Josh

An easy read, but…the robots weren’t robots. Even trying to accept the idea of HEEI (human-level intelligence robots), the author just made them fully human in every way other than having synthetic bodies.

In a small number of pages, it tried to tackle so many huge issues that it ended up just skating over all of them with magical solutions. This tiny story tried to address PTSD, racism, slavery/civil rights, poverty, how the economy is centralized around big tech platforms, American political tension, gender identity/the right to carve out your own identity, and more. It was just too much for a book this short, and ended up feeling trite rather than cozy.

An enjoyable read. I liked a lot about the depiction of Hell that was rooted so heavily in literature and culture. It was far less academic than Babel, and therefore an easier read. The love story was fine but not noteworthy - I feel like it could have been more satisfying to either give it more attention or take it out and have them just be friends.

A really compelling story - pretty rare for a memoir to be such a page-turner. Westover is a strong writer, capturing the underlying anxiety of growing up in a deeply unhealthy family environment, and the toll it took on her to come to terms with her past.