Rat 🛸
this book has so much to live up to as its known as such a classic and there are absolutely moments where it does. I really love the frantic, thoughtless way that so many characters speak, it feels so reminiscent of ai-tiktok speak. The superficial personalisation of tech to make it feel like it's "part of the family" is very prescient. Weirdly a lot of the ways in which I question this book are in relation to the attitude it shows towards books. So much of the stuff is about Great Writings from Great Men, and while I do think these are incredibly important as part of history, and to encourage debate, I also think there could be a lot more emphasis on writing as a creative art, and the ways in which Guy finds himself moved by the writings.
I don't like the way that women are treated in the book. Mildred could be a really interesting character by herself, but the shallowness we see from her is mirrored in almost every other female character to the point of it feeling like a stereotype. Clarisse is the only exception, and she feels like a very wispy virginal darling. I could really appreciate her character if other aspects of the story were less gendered (the men at the end?? like why do they all have to be men???)
this book has so much to live up to as its known as such a classic and there are absolutely moments where it does. I really love the frantic, thoughtless way that so many characters speak, it feels so reminiscent of ai-tiktok speak. The superficial personalisation of tech to make it feel like it's "part of the family" is very prescient. Weirdly a lot of the ways in which I question this book are in relation to the attitude it shows towards books. So much of the stuff is about Great Writings from Great Men, and while I do think these are incredibly important as part of history, and to encourage debate, I also think there could be a lot more emphasis on writing as a creative art, and the ways in which Guy finds himself moved by the writings.
I don't like the way that women are treated in the book. Mildred could be a really interesting character by herself, but the shallowness we see from her is mirrored in almost every other female character to the point of it feeling like a stereotype. Clarisse is the only exception, and she feels like a very wispy virginal darling. I could really appreciate her character if other aspects of the story were less gendered (the men at the end?? like why do they all have to be men???)
