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A review by bookph1le
Followers by Megan Angelo
5.0
Classifying this book as science fiction doesn't feel quite right, though parts of it do take place in the future. But if you're expecting pure science fiction, I'm not sure this book is entirely going to deliver. To me, it feels like more of a satire, and a really well done one at that, that blends some scifi into its story. It's a difficult book to discuss without giving away many of its secrets, so there will be some spoilers in this review, though I'll try to keep them to a minimum because I'd much prefer readers discover the book's plot nuances from the book itself rather than from me.
All in all, this is easily one of the best books I've read this year, and that's because this book is not only so well written, but also because it's made me think about some pretty profound things. I realize the irony in sharing my thoughts on this book on the very platforms the book is prodding readers to think about, but there it is for you. Even as the book is dissecting our internet-obsessed culture, particularly with regard to internet celebrities, the best way for me to spread the word about it and hopefully get people reading it is by talking about it online.
Part of what makes this book a five-star read for me is I felt the author really gets people. The characters in this book are all so vivid, even the tertiary ones, and they are all painted in many, many shades. As Floss, one of the main characters likes to put it, it's all in the edit. None of these people are outright heroic or villainous. All of them are driven by baser needs and desires at some points, and that's precisely what makes them seem so human. Never once did I question why Floss was doing what she did, or why Orla was, or why Marlow was, because their actions made sense within the context of what I knew about them. Further, I was thrilled by this depiction of female characters in books, which is still all-too rare. It was beyond refreshing to read something that didn't seem worried about making anyone "likable", and what's interesting about that is it made me like these characters, sometimes despite myself. I could identify with what they were going through and what they were doing. That doesn't mean I'd want some of them in my own life, but I really appreciated how this book emphasized the interiority of these characters and used that to drive its action.
The other thing I wholly admired about this book is the way it lampooned our cultural moment without being mean or petty about it. Instead, the book points out why our dependence on and trust of social media, cloud services, etc is something that should concern us more than it does. Americans take our privacy for granted, and we're prone to believing the promises these corporations feed us, even when the curtain is pulled back and we see what's really going on behind the scenes. These book made me think a lot about data privacy and the implications and consequences of trusting my data to private companies. I'm already of a mindset that the 1984 scenario Orwell envisioned is already upon us, only in the U.S. and many other parts of the world it's not so much the government that's spying on us, it's private corporations. This book interrogates the complacency with which most Americans go about their day, all while our every action is being data-mined and monetized.
While the book is doing this, it's taking a hard look at the ways in which people have not only given up their privacy but have almost come to view privacy as a bad thing, hence the rise of the internet celebrity. Yes, celebrities have always had aspects of their private lives spilled out into the public realm, and those private lives have often influenced how much or little celebrity those people would ultimately possess, but the whole concept of being famous solely for being famous feels like a newer phenomenon. Angelo poses some interesting questions about internet celebrity and what it means. Without ever feeling preachy, the book made me think a lot about what the effect of internet celebrity has on our culture, and just how far we, as consumers, will implicitly encourage internet celebrities to go in order for them to secure our interest. As Angelo points out, the social media companies' choice of the word "followers" is interesting. Reading this book made me think a lot about what it means to both be a follower and to have followers.
Yet all of this is done in a very approachable way. I found this book such a stunner precisely because it's written in casual and unadorned prose that is also engaging and gripping. It's as well written as it is precisely because it's so clever at using language. I feel like saying the prose isn't all ginned up is vaguely insulting to the novel when that's not what I mean at all. Much like when I read Jane Austen's books, I was very impressed by how much Angelo could achieve without striving for fancier or more embroidered language. She doesn't need to write incomprehensible sentences sagging with the weight of multi-syllabic words of the type usually only found in SAT tests because the points she's making are so smart and spot-on. In other words, she doesn't need to use fancy language because her book has a lot to say. Sure, elaborate prose works well for some authors, but I often find elaborate prose is also used to cover up the fact that a book has precious little to say.
I have no doubt I'll still be chewing over this book long after finishing it. I read a vast number of books each year, and after a while the details fade. I usually do remember vague things about the books, but I know this is one of the few whose details I'm not likely to forget, one of those I try to press into the hands of every reader I know. It's not often that I come across a book that is both compulsively readable while also full of deep, provocative thoughts, but this book is one. I look very much forward to what Angelo does next--yep, count me as one of her followers.
All in all, this is easily one of the best books I've read this year, and that's because this book is not only so well written, but also because it's made me think about some pretty profound things. I realize the irony in sharing my thoughts on this book on the very platforms the book is prodding readers to think about, but there it is for you. Even as the book is dissecting our internet-obsessed culture, particularly with regard to internet celebrities, the best way for me to spread the word about it and hopefully get people reading it is by talking about it online.
Part of what makes this book a five-star read for me is I felt the author really gets people. The characters in this book are all so vivid, even the tertiary ones, and they are all painted in many, many shades. As Floss, one of the main characters likes to put it, it's all in the edit. None of these people are outright heroic or villainous. All of them are driven by baser needs and desires at some points, and that's precisely what makes them seem so human. Never once did I question why Floss was doing what she did, or why Orla was, or why Marlow was, because their actions made sense within the context of what I knew about them. Further, I was thrilled by this depiction of female characters in books, which is still all-too rare. It was beyond refreshing to read something that didn't seem worried about making anyone "likable", and what's interesting about that is it made me like these characters, sometimes despite myself. I could identify with what they were going through and what they were doing. That doesn't mean I'd want some of them in my own life, but I really appreciated how this book emphasized the interiority of these characters and used that to drive its action.
The other thing I wholly admired about this book is the way it lampooned our cultural moment without being mean or petty about it. Instead, the book points out why our dependence on and trust of social media, cloud services, etc is something that should concern us more than it does. Americans take our privacy for granted, and we're prone to believing the promises these corporations feed us, even when the curtain is pulled back and we see what's really going on behind the scenes. These book made me think a lot about data privacy and the implications and consequences of trusting my data to private companies. I'm already of a mindset that the 1984 scenario Orwell envisioned is already upon us, only in the U.S. and many other parts of the world it's not so much the government that's spying on us, it's private corporations. This book interrogates the complacency with which most Americans go about their day, all while our every action is being data-mined and monetized.
While the book is doing this, it's taking a hard look at the ways in which people have not only given up their privacy but have almost come to view privacy as a bad thing, hence the rise of the internet celebrity. Yes, celebrities have always had aspects of their private lives spilled out into the public realm, and those private lives have often influenced how much or little celebrity those people would ultimately possess, but the whole concept of being famous solely for being famous feels like a newer phenomenon. Angelo poses some interesting questions about internet celebrity and what it means. Without ever feeling preachy, the book made me think a lot about what the effect of internet celebrity has on our culture, and just how far we, as consumers, will implicitly encourage internet celebrities to go in order for them to secure our interest. As Angelo points out, the social media companies' choice of the word "followers" is interesting. Reading this book made me think a lot about what it means to both be a follower and to have followers.
Yet all of this is done in a very approachable way. I found this book such a stunner precisely because it's written in casual and unadorned prose that is also engaging and gripping. It's as well written as it is precisely because it's so clever at using language. I feel like saying the prose isn't all ginned up is vaguely insulting to the novel when that's not what I mean at all. Much like when I read Jane Austen's books, I was very impressed by how much Angelo could achieve without striving for fancier or more embroidered language. She doesn't need to write incomprehensible sentences sagging with the weight of multi-syllabic words of the type usually only found in SAT tests because the points she's making are so smart and spot-on. In other words, she doesn't need to use fancy language because her book has a lot to say. Sure, elaborate prose works well for some authors, but I often find elaborate prose is also used to cover up the fact that a book has precious little to say.
I have no doubt I'll still be chewing over this book long after finishing it. I read a vast number of books each year, and after a while the details fade. I usually do remember vague things about the books, but I know this is one of the few whose details I'm not likely to forget, one of those I try to press into the hands of every reader I know. It's not often that I come across a book that is both compulsively readable while also full of deep, provocative thoughts, but this book is one. I look very much forward to what Angelo does next--yep, count me as one of her followers.