Set in an alternative recent past, American society has adapted to mental parity, the idea that everyone is equally clever. Consequences are devastating for speaking up against this, as our protagonist Pearson illustrates.
There is no entrance exams, or exams at all, people are working doing things like surgery totally without the knowledge needed, university and all education is meaningless. Language has totally changed, any utterance of the likes of stupid, thick, dense can lose you your children, your job, your social status. As a university lecturer Pearson finds this especially hard to adapt to, since she doesn’t believe it’s true. Reading through her life and society falling apart as simultaneously her best friend Emory, a journalist, has a commitment to the status quo left me wondering if she had any morals, or whether getting a career is worth sacrificing them for.
Shriver does what she does best in this book, offering a problem and letting us explore solutions through character perspectives, some being quite unlikable. It’s a smarter, darker, more confident with letting go Jodi Picoult. Everything about this book feels real and you can relate the MP situation with other ideas that go around socially. It creates a full world of difference to compare today to, and I liked the references to literature bans and mass shooters as they were the strongest links to today that made the book feel real. A really strong book that entertains and makes you think, even if it’s just the next time you call someone stupid.
There is no entrance exams, or exams at all, people are working doing things like surgery totally without the knowledge needed, university and all education is meaningless. Language has totally changed, any utterance of the likes of stupid, thick, dense can lose you your children, your job, your social status. As a university lecturer Pearson finds this especially hard to adapt to, since she doesn’t believe it’s true. Reading through her life and society falling apart as simultaneously her best friend Emory, a journalist, has a commitment to the status quo left me wondering if she had any morals, or whether getting a career is worth sacrificing them for.
Shriver does what she does best in this book, offering a problem and letting us explore solutions through character perspectives, some being quite unlikable. It’s a smarter, darker, more confident with letting go Jodi Picoult. Everything about this book feels real and you can relate the MP situation with other ideas that go around socially. It creates a full world of difference to compare today to, and I liked the references to literature bans and mass shooters as they were the strongest links to today that made the book feel real. A really strong book that entertains and makes you think, even if it’s just the next time you call someone stupid.