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A review by alyskarstark
We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
The more I read other peoples reviews of this novella, the more upset I get about how it's been marketed. If you're looking to pick this up because you've been told it's a fucked-up horror that'll scar you and expose some sort of seedy underbelly of social media sites, put the book down and take a breath.
Personally, I have always thought the point of a novella was to start a conversation, not finish one. It dips you into a story, a conversation, and gives you something to think about. This book did exactly that; using the backdrop of a content moderation office, we meet a cast of characters that let us explore the (predominantly negative) effects of both the isolation and sense of community we can find online, and how easily it can seep into our lives. It's literary fiction and social commentary, touching on things from goji berries to conspiracy theories (which I've learnt is actually a big problem in The Netherlands, where apparently nearly a quarter of young people are Holocaust deniers????).
And look, maybe I'm wrong and I didn't get this book either, but at least I'm not a dickhead who thinks only Black Mirror can talk about society.
Personally, I have always thought the point of a novella was to start a conversation, not finish one. It dips you into a story, a conversation, and gives you something to think about. This book did exactly that; using the backdrop of a content moderation office, we meet a cast of characters that let us explore the (predominantly negative) effects of both the isolation and sense of community we can find online, and how easily it can seep into our lives. It's literary fiction and social commentary, touching on things from goji berries to conspiracy theories (which I've learnt is actually a big problem in The Netherlands, where apparently nearly a quarter of young people are Holocaust deniers????).
And look, maybe I'm wrong and I didn't get this book either, but at least I'm not a dickhead who thinks only Black Mirror can talk about society.