This is the first fiction book I've read since reading the first half of House of Leaves, graphic novels notwithstanding. Keeping up this blog has made me appreciate writing more, and given me more patience to sit down and read. I read the first two chapters of this book at the beginning of the summer, but quit, unable to focus. My roommate, who lent and suggested the book to me, urged me to pick it back up. So, a few mornings ago I started again on chapter two and finished it that night in my pajamas before I went to sleep.
Here's my summary of the summary on the back of the book, the general synopsis I give people who ask what I am reading and the same synopsis my roommate gave me.
The book takes place in the Earth's future. Death has been cured and there is no scarcity of resources or food. The economy is made of Whuffie, a measure of how much people like and respect you. The main characters live and work in Disneyland.
Man has only recently gained immortality, the ability to back up memories and reload them into a clone if death occurs. The last few generations still don't know exactly what life should be like. Society is only one generation into a world with no fear of death.
But that isn't exactly true. Julius, the protagonist, will not to reload into his previous backup after his brain takes permanent damage. He is unable to go online and his doctor says the only solution is to switch to a new clone from his last backup. He has not backed up for a few months and a lot of things have happened. His best friend wants to permanently kill himself, an unheard of act in an immortal world, and Julius wants to keep the memories of their final year together.
Doctorow does not waste time describing the skies and heavens of his future. Instead he gives special attention to the things that make up the world. His description of a modern gun with body signature seeking bullets; the ability to subvocalize - to talk to others without opening your mouth; and the everyday uses of having your brain hardwired as a personal computer - the ability to command, search and communicate with only thoughts and flicks of the eye; each item reinforcing the materialist obsession in Doctorow's world.
Without death and scarcity; with endless amounts of time for creativity, production, and problems solving, the people continue to concentrate on their status in the world. They ping the Whuffie of each person that walks by to decide if the person is worth talking to. Sometimes they will just take something from a person with very little Whuffie, because they know no one will care enough to come after them.
Dan, Julius's best friend, starts with amazing amounts of Whuffie. He decides to kill himself, starts acting recklessly, and loses it all. He doesn't want to commit suicide anymore, because he wants to go out with lots of Whuffie. He wants to make it worth it. Whuffie even drives a person who cares nothing about living forever.
After writing this much of the review, I realized something. Doctorow created a world devoid of God. God and religion are so irrelevant, they aren't mentioned. He is completely left out. Who needs God without fear of death?
There are new gods now. The Creative High. Endless Knowledge. Also, gods of Stuff, gods of Greed. People will continue on with their issues; their inability to live peacefully; their me-first attitude.
A new artistic medium is created and it also challenges the power of God. It is called flash-baking. A person plugs in and sensory information is pumped directly into their brain. In Disneyland, the Hall of Presidents is remade using flash-baking. Each user becomes Abraham Lincoln during his famous speech. Each feels his limbs, sees from his viewpoint, and smells pine tar and smoke from the pipe hanging from his lips. Though self-aware, they are completely taken over by a new experience.
Overall, the book was great. I finished it in a day and was left with new, fresh ideas to consider. Also, I don't know how to end this review.
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