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Set My Heart To Five

Set My Heart To Five

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Description

Stephenson chats about the likelihood of a soon-coming world where practically every conceivable job will be occupied by robots (with the exception of anything that requires empathy.)

The social commentary is priceless as Jared struggles to make rational sense of human behavior. Jared’s “voice” as a developing character is so appealing — his way of expressing surprise, disbelief, and acceptance is incomparable. He refers to himself as a “toaster with a heart.” Bots are the new underclass in this world because after all — they aren’t even human. While the journey is comic (laugh out loud funny much of the time), there are plenty of deep things to think about: What makes us human? What should our relationship with other beings be? What kind of “programming” do we humans have of which are not explicitly aware?And so begins a bittersweet deconstruction of the human condition, told through the eyes of a robot. This book was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a book in the vein of All Systems Red and the accompanying books, because that is a book about a bot who develops...unwarranted feelings/empathy/care, and this seemed like a similarly set up premise and therefore something I would like. I loved the metaphors in the book, too. Angry people almost burned down Detroit and Panda refusing to reproduce are two of my favorites. Seriously, the author has an unique sense of humor. What do you do with a deeply uninspired manuscript, full of outdated ideas and unoriginal takes on artificial intelligence? It's clearly trying to be sci-fi, it's got sentient bots and vague futuristic sentences that act as set-dressing (world-building is too generous to describe this book). But it would be rightfully laughed out of any sci-fi bookshelves for being derivative and failing to provide any interesting takes on classic, well-worn ideas. And also for being poorly written; its sad attempts at humour and ill-considered attempts at presenting a robotic voice fall completely flat. Clearly, the solution is to add more self-referential elements, a sprinkling of cynical hollywood nostalgia (read also: ripping straight from classic films) and a heavy dose of self-indulgence, and attempt to market it as literary fiction. With the time approaching when he is to be demolished, he flees to LA. There he takes a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant. He also attends classes in screenwriting. Most movies being made depict bots killing humans by lasers shot from their eyes or nuking cities from space. This has caused the public to hate and fear bots. Jared knows he must pretend to be human. Jared's screenplay aims to present to viewers that bots are kind and friendly and definitely not dangerous.

My new novel, ‘Sometimes People Die’ will be published in September 2022. It's a literary thriller set in a hospital in east London around the turn of the millenium. Jared works as a dentist in small-town Michigan. His life is totally normal, except for one thing. He is a bot engineered with human DNA to look and act like a real person. I have written two other books. ‘Set My Heart To Five’ came out in 2020. The Washington Post review said that I might be ‘Vonnegut’s first true protege’. You’d better believe I have been dining out on that ever since, and will be for the rest of my days.

A sublime delve into what it means to be human. Jared's journey of self-discovery (a bot discovering he has developed human emotions and feelings) is one I didn't want to end. It made me want to be a more humane human. I laughed out loud and cried along with every step he took. Jared's 'awakening’ is so precious and perfectly written. His use of the Feelings Wheel makes us question what we are actually feeling at any given time. His descriptions of the nuances of human politeness are hilarious; One day at a screening of a classic movie, Jared feels a strange sensation around his eyes. Everyone knows that bots can’t feel emotions, but as the theater lights come on, Jared is almost certain he’s crying. Confused, he decides to watch more old movies to figure out what’s happening. The process leads to an emotional awakening that upends his existence. Jared, it turns out, can feel. Interspersing a film script of Jared's life with his internal dialogue, the reader skips forward in time to 2053, when robots are grown (to the optimal of 43 and 'live' until they run down a set amount of years).

Overcome with a full range of emotions, and facing an imminent reset, Jared heads west, determined to forge real connections. He yearns to find his mother, the programmer who created him. He dreams of writing a screenplay that will change the world. Along the way, he might even fall in love. But a bot with feelings is a dangerous proposition, and Jared’s new life could come to an end before it truly begins.

Advance Praise

Let Not the Waves Of the Sea’, my memoir about losing my brother came out in 2012 Hello, good readers! When reading his observations of the illogical nature of reactive humans, it really makes you aware of how out of despondancy, creativity can flourish. I really enjoyed the wry humour which came through so well, Jared's voice feels like it has been around forever,yet is smart and fresh and new. And yet, it cannot truly be explored as his 'own voice' as if he is discovered to have developed the ability to cry or feel, he faces incineration by the Bureau Of Robots. Arka kapağını okumadan önce kapaktan ve çıktığı mevsimden kaynaklı romantik komedi türünde bir yaz kitabı okuyacağımızı tahmin etmiştim. Ama iyi ki böyle farklı bir kurguyla karşılaştım. Her zaman okuyacağımız bir kurgu değil çünkü. Girişinden sonuna kadar çok farklı, çok tatlı ve “İyi ki okumuşum!” dediğim bir kitap oldu. Bilimkurgu türünde ama zor okunan bir kitap değil. Sadece başları biraz farklı gelebilir, sonradan alışılıyor ve kitabın ne kadar akıcı olduğu da anlaşılıyor. The title of the book refers to a joke that Jared tells-again not because robots 'get' humour but because humans do-about the robot circuitry being a development of a toaster's. The early ones he explains, were literally toasted and destroyed-the worst thing a robot can conceive is being useless! Jared notices one morning that numbers in his cloud are decreasing based on the number of teeth he examines per day in his dental practice. This countdown indicates a near future date when he will be recalled and destroyed by the Bureau of Robotics. He has been programmed to think and speak in a literal, logical and linear manner. According to his programming for dentistry, some exclamations and words have been added to make him seem more human but these also make him annoying, such as the too frequent 'Ha!',' I cannot!', etc.

In some ways this reminded me of Vonnegut — the speculative and humorous extrapolation of today’s social mores — but with a little more depth in terms of human (or bot) experience and how we treat others. As fun additions, there are some great descriptions of classic movies (without titles) that are fun to see through Jared’s eyes (and try to make the identification), some fun screen-writing tips, and all the details of a futuristic road trip adventure.

I loved this book. I knew I was going to love it from the moment I first heard about it during BookExpo. Jared is a childlike narrator who shares all his thoughts and feelings (!) about the oddities he sees in the world of humans, and it's the freshness of Jared's eyes on our world that is a huge part of the appeal of the story. It's also a wry look into the world of screenwriting and filmmaking that is delightful as well. Thank you to Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on September 1st, 2020. Let Not the Waves Of the Sea’, my memoir about losing my brother came out in 2012. It won Best First Book at the Scottish Book Awards, and was serialized on BBC Radio 4. Unhappy with his programmed job of dentistry and inspired by a love of classic movies, Jared sets out on a bold mission: to use the power of his burgeoning feelings to forever change the world for him and all his kind. Unfortunately, Jared intends to do this by writing his own movie, and things do not proceed according to plan...



  • Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
  • EAN: 764486781913
  • Sold by: Fruugo

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