Feed

-M. T. Anderson

Chilling. I suppose that’s the most accurate way to describe something like this. Ever read dystopian cyberpunk? Bet you haven’t. If you’re a bit of a wimp then I may have to warn you to not start with this particular novel.

I read this quite a while ago. I know I was young, so maybe grade seven. A few years in any case. It was just one of those books that stick with you, I guess. I remember thinking on it for a while. I distinctly remember crying as I turned the last page.

I know I’ve said before that I like books that are about human nature. I forgot to mention in that post though that an author has two purposes to consider when writing. The first is to entertain. The second, to show a slice of the meaning of humanity. If an author fails to do this then the characters fall flat. It doesn’t matter what kind of story you tell, if the characters aren’t relatable, no one will care. M. T. Anderson sticks to the second purpose in Feed with a kind of horrifying vigor. I can promise that by the end of the book you will not only hate the book but yourself as well. The author makes you look at the darkest parts of yourself through a distorted mirror and it’s not until the end that you realize the thing you were so disgusted at is actually yourself.

Brilliant.

I credit this book as one of the works that made me truly understand how amazing words are when used with precision.

I’m done ranting. I won’t summarize it, categorize it, or even try to sell it to you. If you’re really curious then know it’s a kind of dark love story. If you like this book, I recommend reading Genesis by Bernard Beckett. If you want to just be able to say you’ve read a cyberpunk dystopian novel, try The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer or maybe Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

abi