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A review by mediaevalmuse
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
3.0
I don't remember why I picked up this book, but I remember feeling encouraged when I read a blurb from Neil Gaiman praising it. While the premise is interesting and it is indeed a fun hacker-against-the-government story, there were some aspects that left me disappointed, especially in terms of narrative.
Things I Liked
1.Real-World Issues: Little Brother does a great job of getting people fired up about privacy laws, human rights, terrorism, and the concept of freedom. Since the book is marketed towards young adults, younger readers can get involved with these larger issues that are hot topics today. It’s great to get them involved, too, because the medium of fiction is a safe space to explore these things that will (hopefully) develop readers into great thinkers.
2. Education: Doctorow does this cool thing where, at specific moments in the novel, he takes the opportunity to explain computers/technology in a way that is accessible to a non-tech audience. While these parts are not necessarily the most exciting in terms of plot, understanding the mechanisms of a WiFi network or whatever really helps readers appreciate what’s happening in the main storyline.
3. Tone: I liked Marcus’ attitude throughout the book. It was witty, sharp, and completely relatable.
Things I Didn't Like
1. Time: While the pace of the novel itself was good, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief enough to follow some of the events. It seems as though things that would happen over months took days in the novel, such as the sudden appearance of security cameras all over the city.
2. Characters: Maybe it was just me, but I didn’t feel like the characters developed over the course of the novel. They seemed to be the same at the beginning and the end, despite the things that had happened to them. Furthermore, there was no depth of emotion. Marcus tells the reader that he’s scared, but I couldn’t quite feel it.
3.Loose Storytelling: I couldn’t quite believe that that government would illegally arrest a bunch of teenagers and subject them to torture with so little a premise as there was at the begining of the novel. All they did was wave for help - how is that suspicious? If Doctorow had leaned on something else (Marcus’ past actions of breaching security measures at school, for example), I might have bought into the whole thing. Also - why would the government let someone they had been holding illegally go? That’s way too big of a risk, and not one I understood.
4.Under-Use of Characters: How does a refugee family from North Korea deal with the events of the novel? How do people with dark skin react? We’ll never know, because as soon as things go down, Doctorow gets rid of characters with these traits, claiming they are “too scared” to get involved. Personally, I would have loved to see what they were experiencing, but instead, too much focus is devoted to Marcus. This would also have been a great opportunity to explore racism in connection to terrorism and surveillance, but we don’t get that.
Recommendations: Overall, a fun read for anyone interested in dystopic societies or stories about computer hackers and technology. You may also enjoy this novel if you liked Farenheit 451 or 1984
Things I Liked
1.Real-World Issues: Little Brother does a great job of getting people fired up about privacy laws, human rights, terrorism, and the concept of freedom. Since the book is marketed towards young adults, younger readers can get involved with these larger issues that are hot topics today. It’s great to get them involved, too, because the medium of fiction is a safe space to explore these things that will (hopefully) develop readers into great thinkers.
2. Education: Doctorow does this cool thing where, at specific moments in the novel, he takes the opportunity to explain computers/technology in a way that is accessible to a non-tech audience. While these parts are not necessarily the most exciting in terms of plot, understanding the mechanisms of a WiFi network or whatever really helps readers appreciate what’s happening in the main storyline.
3. Tone: I liked Marcus’ attitude throughout the book. It was witty, sharp, and completely relatable.
Things I Didn't Like
1. Time: While the pace of the novel itself was good, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief enough to follow some of the events. It seems as though things that would happen over months took days in the novel, such as the sudden appearance of security cameras all over the city.
2. Characters: Maybe it was just me, but I didn’t feel like the characters developed over the course of the novel. They seemed to be the same at the beginning and the end, despite the things that had happened to them. Furthermore, there was no depth of emotion. Marcus tells the reader that he’s scared, but I couldn’t quite feel it.
3.Loose Storytelling: I couldn’t quite believe that that government would illegally arrest a bunch of teenagers and subject them to torture with so little a premise as there was at the begining of the novel. All they did was wave for help - how is that suspicious? If Doctorow had leaned on something else (Marcus’ past actions of breaching security measures at school, for example), I might have bought into the whole thing. Also - why would the government let someone they had been holding illegally go? That’s way too big of a risk, and not one I understood.
4.Under-Use of Characters: How does a refugee family from North Korea deal with the events of the novel? How do people with dark skin react? We’ll never know, because as soon as things go down, Doctorow gets rid of characters with these traits, claiming they are “too scared” to get involved. Personally, I would have loved to see what they were experiencing, but instead, too much focus is devoted to Marcus. This would also have been a great opportunity to explore racism in connection to terrorism and surveillance, but we don’t get that.
Recommendations: Overall, a fun read for anyone interested in dystopic societies or stories about computer hackers and technology. You may also enjoy this novel if you liked Farenheit 451 or 1984