***** FAVOURITE *****Tournament of Books : 2011
A satirical dystopian future set in a USA owned by China
(...hmm hold on???)
Cute, funny, smart
Life is all about social networking, personal and credit ratings, text instead of books, images instead of pictures ... a sad decaying world. Everyone walks around with their “appararati” (iPhone) - a streaming media artefact - constantly reviewing the status of others and posting their own updates (ie Farcebook or, in SSTLS, “GlobalTeens”). The world (well, New York/USA) is ruled by Retail or Media and, according to your race, you are encouraged to spend or save. The $US is pegged to the Yuan, the US is ruled by the Bipartisan Party.
This is a smart political and social commentary. The “love story” runs a poor second to the tragedy of a future showing the decline and implosion of a consumer based world.
I think this is a Love It or Hate It book (though probably that should read LIOHI).
I loved it.
First Tuesday Book Club
