Tell the Machine Goodnight
Ratings17
Average rating3.4
15
Ratings17
Average rating3.4
Pearl's job is to make people happy. Every day, she provides customers with personalized recommendations for greater contentment. She's good at her job, her office manager tells her, successful. But how does one measure an emotion? Meanwhile, there's Pearl's teenage son, Rhett. A sensitive kid who has forged an unconventional path through adolescence, Rhett seems to find greater satisfaction in being unhappy. The very rejection of joy is his own kind of "pursuit of happiness." As his mother, Pearl wants nothing more than to help Rhett--but is it for his sake or for hers? Certainly it would make Pearl happier. Regardless, her son is one person whose emotional life does not fall under the parameters of her job--not as happiness technician, and not as mother, either.-Amazon
Reviews with the most likes.
Interesting, but was disappointed at the end. Why I was disappointed I can't quite put my finger on. It is worth reading if you can get your hands on it.
Neutral 2.5 rounded up.
There are a couple of chapters which were pretty engaging but overall I didn't really care about anything that was going on and the characters all seemed pretty flat. Major “I don't really want to live but I don't want to die” vibes but not in a very relatable way.
I liked the premise of the book and the stories within it, but I felt like it was a meandering road with no real destination. There wasn't a well defined plot, and it read more like a thought experiment about a possible reality than a novel.
It started well but somehow the brightness was lost on the way and I struggled to finish despite the great idea for sci fi that had been the appeal.
