![]() ![]() ![]() When you get stuck fighting small battles, it makes you small. That clattering of humanity mixed in all its randomness was as relaxing to me as crickets chirping beside a rushing brook. It’s so built-in that people mostly don’t realize how powerful they are. Most power just looks like an easier-than-average life. The power that each of us has over complete strangers to make them feel terrible and frightened and weak is amazing. It is amazing how disconcerting a single vile, manipulative person can be even if you have never and (hopefully) will never see them. It’s a fun read, if a somewhat forgettable one. ![]() The novel revolves around a twenty-three year old design graduate living in New York, named April May. The book ends in a cliffhanger, presumably to be resolved in the sequel, which I’ll probably read. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is the 2018 debut novel of Hank Green. It explores what “virality” does to those who are (un)lucky enough to achieve it, and how it all contributes to and intersects with the so-called “mainstream media” and polarization. ![]() Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this book is its very “of this moment” depiction of social-media-fueled celebrity. The book is fairly funny, which helps with the unremarkable story and writing. There is no textured world-building or alternate visions of society of politics, as the action takes place in contemporary New York. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is nominally a sci-fi novel, but the sci-fi elements are a thin veneer on top of an easy-read, lightweight adventure story. ![]()
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