Ryan

I thought this was an amazing novel, and I was perplexed to read a very poor review from the NYTimes when it was first published in 1991. I'm off to read another Robert Harris book thank you very much.

I read half of this, set it down, and made myself pick it back up. It didn't grab me, and I feel like this is probably what happened with Infinite Jest way back when I was 22 or so. For me, David Foster Wallace wrote Girl With Curious Hair, a story I read riding trains in Europe and for which I am forever grateful - that's enough.

I felt this was a bunch of short stories that had a little too much zhuzh applied in the editing or workshopping stage.

Social media is a disease. This books is about how to protect your kids but it doesn't take into account that you need to save yourself first. Parents using smartphones all the time can't inhibit kids from wanting the same.

Still, the argument is pretty irrefutable - social media and screen addiction is enshittifying people of all ages.

The most interesting part of this book is that a bunch of it is not true. While that may also be true of Allen Ginsberg's autobiography, the latter book gives readers and fans a lot more of what they are after.