Fanny Price herself and romantic relationships seem to be the most controversial part of the book. There are numerous great reviews already, so I am just writing down my personal opinion for my own benefit.
The character of Fanny Price is perfectly believable. An unloved child with a sickly disposition, it is only natural that she is quiet and complacent. However, for about half of the book it did lessen my enjoyment of it. When you observe the world with the eyes of Lizzie Bennet you can have fun over the follies of your neighbours. But with the eyes of Fanny Price, you can experience only anxiousness, fear and uneasiness.
Nevertheless, it feels like in the second part of the book Fanny is no longer an observer, and even though she doesn't take any active actions she strongly opposes desires of her relations to protect her principals. It reminds me of the opposite situation at the beginning of Persuasion. All in all, I see Fanny as strong as Austen heroine should be, she may not be Lizzie, but she is not that different from Anne or Elinor.
As to romantic relationships, I'll only talk about those that involve Fanny directly. SpoilerA lot of people wanted Henry Crawford to marry Fanny and have his redemption ark. I have not met people like Mr Crawford yet thankfully, but it is my strong belief that one must not attach themselves to another person in the hopes of changing them for the better. Of course, it is great if some mutual improvement can happen, like in Pride and Prejudice, but love should come first and Fanny was right in her refusal. Her falling in love with him over time was, of course, possible, but would require him to change immensely. And I do not believe that Crawfords would ever change their ways, it is difficult for anyone, but especially for people so self-centred.
She loves Edmund as he is, and though I dislike him for being patronizing and for his inconsistencies, there is no other person Fanny would be happy with. They know each other since she was ten and are intimate friends who share opinions on all the subjects of importance. And I think this is principal to Fanny. Even if it's not why she fell in love with Edmund, it is why they will make great life partners.
There are no perfect characters in this book (like in all Austen's books probably), and none of the characters is really charming and likeable, which may be why many people feel disinterested. But all of them are believable and there are some interesting topics raised in this book. I didn't know though if there is any conclusion, any lesson I can draw from this book. But now, writing this review, I have decided what it will be - you can not be happy by disobeying your principles and you should share your moral code with the person you choose to attach yourself to.
I have started this book without even reading the premise. All I've heard about it was the underlying idea of streaming emotions. So in the second chapter, when we first enter Cat's POV, I was notably confused. Two POVs that are, probably, the most enigmatic and eventually satisfying part of the book for some were the biggest flaw for me. Even after I've understood the structure of the book, I couldn't change the fact that Cat's chapters, for the most part, felt like they are breaking the pacing of Amy's thrilling chapters.
From the very first chapter, the stakes for Amy are extremely high, and the events often make my blood run cold. The emotional connection I, as a reader, reach with Amy is probably the greatest achievement of this book. The book always kept me at the edge of my seat as if it is my fate that depends on her actions.
Cat's story, as already mentioned, didn't do the same for me. In the beginning, it does not feel true-to-life, even though it's not burdened with the sci-fi Heartstrem Inc. storyline. Though I appreciate how Mr Polloc investigates the darker side of fandoms, Rick society feel almost like Disney villains at times. Of course, I've seen real fandoms do scary things but the most extreme actions are always carried by the absolute minority. And it doesn't make sense to me why Cat would want to be a part of that group in the first place, when there surely were more wholesome parts of that fandom. Cat's relationship with Ryan feels superficial, partly because we don't know pretty much anything about Cat beside her being a fan of his, and partly because Ryan is shallow. Because of this, even after Cat's story gains momentum, it doesn't stop to feel flimsy to me.
I will refrain from spoiling anything, but little twists and turns of the book felt more satisfying than the actual ending. It felt like the tension the author has build-up didn't really resolve.
Despite all of that, the book certainly gives some food for thought about the way we treat each other now and how it will change with further development of technologies. We are now the closest and the most distant to other people than we have ever been. And it is our job to make sure we treat people around us with dignity and respect they deserve offline and online.
In the end, I would still encourage people to read this book especially if they are into futuristic technological sci-fi. It is not a long read and can be good to spark discussion in a book club or among friends.
The book is very repetitive and relies too much on extraordinary examples of people being cured to persuade you in author's methods. I don't have anything particular to say against those methods, but I picked up the book to learn more about them and would prefer to have more explanations on why specific techniques help to deal with given cognitive biases, more data on research and then real life examples to illustrate it. So far the book has mostly been “trust me it will help you” and I have no urgent concerns to be grasping at such straws. I've started the book to learn more and it's giving me knowledge in such crumbs that it renders the endeavor pointless.
