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A review by sunyidean
Future Perfect by Felicia Yap
3.0
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest Netgalley review. Thank you to the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this.
I was really intrigued by this title and everything I read on it but ultimately struggled with some aspects, while wishing others had been more developed. This is ofc a highly subjective review so salt with everything, as always.
Starting with the good:
It's well written and highly accessible. The speculative concepts are fascinating (prediction technology and it's corrosive, corruptive effect on psyche), the extent to which lives can and are led by drones or dictated by algorithm. Christian was a great character and the timeline/pov plot twist was genuinely good, I didn't see it coming till it was almost unfolding. I think those are all good reasons to dip into the book.
###
Things that that didn't click for me:
Subjective, but I didn't like Viola (one of the main povs) and struggled with Alexander, too. In Viola's case, she seemed exasperatingly self-absorbed at times for someone who is supposed to be 40 and a professional, and I found myself getting frustrated by her emotional immaturity. Relationship basics seemed to amaze her, and she had a tendency to engage in that wilful refusal of miscommunication that drives autistic readers mad (by which I mean her relationship with Christian is strained because, imo, she's unwilling or unable to ask straightforward questions like an actual adult.)
I realise that's a common 'thing' in novels but it frustrates me all the same. On the other hand, I struggle enormously to relate to neurotypical people, and likely this is part of why. So much of their communication is riddled with a kind of obstinate refusal to *explain* and an overwhleming need for you to guess, anticipate, and pre-empt their reactions; it's fucking exhausting. Viola is similarly exhausting. She's a reminder of all of those interactions with neurotypical folk that leave me tired and discouraged. Sorry, Vi!
Alexander, I was just a bit indifferent to. He wasn't a bad character, but he seemed priviledged and rather elitist, from that particular class of posh Londoners who live in their own universe and don't really compute for me on a day to day, working class level. Ymmv on that.
###
As before, the characters were well written, but having 2 major povs not clicking for me made some parts of the reading a struggle. I found myself skimming Viola and Alexander's sections to get back to Christian and Mystery PoV, but of course that in turn meant I had to double back to reread to follow the plot.
###
My last grumble is maybe one of genre. I wish the book had done more with its cool setting ideas. The predictive app (which projects what it thinks you will do, which then arguably influences you to do those things, and which tries to make sure you 'stay on track' with its predictions) was a core concept that drew me to the book, but as is often the case with litfic, this aspect of the setting was touched on and not really dug into.
I'd have liked to see more done with the app and its implications, and perhaps some wider philosophical implications, but I also don't think that was what the novel was about. The focus is on the tangled lives of the characters and that's fine, just maybe for a slightly different readership than mine.
I was really intrigued by this title and everything I read on it but ultimately struggled with some aspects, while wishing others had been more developed. This is ofc a highly subjective review so salt with everything, as always.
Starting with the good:
It's well written and highly accessible. The speculative concepts are fascinating (prediction technology and it's corrosive, corruptive effect on psyche), the extent to which lives can and are led by drones or dictated by algorithm. Christian was a great character and the timeline/pov plot twist was genuinely good, I didn't see it coming till it was almost unfolding. I think those are all good reasons to dip into the book.
###
Things that that didn't click for me:
Subjective, but I didn't like Viola (one of the main povs) and struggled with Alexander, too. In Viola's case, she seemed exasperatingly self-absorbed at times for someone who is supposed to be 40 and a professional, and I found myself getting frustrated by her emotional immaturity. Relationship basics seemed to amaze her, and she had a tendency to engage in that wilful refusal of miscommunication that drives autistic readers mad (by which I mean her relationship with Christian is strained because, imo, she's unwilling or unable to ask straightforward questions like an actual adult.)
I realise that's a common 'thing' in novels but it frustrates me all the same. On the other hand, I struggle enormously to relate to neurotypical people, and likely this is part of why. So much of their communication is riddled with a kind of obstinate refusal to *explain* and an overwhleming need for you to guess, anticipate, and pre-empt their reactions; it's fucking exhausting. Viola is similarly exhausting. She's a reminder of all of those interactions with neurotypical folk that leave me tired and discouraged. Sorry, Vi!
Alexander, I was just a bit indifferent to. He wasn't a bad character, but he seemed priviledged and rather elitist, from that particular class of posh Londoners who live in their own universe and don't really compute for me on a day to day, working class level. Ymmv on that.
###
As before, the characters were well written, but having 2 major povs not clicking for me made some parts of the reading a struggle. I found myself skimming Viola and Alexander's sections to get back to Christian and Mystery PoV, but of course that in turn meant I had to double back to reread to follow the plot.
###
My last grumble is maybe one of genre. I wish the book had done more with its cool setting ideas. The predictive app (which projects what it thinks you will do, which then arguably influences you to do those things, and which tries to make sure you 'stay on track' with its predictions) was a core concept that drew me to the book, but as is often the case with litfic, this aspect of the setting was touched on and not really dug into.
I'd have liked to see more done with the app and its implications, and perhaps some wider philosophical implications, but I also don't think that was what the novel was about. The focus is on the tangled lives of the characters and that's fine, just maybe for a slightly different readership than mine.