Future imperfect
New Zealand Listener|November 18-24 2023
The Power author delivers busy, confusing, fun read.
ANDREW PAUL WOOD
Future imperfect

Naomi Alderman is a British novelist and game writer who received a lot of praise for her 2017 novel The Power, which won the Women's Prize for Fiction that year and was then adapted for TV by Amazon. The beginning and end of The Power were indeed very good, the middle not so much. And Alderman's latest offering, The Future, suffers from not dissimilar issues in that a good third of it could have been chopped out by a brave editor without affecting it in the slightest.

The near future of The Future, as you might expect, sucks. The world ends on page one. Humanity lives in a climate change technodystopia just clinging on, presided over by three tech-magnates: Lenk Sketlish, the survivalist founder of social media platform Fantail; Zimri Nommik, philandering CEO of logistics/online shopping global giant Anvil; and Ellen Bywater, who is the head of PC manufacturer Medlar Technologies and has imaginary conversations with her dead husband.

THE FUTURE

by Naomi Alderman (HarperCollins, $35)

この記事は New Zealand Listener の November 18-24 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は New Zealand Listener の November 18-24 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

NEW ZEALAND LISTENERのその他の記事すべて表示
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 分  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 分  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 分  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 分  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 分  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 分  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 分  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 分  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 分  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 分  |
September 9, 2024