I believe this is the last book I have to read based upon a recommendation, at least for a little while. And I suppose that means that Summer is really over. This is also my first M. T. Anderson novel. I always thought I would get to Whales on Stilts, but alas, no. For the record, the audio book was recommended. I’m just not a good listener and so I took the old fashioned route – hardback.
Feed is certainly right up my alley. Dystopian Young Adult literature. It reminds me exceedingly of Extras by Scott Westerfeld and only because I read the latter first. More accurately, Extras takes after Feed according to the publication date.
It’s our not too distant future and the corporations have bailed out America. They did such a good job with the schools; they will do a fabulous job with our government. Anyone who is anyone, (read “has money or credit”) has a “feed”. To simplify, now we work from our computers, laptops or more conveniently, our phones. Soon, we will be organically linked up to the Feed. If you don’t have a lot of money, you might purchase an old-fashioned model where you can see the feed on your glasses and you carry your hardware on your back. BUT, if you use the cutting edge of technology, you had your link to the feed attached right onto your brain when you were an infant and it is just as much a part of your bodily functions as breathing or blinking.
Imagine, if you watch television, the number of ads you are inundated with over the course of a program. If you spend more time on your computer than in front of your TV, picture all of the ads that are flashed at you as you click from site to site. What if those commercials and banners were streamed into your conscious thought continually – yes, none stop – while you are driving, eating, shopping, sleeping, playing. For instance, you happen to be a girl that is into the latest hair trends. You receive a message saying that the new trend is a side part rather than a center part. You would seek the first restroom to change it. These cycles are short-lived. Now we have a season’s colors and trends. In the future, the trends change continually!
And what if that feed pays just as much attention to what you think about and where you go and what you “click” on as your internet’s “cookies.” The feed knows the kind of music you like. It knows the kind of pants you’re looking for. And it catalogs your every need or wish so that the corporations can provide it for you – rather you can buy it from them. You don’t interact with people anymore because you are too busy watching your latest soap or playing the newest game on the feed. You can even choose a site and pay for a feed-induced high.The language is appalling, but more importantly, the characters seem just as bored with themselves as we would be watching them. They fly to the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and find it boring. My favorite part of the book is the opening line, "We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck. A disturbingly funny book that I would recommend to high-schoolers studying 1984, A Brave New World or Slaughterhouse Five. Not as fun as Extras.
I absolutely loved this book. I read it in a Lit class at my university. It was terrifying but I can totally foresee something of the sort happening to our society. I definitely would recommend this read as well! It really makes you think about how important personal communication and writing/speaking skills are.
ReplyDelete