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A review by circularcubes
253 by Geoff Ryman
3.0
The idea behind this book is really interesting, but the execution left a bit to be desired, in my opinion. 253 characters, all sitting on a train in London between three different stops, who are described in 253 words each (minus footnotes), many linked together by familial, personal, and professional relationships. The idea behind it is intriguing, but as a reading experience, it was meh.
I tried reading this in its original format, on the website http://www.253novel.com/, but I quickly decided that I would prefer reading this on paper, because the endless clicking around wasn't quite doing it for me. However, other reviewers have mentioned how the experience is completely different with the physical book - the clickable hyperlinks that take you from one passenger to another, all down the length of the train, aren't marked out in the book. Some of the more obvious connections are pointed out (interpersonal relationships, for example), but the only way for you to know that the author meant for us to take note of the (otherwise unconnected) folks reading the Financial Times is to look at the index at the back of the book. While I did flip around when it was obvious that other passengers completed a little story of sorts, the more happenstance connections passed me by. On the one hand, that's quite different from the original web version of the book, but on the other hand... I don't really care that three different people were reading the same newspaper on the train, you know?
I could forgive most of the format's sins, because I still find the concept itself interesting. The character studies themselves, though... I didn't like them all that much. While there were enough interesting ideas and moments to get me to finish the book, a lot of the characters felt flat. I wasn't the comfiest with the way many of the immigrants and non-English folks were portrayed, and it did really bother me that white Englishness was the default, and that the non-white characters had their race, nationality, and appearance pointed out while English passengers were never described as "white" or "English." A lot of characters have their stories end with a Big Decision having just been made, and while that might make their stories more compelling, it did make the entire book feel more artificial.
Overall, an interesting book. Not a book I'd necessarily recommend, but I'm glad I gave it a try.
I tried reading this in its original format, on the website http://www.253novel.com/, but I quickly decided that I would prefer reading this on paper, because the endless clicking around wasn't quite doing it for me. However, other reviewers have mentioned how the experience is completely different with the physical book - the clickable hyperlinks that take you from one passenger to another, all down the length of the train, aren't marked out in the book. Some of the more obvious connections are pointed out (interpersonal relationships, for example), but the only way for you to know that the author meant for us to take note of the (otherwise unconnected) folks reading the Financial Times is to look at the index at the back of the book. While I did flip around when it was obvious that other passengers completed a little story of sorts, the more happenstance connections passed me by. On the one hand, that's quite different from the original web version of the book, but on the other hand... I don't really care that three different people were reading the same newspaper on the train, you know?
Spoiler
I also did not bother to flip back and remember all the stories of the people who die in the train crash at the end of the story. I did for a few of the names that sparked some recognition, but for the most part, their deaths didn't feel real enough to be important, or important enough to feel real.I could forgive most of the format's sins, because I still find the concept itself interesting. The character studies themselves, though... I didn't like them all that much. While there were enough interesting ideas and moments to get me to finish the book, a lot of the characters felt flat. I wasn't the comfiest with the way many of the immigrants and non-English folks were portrayed, and it did really bother me that white Englishness was the default, and that the non-white characters had their race, nationality, and appearance pointed out while English passengers were never described as "white" or "English." A lot of characters have their stories end with a Big Decision having just been made, and while that might make their stories more compelling, it did make the entire book feel more artificial.
Overall, an interesting book. Not a book I'd necessarily recommend, but I'm glad I gave it a try.