LoveStar

by Andri Snær Magnason, Victoria Cribb (Translation)

LoveStar, the enigmatic and obsessively driven founder of the LoveStar corporation, has unlocked the key to transmitting data via birdwaves, thus freeing mankind from wires and devices, and allowing consumerism, technology, and science to run rampant over all aspects of daily life. Cordless modern men and women are paid to howl advertisements at unsuspecting passers-by, REGRET machines eliminate doubt over roads not taken, soul mates are identified and brought together (while existing, unscientifically validated relationships are driven remorselessly asunder), and rocketing the dead into the sky becomes both a status symbol and a beautiful, cathartic show for those left behind.
 
Indridi and Sigrid, two blissfully happy young lovers, have their perfect worlds threatened (along with Indridi’s sanity) when they are “calculated apart” and are forced to go to extreme lengths to prove their love. Their journey ultimately puts them on a collision course with LoveStar, who is on his own mission to find what might become the last idea in the world.
 

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Novels, Speculative Fiction, Romance, Fantasy

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Andri Snær Magnason is an Icelandic writer, born in Reykjavik on July 14, 1973. An award winning author published in 40 languages. His most recent book is On Time and Water - a book seeking to explore the issue of time and climate change through language, mythology and memoir. Andri has written novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays and he has directed documentary films. His novel LoveStar was chosen as “Novel of the year” by Icelandic booksellers, it received the DV Literary Award, The Philip K. Dick special citation Award of 2013 and won the french Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire as best foreign Sci-Fi in France 2016. His children’s book, The Story of the Blue Planet, was the first children’s book to receive the Icelandic Literary Prize and has been published or performed in 35 countries. His first book of poetry was a runaway best seller published by the Bonus supermarket chain in Iceland. The Story of the Blue Planet received the Janusz Korczak Honorary Award 2000 and the West Nordic Children’s Book Prize 2002 and the Green Earth Honor Award 2013 and the UKLA Award 2014. The play from the story was performed on the main stage of YPT in Toronto in 2005 and 2013. He has been active in the fight for preserving the delicate nature of Iceland, his book Dreamland: A Self-Help Manual for a Frightened Nation takes on these issues. Dreamland has been made into a feature-length documentary film. Andri Magnason is the winner of the Kairos Award of 2010 granted by the Alfred Toepfer institute in Hamburg. His most recent documentary films are The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole - a bipolar musical documentary with elephants and Apausalypse, available on the website of Emergence Magazine.

Andri Snær Magnason lives in Reykjavík. He is married with four children.
His work has been published to more than 40 languages.

Reviews

[Nada Elshabrawy · Rating 4 out of 5]

حبيتها جدًا، جدًا جدًا.
يرجى العلم إن الترجمة مش عظيمة، ولكن الفكرة بتوصل و طبيعة القصة محتاجة خيال أكتر من الكلمات فـ الموضوع ماكنش أزمة أوي.

[Adam Dalva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A parable about the hazards of advertising, and marketing of death - Inter-Ice Age 4 meets George Saunders, a lot of fun.

[Allyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally after 10 years, Magnason’s novel has been translated from Icelandic into English. LoveStar is set in the future in Iceland at a time when consumerism and technology have been optimized by iStar, the LoveStar Mood Division’s Image, Marketing, and Publicity Department. Men and women have been made cordless using birdwaves to transmit data. People can be programed to howl advertisements, REGRET can eliminate doubt over people’s chosen paths, the dead are rocketed into space in order to fall back to Earth in a blaze of glory, and perfect couples are calculated together by inLOVE. Indridi and Sigrid, a happy young couple, have not been calculated together but they see it as an inevitable technicality. When Sigrid is matched with someone else, the utopia they created together begins to crumble as they are calculated apart. Meanwhile, LoveStar, the enigmatic corporate titan who discovered birdwave technology, is enslaved by a new idea.

I picked up this book because Publisher’s Weekly compared Magnason’s novel to Orwell, Vonnegut, and Douglas Adams. It sounded like a good literary cocktail and I was not disappointed. While LoveStar had fewer laugh out loud moments than Vonnegut and Adams' works, it shares the same wild imagination. The novel simultaneously shares Orwell’s gravity and Vonnegut and Adam’s wit. Magnason’s future is incredibly plausible and his description of it is broad and creative. LoveStar can be experienced as a cautionary tale, pure entertainment, and as a wonderfully crafted reflection on human life and its trajectory.

[Sherif Metwaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

في عالم خيالي مستقبلي لا يخلو من ديستوبيا مقبضة، يبلغ الإنسان مرحلة مرعبة من التطور التكنولوجي بقيادة أحد أثرياء الكوكب يٌدعى "لاف ستار"، يتحول فيه البشر إلا ما يشبه الآلات، حيث يتم كل شيء عن طريق موجات كهرومغناطيسية تتصل بكهربية العقل البشري، فتجد الموظف يقوم بمهام وظيفته بعقله بينما جسده في أي مكان قد تتخيله، كما يمكنك مشاهدة العالم كله عن طريق عدسة مدمجة بالعين وأنت تجلس في صالة منزلك دون الحاجة لشاشات أو كهرباء أو حتى انترنت؛ يبدو العالم من كلامي هذا وكأنه جنة، وهذه ربما تكون خدعة أخرى من ضمن خدع عديدة ستقع فيها بين صفحات هذه الرواية، وأولها العنوان الحالم الرومانسي، والمربك.

يبلغ الناس مرحلة من الترف لم يسبق لها مثيل، إن تحدثنا عن الحب فهو مسؤولية شركة خاصة تحدد لك وفق أحدث المعايير العلمية الشريك الأمثل لك، أما الموت، فما رأيك لو انطلقت جثتك بعد وفاتك في رحلة نحو الفضاء فتدور في الغلاف الجوي لبضع ساعات ثم تهوي نحو جاذبية الأرض محترقة من قوة الاحتكاك فتصير شهابًا منيرًا في السماء يجذب الأنظار وشهقات الانبهار قبل أن تتفتت لذرات تراب ترقص مع الرياح في كل مكان أو تمتزج مع السحب لتسقط مع قطرات الأمطار في مختلف بقاع الأرض، نهاية شاعرية أفضل بكثير من قبر مظلم ينهشك فيه الديدان أليس كذلك؟. على هذا المنوال تدور الحكاية، الحالمة في بدايتها والتي تظلم تدريجيًا كلما اقتربنا من نهايتها.

تفاصيل العمل مثلها مثل أي عمل فانتازي لا يمكن وصفها بل ستكتشفها بنفسك وأنت تقرأ، سأترك لك المجال لترى كيف يعمل البشر وكيف تم استبدال الأموال وكيف تتم الدعايا للمنتجات وكيف تعمل أنظمة القروض والفوائد في البنوك الجديدة..الخ، سأتركك تكتشف علاقة الحب المربكة التي تناضل ضد جعل الحب ماديًا، سأتركك تشارك مخترع كل هذا التطور وهو يصارع نفسه ومن حوله وهو يرى العالم الحالم الذي خطط له يتحول إلى جنون مطلق، ستنبهر من هذه المخيلة وتلك الرؤية الفلسفية التي وثقها الكاتب ببراعة بين السطور، وستندهش مثلي من هكذا عمل لم يلق الشهرة والانتشار والاهتمام الذي يستحقهم!، ربما لأن الكاتب كان ساذجًا ولم يقحم الجنس الفاحش في كل الصفحات والشذوذ غير المبرر والأفكار الجدلية التي تلتقي كلها بشكل أو بآخر مع معضلة الشر ومنها إلى الإلحاد تحت ستار الفانتازيا والخيال الإبداعي والحرية الفكرية التي يناضل لأجلها الكثير من الكتاب العرب أكثر من الغرب؟، ربما.

تمت

[Kuszma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Azt ismeritek, hogy Boris Vian és Huxley elmennek Izlandra regényt írni Istenről? Az ő Istenüket momentán LoveStarnak hívják, de volt rendes neve is, mert őt is anya szülte. Csak épp annyi ötlet szorult belé, mint egy századik hatványra emelt Steve Jobsba, és ezek az ötletek mostanra átformálták a világot. A pulyka nagyságúra génmódosított aranylilék, jegesmedvényi sarki rókák, meg az extrém temetkezési szokások még az apróbbik része ennek a változásnak: a Földet ugyanis „vezeték nélküli” emberek népesítik be, akik létezésük minden percében a fogyasztói kapitalizmus szolgálatában állnak, tetteiket és szavaikat a cég bármikor átírhatja magasztos reklámcélokra hivatkozva, szerelmeiket pedig tévedhetetlen statisztikai módszerekkel sorsolják ki nekik, ha akarják, ha nem. Olyan szép új világ ez, ahol a logikára és a növekedésre hivatkozva a gyeplő átkerült az innovátorok kezébe, akik a tudománnyal karöltve hiperaktív óvodásokként gyurmáznak a létezéssel. A nietzschei „Isten halott” helyére a „a fogyasztás az Isten*, az értékesítés pedig az ő Prófétája” került, az ember pedig szabad akaratától és méltóságától megfosztva tömi a bendőt – ha szerencséje van, megelégszik a primer szükségletek kielégítésével, mert akkor elégedett fikuszként pergetheti napjait. Kivéve, ha a fenn említett innovátorok addig baszkurálják a Teremtés Érzékeny Óraművét, amíg az le nem esik, és reccs, máris oda. Nagyapától kaptuk, az unokánknak kellett volna továbbadni, de elcsesztük.

És amúgy ez nem vicc.

* Magnason baromi markáns fogyasztói társadalom kritikája érzésem szerint se nem jobbról, se nem balról, hanem a liberalizmus felől érkezik. Mert szerintem a fogyasztói társadalomnak van liberális kritikája is. Lényege, hogy a túlhajszolt szabad piac az egyén jogait áljogokká teszi, amikor leszoktatja őket arról, hogy éljenek velük, ezzel pedig felszámolja az egyetemes emberi méltóságot (liberális kulcsszó) és az individuum autonómiáját. Persze az ezzel kapcsolatos érveket a jobb- és a baloldal is kölcsön szokta szokta venni, de amikor ők védik az egyén szabadságát a szabad piactól, végeredményben arra gondolnak, hogy ezt a szabadságot inkább nekik kéne kontrollálni – a nemzet, vagy az újraelosztó állam nevében. Hol észszerű, hol diktatúrákat idéző mértékben.

[Hertha Kristín · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stórkostleg bók, finnst að allir eigi að lesa hana❤️⭐️ Sorglegast af öllu að hún á bara meira og meira við með hverjum deginum sem líður, ótrúlegt að hún sé 23 ára… Andri Snær Magnason spámaður

[Markéta Forejtová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magnason prostě ví, co dělá - tohle není knížka, ale varování. Pokud vás zasáhly knížky Ishigura nebo Orwella, anebo vás zajímá, co by se mohlo stát, když se jako spolěcnost až příliš upneme na technologie, kapitalismus nebo profesionalizaci... tady máte odpověď.
4/5*

P. S. Zygmunt Bauman by si tuhle knihu rozhodně přečetl.

[Magnús Jochum Pálsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ég las þessa bók fyrst sumarið 2017 af því að nýútkomin Sofðu ást mín hafði heillað mig gríðarlega. Nú man ég ekki nákvæmlega hvað mér fannst þá en ég veit að ég varð fyrir pínu vonbrigðum með söguna sjálfa.

Núna þegar ég les hana í annað skiptið þá finnst mér hún tryllt. Hvernig hann fléttir saman sögu fyrirtækisins Lovestar og síðustu dögum persónunnar Lovestar við ástarsögu Sigríðar og Indriða heppnast svo frábærlega vel. Hann skiptir reglulega á milli persóna sem heldur manni spenntum og tímaflakkið er ekki ruglingslegt eins og vill oft verða. Bókin er uppfull af vísunum í bókmenntasöguna sem gerir mikið fyrir litla bókaperrann í manni.

Spádómseðli bókarinnar finnst mér eiginlega hvað magnaðast. Gott dæmi er litla start-up fyrirtækið sem verður að einu stærsta fyrirtæki heims minnir um margt á Google og hvernig það breiðir sífellt úr sér. Þá eru galararnir ekki ósvipaðar öllum þeim áhrifavöldum samfélagsmiðla sem vinna við það að selja persónu sína. Nýting Lovestar á persónuupplýsingum fólks við auglýsingagerð minnir um margt á hleranir Facebook og skilaboðasölu þeirra til stórfyrirtækja. Á sínum tíma hafa þessar hugmyndir verið frekar fjarstæðukenndar en þær virðast verða orðnar frekar eðlilegar í okkar nútíma. Nú er bara að sjá hvort eitthvað fleira rætist.

[Hulda Kristín Hauksdóttir · Rating 4 out of 5]

ég er vanalega ekki mikið fyrir svona dystópíu-skáldsögur og var frekar lengi að koma mér inn í þessa en hún kom skemmtilega á óvart. fannst samband indriða og sigríðar samt ekkert sérstakt, var ekki beint knúin til að halda með þeim en það virkaði samt ágætlega. ég var kannski frekar hrifin af hugmyndunum og pælingunum sem felast í textanum en sögunni sjálfri, mig grunar að bókin sé skemmtilegri þegar maður les hana í annað sinn. annars var stíllinn á bókinni skemmtilegur og mér fannst hún mjög fyndin en óþægileg á sama tíma, tilfinningin sem fylgir dystópíunni er mjög sterk / vel fönguð í textann.
er ennþá smá að melta sumt en hafði mjög gaman af pælingunum um mörk mannsins eða mennskunnar, bæði þessar markaðslegu pælingar og hvernig samspilið milli valda mannanna og dauðans/ástarinnar o.fl. var skoðað, sérstaklega í sambandi við LoveStar sjálfann. gaman að hugsa eftir á hversu mikið vald hann hafði í alvöru vs hvað hann og aðrir héldu um það.

[Suleaman Alabdullhadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

الرواية غريبة وصادمة ولكنها غير مستحيلة.. لا تصلح لأصحاب التفكير النمطي.. رواية تحتاج إلى مخيلة كبيرة لتصويرها.. تتنبأ بالمستقبل القريب كيف أن الإنسان سيتغير بطريقة صارخة وجنونية.. لا العالم كالعالم.. ولا الإنسان كالإنسان.. ولا القيم كالقيم.. حتى الحب والموت والولادة فيه يختلفون على ما اعتدنا عليه.. من يحب روايات الواقع البديل والخيال العلمي ستعجبه بكل تأكيد.. الرواية أتت بالجديد.. ما لم نعتد أن نراه أو نقرأه يوما.. على حسب خبرتي طبعا.. رواية فكرتها أصلية وغير مكررة.. ولكنها لا تخلو من بعض جوانب الضعف في تركيبتها.. وأضيف أن ترجمتها كانت سيئة للغاااااية.. ولو كان لها ترجمة أخرى سأقرأها ثانية بكل تأكيد.. الإنسان اللاسلكي.. ما سيكون شكل حياة هذا الإنسان يا ترى #شركة_الحب_المحدودة #أندري_سنار_ماجنسون ⭐️⭐️⭐️\5

[Gedankenlabor · Rating 4 out of 5]

>>Der international agierende Konzern LoveStar mit Sitz in Island hat eine Methode gefunden, um die Menschheit komplett fernzusteuern. Träume werden entschlüsselt und zu Geld gemacht, der Tod wird zu einem großen Spektakel vermarktet, und die einzig wahre Liebe wird jedem Menschen unwiderruflich per Algorithmus zugerechnet. Ein junges Paar jedoch versucht, sich der totalen Gleichschaltung zu widersetzen und seine ganz individuelle Liebe zu retten - während die Welt ins Chaos stürzt ...<<
"Lovestar" von Andri Snaer Magnason ist ein eher spezielles Buch würde ich mal sagen... es hat ein Weilchen gedauert, ehe ich mich eingelesen hatte, denn gerade zu Beginn wusste ich als Leser irgendwie nicht so richtig woran ich bin. Es hat sich für mich irgendwie märchenhaft, fast poetisch und doch auf seine Art ironisch gelesen...
Nachdem ich aber in die Geschichte gefunden hatte muss ich sagen, hat sich ein richtiger Lesesog entwickelt und auch wenn vieles hier sehr abwegig, überspitzt erscheint, so ist es doch vielleicht nicht ganz unrealistisch, denn auf die heutige Zeit bezogen ist das Thema Kontrolle doch allgegenwärtig...
Insgesamt hat mir das Buch gut gefallen und auf seine skurrile spezielle Art hebt es sich definitiv von anderen Büchern ab. 📖

[Linda Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucky find. Roaming the scifi/fantasy shelves at the library, scanning for the not-unicorn library indice I found this gem. Good cover design made me pick this book up because I couldn't read it. Upside down Love. Beautiful matte black with a no fingerprint finish. Packaging. As further luck would have it, also a slice of the delicious plot. We follow our protagonist Indridi, from the time of his second birth, with flashbacks to his first provided by his doting parents. To the adult Indridi, so enamored with Sigrid, the two of them can't get to work on time because they're entwined. But. They are not Calculated to be together. The novel careens through an inside/out upside/down world of marketing, brand awareness, focus groups, testimonials and Cordless People. Technology is delivered right to your head, and how you might pay for that technology can be directly blipped into your brainpan and out your mouth. Howlers, traps, complimenters, spies. There is inLOVE (your Calculated match!) and LoveDeath (rocket to shooting star). There are Mood Men (Ragnar is fantastic), there are cuddly Mickey Mice that are unfortunately carnivorous (working on V 9.1 as we speak), theme parks, fashion trends (no style is a fav) and Grim who used to work the puffin factory, and is now stuck with VikingCenturyFoxes and a Big Bad Wolf. And the comitragic figure of LoveStar himself, captured and consumed by ideas. LoveStar was an award-winner in 2002, this English translation came out in 2012. Madcap storytelling - a delight to sail through. I hope some other genius has optioned the film rights. What a movie this would make!

[Audrey Martel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avec cette réédition en format poche du roman islandais Lovestar, Alto s'offre – et nous offre – une véritable incursion dans la science-fiction. Pas du tout difficile d'approche, quoique complètement disjonctée, cette histoire d'amour sous fond de dystopie islandaise est vraiment captivante. D'abord paru en 2001, le récit s'avère particulièrement visionnaire et pose un regard teinté d'humour et de sarcasme sur le monde d'aujourd'hui et les dérives de la technologie.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eine wunderbar innovative Dystopie, die dermaßen viel Potential mit einer grausigen Liebesgeschichte verschenkt und teilweise unnormal viel Wert auf saloppe bis vulgäre Beschreibungen von sexuellen Handlungen oder Körperausscheidungen legt. Das Ende ebenfalls grauenvoll.
Viele, viele großartige Ideen ansonsten...

[Owen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jeezus what a load of crap. I'd hoped it might err on the side of silliness and irreverence, but it was just stupid. Flat, affectless writing, too, beyond the point where that might've been ironically amusing and into the territory of boredom. I read 20% and gave up.

[Dani Dányi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Izlandi – akkor ez már önmagában külön esemény, hogy biztos valami ufókönyv, skandinávkrimi lesz-e vagy valami egészen elvont északi micsoda. És hogy hogy nem, tényleg eléggé Izlandos könyv ez a talányos című LoveStar, valahogy úgy ahogy Vonnegut Amerikás. Mert ez alapvetően egy egészen eredeti és eddig ismeretlen Vonnegut-könyv, a legjobb értelemben.
Jövő, utópia, disztópia, egzisztenciális szötymörgés, szerelem, halál, totális marketing, életlottó, reklámfasizmus, izlandi módra. Dióhéjban: Izland az egész világot leigázza egy tudományos forradalommal, aztán apránként minden tönkremegy. Plusz szerelmi szál, és sok táj meg állatvilág. Nyomokban felkavaró, de inkább poszt-Orwelliánusan és ironikusan társadalomkritikus, mitológiai képmélységgel. Lehet, hogy operává is adaptálható.
Klassz szöveg, öt (hulló) csillag.

[Muhammad Amer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being the Arabic translator of the novel, I really enjoyed its strangeness and twisted plot. The novel is based on a the mere idea of consumption, in which every human being in this world is labeled "For Sale!". In the beginning, a reader may shape a presumption about the novel giving its weird love story, yet he discovers latter that it's not just about love, it's about love, death, God and life in one pack. The clash between LoveStar and God is mere philosophical, and maybe this clash is based on the fact that the man himself didn't see himself as a God at the beginning, then his impulsive control issues led him to. Life, love, death are all under control of LoveStar, however when matters comes to God, it became impossible. In this very moment, the weakness of man is truly apparent and the power of God is massive. LoveStar believed himself and got self-centered when he only presumed that he controlled everything, this "everything" terminated his life however. Did he controlled love? Not with Indridi and Sigrid's case. Did he controlled God? He died hours after their meeting. Did he controlled death? His one million star-festival ruined the world and killed him. The very end scene is close enough to the story of Adam and Eve, in which Indridi and Sigrid are supposed to revive the world when they are the only living humans on Earth. I think this novel reflects a lot of Magnason's philosophy of life and God.

[Kjeld Schmidt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Magnason introduces a lot of very interesting concepts and ideas for his cautionary future vision. Unfortunately, he has no idea what to do with those good ideas. It's a cringey read almost from start to finish. Many things make no sense, and ultimately, I wondered what the point of it all was.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andri Snær Magnason ist ein Visionär ähnlich wie George Orwell. Das hat er mit seiner Geschichte "LoveStar" bewiesen.
Bereits 2002 skizzierte er in markant-makabren Zügen die Pervertiertung unserer Multimediagesellschaft. Diese Zukunft, die er uns da aufzeichnet, ist schlichtweg ein Albtraum und knapp 20 Jahre später leben wir ihn bereits und merken es noch nicht einmal.

[Brigitte Messier-Legendre · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 étoiles. Wtf. Vraiment weird, drôle, addictif et juste fun tout en étant un peu désespérant. Je comprend pas comment ces concepts peuvent sortir de la tête de l’auteur, c’est fascinant. Le seul bémol pour moi est la fin qui était presque un peu trop fucked up, mais en même temps je crois que j’ai aimé ça? Bref, je recommande!

[Steve McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 2012 Philip K Dick nominee. This novel is about the inevitability and momentum of ideas and the power of information. It's also about the three ideas which can never be anything but subjective, and yet rule everything: Love, Death, and God. It's set in Iceland where everything is known about a person, true love is "calculated" accurately, and secret hosts are constantly being directed to steer those around them in some more profitable direction. LoveStar is the man who discovers these calculations, and since absolute knowledge means a great deal of power, he finds himself swept away by his discoveries. His empire consists of inLove, LoveDeath, iRegret, iStar, and a new and more troubling product that's about to launch. iStar is initially the most disturbing, where nearly everyone on the earth is marketed to by people around them via an iStar department called Mood. When a too-effective Mood director is "demoted" to LoveDeath, Magnason has this to say of his predicament:

"Mood thrives best in acceleration, innovation, a stimulating environment, and bursts of growth, but LoveDeath was solid and stable. LoveDeath was like a Gdansk shipyard, customs office, or power plant, and this was where Ragnar was forced to kick his heels."

Overall I enjoyed the book, and recommend it. I wonder what it's like in the original Icelandic, since at times the language is a bit wooden. However, the pace is brisk and the ideas and extrapolations are fascinating.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned about this book on the comments section of an advice column about a man who had married young and was regretting all the sexual experiences he never had.
In the world of LoveStar, there's an app for that. (and more than likely if you had made a different decision you would have died)
It's almost impossible to categorize. Speculative fiction, I guess--but also part love story and cautionary tale about the dangers of automation and capitalism--but also it's really funny, and increasingly surreal. And oh yeah---what is the nature of God? Where do prayers GO?
I loved this book. Will probably read it again.
One demerit because the writing is a little stilted at times, but I'm willing to accept that might be an Icelandic thing.
Read it!

[Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية غريبة حقا..
يختلف شكل الحياة بالكامل في المستقبل..للأفضل ام للأسوأ الحكم للقاريء..
الرواية غريبة لدرجة الجنون..وتحتاج لأصحاب الخيال الواسع..
تطور تكنولوجي مذهل أدي لإخلاف شكل الحياة بالكامل علي سطح الأرض..
تطور يتدخل في ادق تفاصيل حياتك..يتدخل حتي في اختيار شريك حياتك..هل ستسلم له وتؤمن به زتضع قلبك وعقلك وراء ظهرك؟
محورين للرواية:
الاول حياة المسئول الاول وصاحب الفضل فيما تعيشه البشرية من تطور..
الثاني حياة ثنائي واقع في الحب ولا يتخيل احدهما الحياة بدون الآخر..
بالتأكيد ستنقلك الرواية لعالم مختلف وغير تقليدي بالمرة..

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Habt ihr euch auch schon mal gefragt, wie Fische es anstellen, sich in ihrem Schwarm so synchron zu bewegen? Oder warum Zugvögel gefühlt immer eine Einheit bilden, sich immer gleich bewegen, ohne erkennbare Navigation? Genau diesem Phänomen ist LoveStar auf den Grund gegangen - und hat so ein Unternehmen erschaffen, das den Menschen von der Geburt über sein Leben bis hin zum Tod steurt und kontrolliert. Dir gefällt dein pubertierendes Kind nicht? Dann resette es doch einfach. Du hast Schulden? Werde zu einem sogenannten "Kräher" und arbeite deine Schulden als wandelnder Werbeslogan ab. Eine Erdbestattung ist dir zu langweilig? Dann lass dich doch einfach mit einer Rakete ins Weltall schießen. Und natürlich - auch die Liebe ist von Algorithmen gesteuert.  Diesem Algorithmus haben zwei Menschen den Kampf angesagt.

"LOVESTAR" von Andri Snær Magnason ist leider, leider so ein Buch, bei dem man als Leser*in vergeblich einen roten Faden sucht. Der Roman war für mich nicht wirklich ein Roman, sondern eher eine Aneinanderreihung von immer skurriler werdenden Zukunftsvisionen des Autors. Das Worldbuilding steht bei diesem Buch tatsächlich an erster Stelle und hat so die Story an sich fast vollständig verdrängt.

Natürlich war das Buch amüsant und die Summe der auf den ersten Blick absurden, auf den zweiten Blick aber vielleicht doch gar nicht so abwegigen Neuerfindungen tatsächlich interessant und irgendwie auch bereichernd. Trotzdem hatte ich mir rein vom Klappentext her etwas anderes versprochen. Ich dachte, dass der Fokus der Geschichte viel mehr auf der Beziehung zwischen den beiden Protagonist*innen und ihrem Kampf gegen das System, das ihnen die*den Partner*in vorschreiben möchte, liegen würde. Daher war ich beim Lesen dann doch eher enttäuscht und irgendwann fast etwas genervt, da der Roman durch die vielen Beschreibungen des Konzerns und der Welt sehr überladen wirkt und mir kaum Raum zum Verarbeiten der Details gegeben hat.

Die Grundidee von "LOVESTAR" fand ich also durchaus gut und auch die Kritik, die der Autor auf humorvolle Art an Konsum und Gesellschaft übt, ist berechtigt und an einigen Stellen gut umgesetzt. Insgesamt lässt mich der Roman aber ratlos und unzufrieden zurück. Alles in allem ist das Buch für mich eher keine Dystopie, die ich weiterempfehlen würde.

[رحيق حِجو · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية عالمها عجيب!

تقريبا لما إنسان عصر تكنولوجيا التواصل الاجتماعي والذكاء الاصطناعي والسوق الإلكتروني يفتكر نفسه إله!

وبعدين يقع على بوزه!

في روايات الواحد يحب يعايش أجوائها، ويتمنى لو العالم كان شبهها، أو لو إنه عايش في الزمن ..
دي بقا رواية الواحد يهرب منها ومن عالمها وناسها اللي هم -باي ذا واي- قربنا نبقى شبههم!


لما تكتشف إن المدينة الفاضلة مهياش فاضلة اوي
وإن تسهيل الحياة بيخلق كائن ... فاضل أوي!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was batshit crazy from beginning--with Arctic terns and Chicago surrendered to the bees--to the end, which I won't spoil. The central idea seems to be about being gripped with an idea, powerless to it, and how much that can take from both the idea's host and the whole world. So what if the idea is horrible? If you don't follow through on it, someone else will. I'm honestly not even sure if I liked it or hated it; it was definitely a wild ride.

[Helga Rakel · Rating 4 out of 5]

þessi er alveg frábær en aðalega frábær vegna þess að hun var skrifuð 2002?????? er ekki allt í góðu???? fyrir tíma áhrifavalda og samfelagsmiðlana sem við þekkjum i dag. Sjokki, ætli andri snær se lovestar? thats a secret I’ll never tell… xoxo

[Stefán Nordal]

hef verið í smá lestrar “slumpi” undanfarið en eftir ég flutti inni í íbúð með baðkari hef ég náð að lesa reglulega og tókst að klára bókina lovestar sem ég byrjaði á í fyrra. mjög viðeigandi líka að klára hana á degi íslenskri tungu.

það er eins og andri snær magnason veit nákvæmlega hvar áhugasvið mitt liggur, því þær bækur sem ég hef lesið eftir hann hafa allar gripið mig á afar einlægan máta, og þessi er engin undantekning

ástin, fegurðin, náttúran, dýrðin, sannleikurinn, kontór. bókin nær að snerta á því fjölmörgu þemu sem rómantísu skáldin ortu um tugi árum fyrr, og allt það sem vesæli nútímamaðurinn dreymir um í dag.

ég elska þennan heim. ég verð alltaf hrifnari af skálduðum veruleikum sem eru útópíur í fleiri stað en dystópíur, fremjr en hreinar dystópíur sem eru illar í sjálfu sér. svo margar græjur og “lausnir” fyrir mannkynið sem manni finnst ekki vera algengar í umræðunni

en já mjög mikið jónasar hallgrímsson rúnk. það er bara gaman

[Sigurlinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eg var hooked start to finish hef aldrei klárað bók jafn hratt? Fór á tene með hana #beachread eintakið mitt þakið í sólarvörn og sandi
Ég dýrkaði hana hún var auðlæsileg og áhugaverð. Ádeila á stórfyrirtæki og kapítalismann góða besta og allt sem er að í heiminum. Það var smá erfitt á köflum, vissi ekki hvert bókin var að fara. Það var alltaf lovestar með þetta fræ inni á milli og það var ekki alveg nógu spennandi að hugsa sér hver endirinn væri með það.

[Óttar Kolbeinsson Proppé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Áhugaverðar pælingar í skemmtilegum búning