Love and Other Thought Experiments
Ratings6
Average rating3.8
This impressive debut novel, longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, takes its premise and inspiration from ten of the best-known thought experiments in philosophy—the what-ifs of philosophical investigation—and uses them to talk about love in a wholly unique way. Married couple Rachel and Eliza are considering having a child. Rachel wants one desperately, and Eliza thinks she does, too, but she can't quite seem to wrap her head around the idea. When Rachel wakes up screaming one night and tells Eliza that an ant has crawled into her eye and is stuck there, Eliza initially sees it as a cry for attention. But Rachel is adamant. She knows it sounds crazy—but she also knows it's true. As a scientist, Eliza is skeptical. Suddenly their entire relationship is called into question. What follows is a uniquely imaginative sequence of ten interconnecting episodes—each from a different character's perspective—inspired by some of the best-known thought experiments in philosophy. Together they form a sparkling philosophical tale of love lost and found across the universe.
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Based on the blurb I was expecting a deep psychological novel exploring love and relationships on a deep level.
What I got was a cross between a sci-fi and something philosophical. I love a good sci-fi, but this was not it and I ended up disappointed. The book was short so I powered through just for the sake of being done with the book.
There are obscure pieces of code scattered throughout the book. As someone who writes (and reads) code for a living I can assure you that these snippets make no more sense to me than they do to you. Their purpose still puzzles me.
Some characters were introduced without enough details or sufficient background, yet the narrative moves on so confidently, I felt sure I must have missed something detrimental to the plot and had to double back. Turns out I hadn't — the author just chose to confuse me.
Some of the character interactions and relationships are crafted to be interesting and engaging, yet the main plot line with the ant is just purely weird. To me it felt like a half-hearted attempt at a sci-fi. Like the author was trying to decide between a full-fledges sci-fi and an emotional novel and ended up failing at both.
Parallel plot lines are an interesting concept when they are well crafted, such as in Paul Auster's 4 3 2 1. This novel however is an example of how to make things even more confusing.
It was not all bad. It was interesting to read the same events from the perspective of different characters, to see hhow the same physical events provoke completely different emotional reactions in different people, how they end up remembering different details or completely missing the significance of the event and the connections another person has made.
I would have liked to see more exploration into the relationships between different characters. Most of them were interesting and had potential to make a captivating novel. Different timelines having different effects on family compositions and emotional ties would have been an interesting read. And no ants or rocket ships or implants.
Surpreendente a cada esquina, principalmente com pouco ou nenhum contexto.
Toda a experiência é cambiante. Primeiro contos isolados, interessantes por si só, depois algumas conexões empolgantes entre as histórias, depois uma expansão de escala inesperada e uma conclusão no lugar certo. Cada confusão ou dúvida ao longo do texto costurada aos poucos e muito bem arrematada ao fim. E tudo isso formalmente encapsulado num estilo narrativo consistente, ainda que surpreendente, e compreensível.
Amei essa viagem, juntou tudo que eu mais gosto em drama, relacionamentos e ficção especulativa.
