Laith
Book Club For Jan - I am behind on both the book club and on these reviews, life's just been very busy since the holidays
___
No looking inside the box.
No asking what is inside of it
No telling anyone where they are going.
Black Box is really just one massive red haring, a wild goose chase of a novel. Abbott (our male protagonist and Lyft driver) meets Ether (our female protagonist) for what he believes is a typical Lyft fare that's anything but. Ether offers him a life changing sum of money to transport her and her mysterious black box across the country, from California to DC. Abbott is not Ether's first choice, she's been hired to transport the box under condition of secrecy but she's out of options to meet her deadline and her mission is further complicated by dodging the pursuit of a mysterious biker. Unfortunately for Ether she couldn't have picked a worse driver, as Abbott is a sort of minor Twitch celebrity- his chat so alerted by his change in schedule and the involvement of a woman so as to kick off a Reddit manhunt in search of him. The hunt for Abbott quickly evolves into a rabid conspiracy revolving around Ether, a retired FBI agent, and what exactly is in the black box of doom.
I'd describe Black Box as a true 21st century novel, laden heavy with references to the current day- Reddit, Bitcoin, even commissioned furry art, it runs the referential gamut and opines broadly on the impact of the internet and social media on society. The premise is great: equal parts the hunt for the Boston Marathon bombers and a classic American road trip comedy, the story serves as vehicle for Pargin's opinions on the toxic influence of the internet on the human species. It's a bizarre tonal mix, on the one hand you've got some fairly heartfelt and broadly accurate critiques on modern society and on the other hand you've got Abbott chasing down rabbits down the side of Route 66. When you consider that road tripping across the US is a boring and desolate drive broken up by occasional moments of danger and entertainment the structure of the book makes sense, unfortunately that means the book winds up being more social commentary than actual plot. It's very fun whenever the plot is progressing, but mainly it's Ether lecturing for 300 out of 400 pages.
I really found myself powering through the middle of the book, that's largely because the more I learned about Abbott and Ether, the more I started to hate them. Abbott, the modern anxious every-man happens to have some problematic opinions about women- and he's extremely vocal about it. Conversely Ether has had something like a modern spiritual awakening and cannot help but to lecture Abbott about the wonders of the modern age and the importance of believing in the inherent good of your fellow man. These two are locked in a car for 2,310 miles and so are you the reader, so you get to read and reread Abbott's one dimensional take on the powers of femininity, Ether's constant lectures, and the extremely awkward interactions that result as these two verbally spar. It wouldn't be so bad either if Abbott could articulate his points to the same degree as Ether, maybe there'd be something to glean from a discourse like that, but his character is constantly vacillating between "everyman" and "strawman" alternating between playing the determined hero and the petulant child as the plot demands from moment to moment. It's exhausting, and honestly despite Ether's point being generally correct, the message is cheapened when it's bounced off such an obvious sock puppet, the whole debate reads like epistemic theater.
While not quite a doomer book, the image it paints is not a flattering one- Pargin is laying bare his issues with everything, from crowdsourced conspiracy and misinformation to the toxic effect of social media and the internet on interpersonal relationships. We're addicted to our screens, addicted to outrage, and it feels like some shadowy cabal of billionaires is trying to erode our faith in humanity and transform us from people into subscribers. I can't say I disagree with any of the talking points conceptually but I personally hate it when books preach at me through character dialogue, and that's how 90% of the commentary is delivered. What makes it particularly offensive here is that the plot is effectively delivering the same message! The double dose of rhetoric really beats you over the head with the messaging, choking what would otherwise be a very entertaining and thought provoking thriller narrative.
Generally this is a fun read with some interesting information about how online conspiracies are built and perpetuated, but this is absolutely dating itself. You may or may not get turned off by the overtly rhetorical style, and while the characters are flawed and unlikable they do grow along their arc, no matter how manufactured that growth may feel at times. Honestly the last fifth of the book is worth the slog, it's wacky and wild, and while you do eventually find out what's in the box that's not the only reveal in store by the end.
Book Club For Jan - I am behind on both the book club and on these reviews, life's just been very busy since the holidays
___
No looking inside the box.
No asking what is inside of it
No telling anyone where they are going.
Black Box is really just one massive red haring, a wild goose chase of a novel. Abbott (our male protagonist and Lyft driver) meets Ether (our female protagonist) for what he believes is a typical Lyft fare that's anything but. Ether offers him a life changing sum of money to transport her and her mysterious black box across the country, from California to DC. Abbott is not Ether's first choice, she's been hired to transport the box under condition of secrecy but she's out of options to meet her deadline and her mission is further complicated by dodging the pursuit of a mysterious biker. Unfortunately for Ether she couldn't have picked a worse driver, as Abbott is a sort of minor Twitch celebrity- his chat so alerted by his change in schedule and the involvement of a woman so as to kick off a Reddit manhunt in search of him. The hunt for Abbott quickly evolves into a rabid conspiracy revolving around Ether, a retired FBI agent, and what exactly is in the black box of doom.
I'd describe Black Box as a true 21st century novel, laden heavy with references to the current day- Reddit, Bitcoin, even commissioned furry art, it runs the referential gamut and opines broadly on the impact of the internet and social media on society. The premise is great: equal parts the hunt for the Boston Marathon bombers and a classic American road trip comedy, the story serves as vehicle for Pargin's opinions on the toxic influence of the internet on the human species. It's a bizarre tonal mix, on the one hand you've got some fairly heartfelt and broadly accurate critiques on modern society and on the other hand you've got Abbott chasing down rabbits down the side of Route 66. When you consider that road tripping across the US is a boring and desolate drive broken up by occasional moments of danger and entertainment the structure of the book makes sense, unfortunately that means the book winds up being more social commentary than actual plot. It's very fun whenever the plot is progressing, but mainly it's Ether lecturing for 300 out of 400 pages.
I really found myself powering through the middle of the book, that's largely because the more I learned about Abbott and Ether, the more I started to hate them. Abbott, the modern anxious every-man happens to have some problematic opinions about women- and he's extremely vocal about it. Conversely Ether has had something like a modern spiritual awakening and cannot help but to lecture Abbott about the wonders of the modern age and the importance of believing in the inherent good of your fellow man. These two are locked in a car for 2,310 miles and so are you the reader, so you get to read and reread Abbott's one dimensional take on the powers of femininity, Ether's constant lectures, and the extremely awkward interactions that result as these two verbally spar. It wouldn't be so bad either if Abbott could articulate his points to the same degree as Ether, maybe there'd be something to glean from a discourse like that, but his character is constantly vacillating between "everyman" and "strawman" alternating between playing the determined hero and the petulant child as the plot demands from moment to moment. It's exhausting, and honestly despite Ether's point being generally correct, the message is cheapened when it's bounced off such an obvious sock puppet, the whole debate reads like epistemic theater.
While not quite a doomer book, the image it paints is not a flattering one- Pargin is laying bare his issues with everything, from crowdsourced conspiracy and misinformation to the toxic effect of social media and the internet on interpersonal relationships. We're addicted to our screens, addicted to outrage, and it feels like some shadowy cabal of billionaires is trying to erode our faith in humanity and transform us from people into subscribers. I can't say I disagree with any of the talking points conceptually but I personally hate it when books preach at me through character dialogue, and that's how 90% of the commentary is delivered. What makes it particularly offensive here is that the plot is effectively delivering the same message! The double dose of rhetoric really beats you over the head with the messaging, choking what would otherwise be a very entertaining and thought provoking thriller narrative.
Generally this is a fun read with some interesting information about how online conspiracies are built and perpetuated, but this is absolutely dating itself. You may or may not get turned off by the overtly rhetorical style, and while the characters are flawed and unlikable they do grow along their arc, no matter how manufactured that growth may feel at times. Honestly the last fifth of the book is worth the slog, it's wacky and wild, and while you do eventually find out what's in the box that's not the only reveal in store by the end.
