I did appreciate it was central to developing the setting of the book.
I would highly recommend this for lovers of dystopian fiction. It is compared to Orwell, which is bloody high praise indeed! Having not yet read Orwell (though I’ve bought the book at least 3x
LoveStar is an enigmatic and obsessive corporate titan based in North Iceland. He has unlocked the key to transmitting data via bird waves, thus freeing mankind from wires and devices, and allowing consumerism and technology to run rampant over all aspects of daily life. Cordless modern men and women are paid to howl advertisements, REGRET machines eliminate doubt over roads not taken, and soulmates are scientifically identified and brought together.
Indridi and Sigrid, two happy young lovers, have their perfect world threatened when they are “calculated apart” and are forced to go to extreme lengths to prove their love.
What I enjoyed about this book:
- I loved the parts of the book where Indridi and Sigrid were the focus. I found their relationship interesting and was so curious to know how it would end up.
- I think it is so clever what Magnason did here by forcing the reader to think about the way technology and consumerism is taking over the way we live our lives. In this dystopian world, rejecting technology and consumerism has grave consequences. Here there were some interesting parallels with modern day.
- I find in Icelandic literature, there are always some seriously weird and wacky things that happen. The thing I liked about this dystopian novel is that this weird and wacky side flourished and made the book all the more hilarious/startling.
What didn’t work for me:
- At times I found the pace of the writing to be slow. This was especially the case in the first half of the book. After the half way point, I barely put the book down.
- I was less invested in the story of LoveStar, though I did appreciate it was central to developing the setting of the book.
I would highly recommend this for lovers of dystopian fiction. It is compared to Orwell, which is bloody high praise indeed! Having not yet read Orwell (though I’ve bought the book at least 3x