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A review by jarku
The Default World by Naomi Kanakia
adventurous
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The premise is great: how and what could someone marginalized by her gender identity, race, and weight--but importantly not class--stand to gain from the leftovers of the SF tech-hedonism space?
However, there's not nearly enough exposition. We get countless words describing bodies and outfits and makeup, but for all of their supposed differences, Katie and Audrey were barely distinguishable peas in a pod. All of the communities/spaces in the novel sound the same, and are impossible to keep straight: TFH, TBF, TGP. I've moved in parallel cliques in this exact world, but for all the times she uses it, I still don't know what Kanakia means by "fire-eater:" there is exactly one moment where one character spins fire [poi?]...is the title figurative? Wikipedia tells me it could refer to racist political accelerationists during the American Civil War, which might not be entirely off the mark?
Until the last 40 pages or so, I didn't understand what motivated each of the characters' mercurial favours, Jhanvi and Roshie and Katie especially. The main characters go around dubbing each other stupid or smart in alternation, and the one-dimensional characters (Toni, Meena, Jhanvi's parents) pick one and stick with it. As far as Jhanvi's narration, it's just so much misanthropic polemic that it's hard to believe in her distinctly from Naomi Kanakia herself. Barely anything but the genderedness of peoples' bodies and the intricacy of the kink scenes is ever shown to us, all of it is forcefully told.
Maybe I just didn't get the satire? But there's nothing funny about the fair-weatheredness of chosen family, and though Jhanvi's marriage posits a punchline, it doesn't carry 200 pages. I just kept reading because the whole thing was, once again, so relatable, in such a cringe way. Like, this was a fun, if frustrating, read, but I can't recommend this book to my friends or they'll think I hate them. Nevada did a much better job of everything The Default World set out to do.
However, there's not nearly enough exposition. We get countless words describing bodies and outfits and makeup, but for all of their supposed differences, Katie and Audrey were barely distinguishable peas in a pod. All of the communities/spaces in the novel sound the same, and are impossible to keep straight: TFH, TBF, TGP. I've moved in parallel cliques in this exact world, but for all the times she uses it, I still don't know what Kanakia means by "fire-eater:" there is exactly one moment where one character spins fire [poi?]...is the title figurative? Wikipedia tells me it could refer to racist political accelerationists during the American Civil War, which might not be entirely off the mark?
Until the last 40 pages or so, I didn't understand what motivated each of the characters' mercurial favours, Jhanvi and Roshie and Katie especially. The main characters go around dubbing each other stupid or smart in alternation, and the one-dimensional characters (Toni, Meena, Jhanvi's parents) pick one and stick with it. As far as Jhanvi's narration, it's just so much misanthropic polemic that it's hard to believe in her distinctly from Naomi Kanakia herself. Barely anything but the genderedness of peoples' bodies and the intricacy of the kink scenes is ever shown to us, all of it is forcefully told.
Maybe I just didn't get the satire? But there's nothing funny about the fair-weatheredness of chosen family, and though Jhanvi's marriage posits a punchline, it doesn't carry 200 pages. I just kept reading because the whole thing was, once again, so relatable, in such a cringe way. Like, this was a fun, if frustrating, read, but I can't recommend this book to my friends or they'll think I hate them. Nevada did a much better job of everything The Default World set out to do.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use
Minor: Transphobia