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laplatts's review against another edition
5.0
Set in a near dystopian future, Doctorow imagines a world in which the issues of today are easily identified- particularly 'Model Minority,' which rings uncanny at this particular time.
I was hooked right from the get go, and reading this type of book in short story format made it so easy to digest. I loved the subtle interweaving of the different stories, but was disconcerted by how eerily accurate some of these tales ring.
I was hooked right from the get go, and reading this type of book in short story format made it so easy to digest. I loved the subtle interweaving of the different stories, but was disconcerted by how eerily accurate some of these tales ring.
meekoh's review against another edition
Rating a compilation of short stories is always challenging because each one has its own merits and downfalls. Overall, I would give this book a 4-star rating but I'm hesitant to do so because of how much I disliked the 2nd story.
The 2nd novella is about an all-powerful alien being (who is unnecessarily white) embarking on a mission to save black victims from police brutality. The author continuously reminds us that the hero "isn't really" white, he's an alien. If you have to keep pushing this reminder maybe embrace the sign that you should have made your alien green. The fact that the hero only starts to care about police brutality in today's reality while somehow glossing over slavery, the civil rights movement, and the "war on drugs", doesn't exactly inspire you to root him on. The story reinforces harmful white saviour narratives and from a strictly storytelling perspective, seems like a poor choice of a narrator. The perspective prevents the reader from feeling the emotional toll of the injustice because there's no personal connection and reduces the victim to a statistic.
The 2nd novella is about an all-powerful alien being (who is unnecessarily white) embarking on a mission to save black victims from police brutality. The author continuously reminds us that the hero "isn't really" white, he's an alien. If you have to keep pushing this reminder maybe embrace the sign that you should have made your alien green. The fact that the hero only starts to care about police brutality in today's reality while somehow glossing over slavery, the civil rights movement, and the "war on drugs", doesn't exactly inspire you to root him on. The story reinforces harmful white saviour narratives and from a strictly storytelling perspective, seems like a poor choice of a narrator. The perspective prevents the reader from feeling the emotional toll of the injustice because there's no personal connection and reduces the victim to a statistic.
laurntiu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
fionacashell's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know if Cory Doctorow realized how accurate the line "Four Tales of Our Present Moment" would be when the book was released in 2019. The themes in each of these short stories - including healthcare and police brutality - have always been pressing issues, however reading this in 2021 makes the themes feel eerily timely. The stories each took place in their self contained worlds and remained critical of our own society but never overly bleak. If you're up for reading a dystopian reimagining of our current reality, I would recommend this one. If you are a bit weary, I have included a few themes covered below so you can make an informed call.
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Content Warnings (some spoilers): police brutality, homegrown terrorism, pandemics
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Content Warnings (some spoilers): police brutality, homegrown terrorism, pandemics
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to love this book. The explanation sounded awesome. And with four novellas I had four chances. Oddly enough the first (about the programmable toaster) was my favorite. It was quirky and brilliant. I imagined from the description of the superhero novella that I’d love it; I hated it. The cancer terrorist novella had potential but fizzled and seemed to limp to an ending. Then lastly, the novella about the end of the world just seemed pointless and sad. Averaged together: one brilliant, one terrible, and two middling; I thought that garnered three out of five stars.
wormposting's review against another edition
5.0
each of these stories hit incredibly close to home. it's thrilling to watch characters confront issues that seem insurmountable, and satisfying to read through to the end when we feel bogged down watching the reality unfold in our lives with no conclusions in sight
kaydot's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
ariel1524's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
inkdrinker6259's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
ajmcwhinney's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent set of 4 allegorical short stories tackling the political/cultural zeitgeist of our time, whether it be struggles against police brutality, big tech and capitalism, doomsdayism, or online radicalization.
Some have complained that the characters in these books are not fleshed out enough to tackle the issues that Doctorow does, but I strongly disagree. In fact, I think the allegorical nature of the stories helps us stand back a little bit from getting TOO bogged down in analysis that may end up paralyzing us into inaction. This is a great set of stories that serve as entry points into these issues and, to their credit, are very in-tune with a lot of the contemporary discourse surrounding these issues (internet culture and the twittersphere, and so on).
Will these stories teach you about the systemic workings of late capitalism, white supremacy, and surveillance ideology? Not really. But they will get you looking perhaps more deeply into your own awareness of these systems and how they relate to our moment.
Is there's anything this book is right about, it's the tagline "dystopia is now."
Some have complained that the characters in these books are not fleshed out enough to tackle the issues that Doctorow does, but I strongly disagree. In fact, I think the allegorical nature of the stories helps us stand back a little bit from getting TOO bogged down in analysis that may end up paralyzing us into inaction. This is a great set of stories that serve as entry points into these issues and, to their credit, are very in-tune with a lot of the contemporary discourse surrounding these issues (internet culture and the twittersphere, and so on).
Will these stories teach you about the systemic workings of late capitalism, white supremacy, and surveillance ideology? Not really. But they will get you looking perhaps more deeply into your own awareness of these systems and how they relate to our moment.
Is there's anything this book is right about, it's the tagline "dystopia is now."