Satin Island
Ratings27
Average rating3.1
What. Did I just read. I'm conflicted as to whether to give this book 2 or 3 stars. I didn't really care for it, at times it felt like he was just rambling on about his thoughts. His thoughts were interesting and weird, and for the kind of book it is it's well written. I feel like there's some sort of meaning I'm supposed to be picking up from this, and until the end I thought I had it. Maybe there isn't meaning, and perhaps that's the point?
It obviously works on some level and if you know what that level is, please let me know. Whilst we can have a little laugh about the undefined nature of the Koob-Sassen project and how a raft of talentless people have an influence in society, there is not much else to take away for mine. Devoid of character development and general interest. At least it was short and easy reading!
There is nothing there: a collection of sort of clever, sort of obvious metaphors, presented in a sort of serious manner. No ideas to latch onto. Post-whatever in the worst kind of way.
Someday I'm going to see this novel on a bookshelf and say, “I think I've read that. It looks familiar. And yet I can't quite say what that book was about. I think there was... no, I don't remember. It seemed to be getting at something big, but... no, I don't recall. Maybe it was a different book I read. Maybe I've never actually read that one. But it sure does look familiar.”
Someday... is today.
At some point close to the end of the book, the hapless protagonist of Satin Island finds himself the centre of attention at an industry conference where he's not a speaker. The audience and the speakers alike fist-bump him and pat him on the back and congratulate him on a job well done, despite the preceding 170-odd pages of him doing and saying nothing of any substance - just musing about his childhood, having illusions of greatness, obsessing over random news stories and imagining himself smarter than everybody else. Such is the life of a straight white dude with a corporate job. That is all.
An extra star for the quality of the prose, and another for how disturbingly easy it was for me to relate to the protagonist (I don't expect anyone else to share this affinity).