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Transmission
The award-winning writer of White Tears and The Impressionist takes an ultra-contemporary turn with the story of an Indian computer programmer whose luxurious fantasies about life in America are shaken when he accepts a California job offer.
Lonely and naïve, Arjun spends his days as a lowly assistant virus-tester, pining away for his free-spirited colleague, Christine. Arjun gets laid off like so many of his Silicon Valley peers, and in an act of desperation to keep his job, he releases a mischievous but destructive virus around the globe that has major unintended consequences. As world order unravels, so does Arjun’s sanity, in a rollicking cataclysm that reaches Bollywood and, not so coincidentally, the glamorous star of Arjun’s favorite Indian movie.
Lonely and naïve, Arjun spends his days as a lowly assistant virus-tester, pining away for his free-spirited colleague, Christine. Arjun gets laid off like so many of his Silicon Valley peers, and in an act of desperation to keep his job, he releases a mischievous but destructive virus around the globe that has major unintended consequences. As world order unravels, so does Arjun’s sanity, in a rollicking cataclysm that reaches Bollywood and, not so coincidentally, the glamorous star of Arjun’s favorite Indian movie.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
59 people are currently reading
1438 people want to read
About the author
Hari Kunzru
45 books989 followersHari Mohan Nath Kunzru (born 1969) is a British novelist and journalist, author of the novels The Impressionist, Transmission and My Revolutions. Of mixed English and Kashmiri Pandit ancestry, he grew up in Essex. He studied English at Wadham College, Oxford University, then gained an MA in Philosophy and Literature from Warwick University. His work has been translated into twenty languages. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 232 reviews
February 12, 2023
My second novel by Hari Kunzru. I listened to the audiobook read by the author, who has a very pleasant voice. What I loved the first time around in Red Pill was also present in Transmission: intelligent writing, a sense of humour, an original if somewhat convoluted plot, and a sensitive but not melodramatic tone. Quickly becoming one of my favourite writers!
November 16, 2017
That’s Entertainment
Having read an excess of tortuous unreadababble Americocaine (anti-)novels this year, I picked up this book, thinking it would be serious literary fiction from a reputable (i.e., establishment) publisher.
Imagine my surprise when, for approximately 250 out of 280 pages, it turned out to be what Graham Greene would have called an "entertainment". Hari Kunzru is a master of fluent prose that, if not exactly silken in the manner of the pumped up William H. Gass, is at least uniquely Egyptian cotton in both durable sheen and comfort on the skin.
Signal and Noise
The novel is broken into two parts: the first is called "Signal", the second, "Noise".The significance of these terms comes about 150 pages into the novel:
Kunzru is an English author of Indian descent. His first novel, "The Impressionist", concerned a character who endeavoured to fit into English society, both at home and in the mother country. This novel moves beyond empire to the world of globalistic venture capital, trade and commerce. One character, Arjun Mehta, leaves India to make his fortune in I.T. in Silicon Valley, another (Guy Swift) is a glib international marketing guru based in London, the third is a beautiful young Indian actress with whom Arjun is obsessed (Leela Zahir) who is making a Bollywood film in Scotland, the fourth (Gabriella Caro) is a PR consultant who is called into rescue the production when the shit hits the fan, i.e., when the noise corrupts the signal.
The first section of the novel is extremely competently and effectively written, which might be its chief flaw. It reads like a benign Martin Amis ("Money") or a less supernatural David Mitchell. For all the global or multinational concerns, it is strangely monotonal in the way it portrays this business culture of greed and self-interest. Perhaps this is the message: that globalisation/globalism makes everything in its own image and steamrolls national and regional cultures and practices, including the writing style that made Kunzru relatively unique in his first novel.
Somewhere, Anywhere
The second section changes tone to a more removed, journalistic recital/factual description of the aftermath of the crisis that affects all four characters. The tone isn’t radically different from the description of the murders in Roberto Bolano’s "2666". Ironically, this is supposed to be the noise, although it is in fact the part in which Kunzru delivers his more serious message, the real signal. The earlier "signal" is just the appetiser that prepares our palates for the main course.
Gabi remarks at the end:
By the end, Leela "has gotten enormously fat" and "has been surgically altered to look like a European." Alternatively, in more neo-Bollywood fashion (i.e., true love prevails in happy ending), she is now "tomboyishly" or "punkily" dressed, and is "sometimes seen kissing or holding hands" with her new Indian boyfriend.
Local or regional flavour seems to go missing in globalisation’s quest for universal appeal. Unfortunately, it’s tempting to level the same criticism at Kunzru's novel. Still it was far more entertaining than Jim Gauer’s "Novel Explosives", which deals with similar subject matter in a far more self-indulgent and philosophically self-conscious manner.
Transmitted With or Without Signal Loss
That said (by the author), I’m still wondering whether the noise of the world detracted from the art of some of the transmissions in this novel, and prevented it being much more than a pleasurable entertainment.
SOUNDTRACK:
Having read an excess of tortuous unreadababble Americocaine (anti-)novels this year, I picked up this book, thinking it would be serious literary fiction from a reputable (i.e., establishment) publisher.
Imagine my surprise when, for approximately 250 out of 280 pages, it turned out to be what Graham Greene would have called an "entertainment". Hari Kunzru is a master of fluent prose that, if not exactly silken in the manner of the pumped up William H. Gass, is at least uniquely Egyptian cotton in both durable sheen and comfort on the skin.
Signal and Noise
The novel is broken into two parts: the first is called "Signal", the second, "Noise".The significance of these terms comes about 150 pages into the novel:
"At the boundaries of any complex event, unity starts to break down. Fact shades irretrievably into interpretation. How many people must be involved for certainty to dissipate? The answer, according to information theorists, is two. As soon as there is a sender, a receiver, a transmission medium and a message, there is a chance for noise to corrupt the signal."
Kunzru is an English author of Indian descent. His first novel, "The Impressionist", concerned a character who endeavoured to fit into English society, both at home and in the mother country. This novel moves beyond empire to the world of globalistic venture capital, trade and commerce. One character, Arjun Mehta, leaves India to make his fortune in I.T. in Silicon Valley, another (Guy Swift) is a glib international marketing guru based in London, the third is a beautiful young Indian actress with whom Arjun is obsessed (Leela Zahir) who is making a Bollywood film in Scotland, the fourth (Gabriella Caro) is a PR consultant who is called into rescue the production when the shit hits the fan, i.e., when the noise corrupts the signal.
The first section of the novel is extremely competently and effectively written, which might be its chief flaw. It reads like a benign Martin Amis ("Money") or a less supernatural David Mitchell. For all the global or multinational concerns, it is strangely monotonal in the way it portrays this business culture of greed and self-interest. Perhaps this is the message: that globalisation/globalism makes everything in its own image and steamrolls national and regional cultures and practices, including the writing style that made Kunzru relatively unique in his first novel.
Somewhere, Anywhere
The second section changes tone to a more removed, journalistic recital/factual description of the aftermath of the crisis that affects all four characters. The tone isn’t radically different from the description of the murders in Roberto Bolano’s "2666". Ironically, this is supposed to be the noise, although it is in fact the part in which Kunzru delivers his more serious message, the real signal. The earlier "signal" is just the appetiser that prepares our palates for the main course.
Gabi remarks at the end:
"I just wanted to go somewhere. I didn’t really care where."
By the end, Leela "has gotten enormously fat" and "has been surgically altered to look like a European." Alternatively, in more neo-Bollywood fashion (i.e., true love prevails in happy ending), she is now "tomboyishly" or "punkily" dressed, and is "sometimes seen kissing or holding hands" with her new Indian boyfriend.
Local or regional flavour seems to go missing in globalisation’s quest for universal appeal. Unfortunately, it’s tempting to level the same criticism at Kunzru's novel. Still it was far more entertaining than Jim Gauer’s "Novel Explosives", which deals with similar subject matter in a far more self-indulgent and philosophically self-conscious manner.
Transmitted With or Without Signal Loss
"Information is not the same as knowledge. To extract one from the other you must, as the word suggests, inform. You must transmit. Perfect information is sometimes defined as a signal transmitted from a sender to a receiver without loss, without the introduction of the smallest uncertainty or confusion. In the real world, however, there is always noise."
That said (by the author), I’m still wondering whether the noise of the world detracted from the art of some of the transmissions in this novel, and prevented it being much more than a pleasurable entertainment.
SOUNDTRACK:
April 1, 2008
Reads like a college-class treatment for a movie I'd never want to see. Of the many, many examples of its otherworldly unwriterliness, here is one that particulary nettles:
He settled a pair of headphones into his ears and pressed play on his current favorite personal soundtrack, a mix by DJ Zizi, the resident at Ibiza superclub Ataxia. Zizi, who bestrode the Uplifting Ambient scene like a t-shirted colossus, had chosen to call his mix "Darker Shade of Chill." It was, Guy thought, a good name, because although dark, the music was still chill.
This novel has many other awkward moments and I'm only some tens of pages into it. I don't imagine I'll make it to the end so I'll have to say here and now that though I thought I was going to be reading an offspring of Martin Amis (like a Zadie Smith, a Will Self, a Tibor Fischer), what I'm getting is more like one of Tom Perrotta's alleged illegitimates.
He settled a pair of headphones into his ears and pressed play on his current favorite personal soundtrack, a mix by DJ Zizi, the resident at Ibiza superclub Ataxia. Zizi, who bestrode the Uplifting Ambient scene like a t-shirted colossus, had chosen to call his mix "Darker Shade of Chill." It was, Guy thought, a good name, because although dark, the music was still chill.
This novel has many other awkward moments and I'm only some tens of pages into it. I don't imagine I'll make it to the end so I'll have to say here and now that though I thought I was going to be reading an offspring of Martin Amis (like a Zadie Smith, a Will Self, a Tibor Fischer), what I'm getting is more like one of Tom Perrotta's alleged illegitimates.
June 7, 2013
Transmit (transitive verb):
a : to send or convey from one person or place to another:
b : to cause or allow to spread: as
(1) : to convey by inheritance or heredity:
(2) : to convey (infection) abroad or to another
Kunzru's book covers the entirety of that definition. The lead character, Arjun Mehta, has been transmitted from India to America. He's attempting to transmit his ideas and desires through an entirely new cultural medium. In a desperate attempt not to be transmitted back to India, he transmits a computer virus that spreads all over the world, transmitting itself over and over again, impacting the planet in ways he could never have foreseen. Leela Zahir, whose mother transmits a constant stream of pressure and demands, is transmitting herself around the world through her Bollywood movies, and now through her image attached to the "Leela Virus". And so on, and so on, and so on...
This excerpt sums it up beautifully for me: "Perfect information is sometimes defined as a signal transmitted from a sender to a receiver without loss.. In the real world, however, there is always noise."
I loved this book. The writing is beautiful, ironic, clever. It's slightly too light of a read to be rated "amazing" in my opinion, but only just.
a : to send or convey from one person or place to another:
b : to cause or allow to spread: as
(1) : to convey by inheritance or heredity:
(2) : to convey (infection) abroad or to another
Kunzru's book covers the entirety of that definition. The lead character, Arjun Mehta, has been transmitted from India to America. He's attempting to transmit his ideas and desires through an entirely new cultural medium. In a desperate attempt not to be transmitted back to India, he transmits a computer virus that spreads all over the world, transmitting itself over and over again, impacting the planet in ways he could never have foreseen. Leela Zahir, whose mother transmits a constant stream of pressure and demands, is transmitting herself around the world through her Bollywood movies, and now through her image attached to the "Leela Virus". And so on, and so on, and so on...
This excerpt sums it up beautifully for me: "Perfect information is sometimes defined as a signal transmitted from a sender to a receiver without loss.. In the real world, however, there is always noise."
I loved this book. The writing is beautiful, ironic, clever. It's slightly too light of a read to be rated "amazing" in my opinion, but only just.
January 12, 2020
3,5.
Ezit să îi dau 4, pentru că mi se pare pe alocuri cam dezlânat. Însă e o poveste simpatic-amuzantă cu multe implicații tragice. O poveste despre un programator indian ajuns în State și căruia i se năruie toate așteptările și șansele sale de a deveni cel pe care îl dorește familia sa. Așa că se răzbună și lansează un virus în online care se răspândește mai repede decât ar credea și afectează întreaga lume. Virusul îi va afecta și propria viață transformând-o din cea a unui programator genial, șomer, în fugar urmărit de servicii secrete. Însă poveștile au uneori farmecul lor și găsesc modalități de a duce destinul personajelor acolo unde chiar nu te aștepți.
Câteva detalii mai jos:
https://vderevlean.wordpress.com/2020...
Ezit să îi dau 4, pentru că mi se pare pe alocuri cam dezlânat. Însă e o poveste simpatic-amuzantă cu multe implicații tragice. O poveste despre un programator indian ajuns în State și căruia i se năruie toate așteptările și șansele sale de a deveni cel pe care îl dorește familia sa. Așa că se răzbună și lansează un virus în online care se răspândește mai repede decât ar credea și afectează întreaga lume. Virusul îi va afecta și propria viață transformând-o din cea a unui programator genial, șomer, în fugar urmărit de servicii secrete. Însă poveștile au uneori farmecul lor și găsesc modalități de a duce destinul personajelor acolo unde chiar nu te aștepți.
Câteva detalii mai jos:
https://vderevlean.wordpress.com/2020...
May 30, 2023
Hari Kunzru is an amazing writer!
This is a brilliant novel of globalization and displacement. Skilled workers may be imported from the "undeveloped" world to North America but are not necessarily respected. The asperger’s questionnaire is brilliant and oh so true.
At least here the virus unleashed on the world is a bit of computer programming.
This is a brilliant novel of globalization and displacement. Skilled workers may be imported from the "undeveloped" world to North America but are not necessarily respected. The asperger’s questionnaire is brilliant and oh so true.
At least here the virus unleashed on the world is a bit of computer programming.
November 19, 2019
Povinná literatura je skvělý způsob, kterým vás škola donutí přečíst knihu, kterou byste si dobrovolně sami nezvolili. Občas jde o skvělé rozšíření obzoru, zajímavé čtení nebo nudu k zbláznění. Už se nemůžu dočkat, co mi bude zítra řečeno, že si o knize mám myslet. Moje reakce po dočtení byla totiž tato:
Tahle úžasná záležitost je plná stereotypních charakterů, které možná byly v kurzu v době vydání. Mladý indický IT nerd, který neumí mluvit se ženami, a je poslán do Ameriky skrze pracovní agenturu. Nikdo neocení jeho práci, ale je skrytý génius.
Třicetiletý podnikatel, jehož marketingová agentura stojí a padá s jeho egem a know-how, které je ve vrstvení tuny prázdných frází a motivačních pouček jak vystřižených z příruček o sebepoznání.
Podnikatelova přítelkyně, která je znuděná jím, životem, poznamenaná dětstvím s bohatými rodiči, kteří penězmi nahrazovali lásku, a sebevraždou sestry.
Mladá indická filmová hvězdička, kterou matka doslova doprostituovala ke kariéře, kterou dívka nikdy nechtěla.
Jejich životy se protnou. Jak a proč? Nechte se překvapit. Nebo radši ne.
Celé to na mě působí jako pokus o satiru, který se někde nepříjemně zvrtnul. Zejména Arjun a jeho zkušenosti ze seattlovského Sillicon Valley naplňují škatulku zlotřilých emočně zakrslých egomaniaků, kteří jsou tím víc cool, čím výš jsou na škále Aspergera. Arjun sice zapadá svým napojením na čísla a emoční inteligencí na škále šneka, nicméně je brán jako pracovník třetí kategorie (aneb v Indii mají internet?). Samozřejmě touží po lásce a fyzickém doteku.
Také popisy ohledně Guye (který už nemá jako PR světu co předat) jsou jak z Obrazu Doriana Graye a jakoby měli svým zaměřením a sebemenší detaily ze života extrémně bohatých lidí poukázat na jejich vnitřní prázdnotu. Objevné.
Guy si taky myslí, že lidi s východoevropským přízvukem by neměli pracovat ve službách, ale pro sexuální pracovníky ten přízvuk jde (buďte vklidu, podle jména Irina bych to tipovala spíš na Ukrajinku či Rusku, Albánci jsou tady jako obchodníci s lidmi). On je podle mě největší příkladem té HAHA satiry, protože jeho svět je plný cestování po asijských hotelech, kde pracují Asiati se jmény jako Carolyn a Kiearan (absurdní), snaha o byznys s lidmi, kteří vlastní golfová hřiště na poušti (absurdní), a s jakýmsi výborem pro imigraci do Evropské Unie.
"'Ladies and gentlemen,' Guy announced, with a verbal flourish he had been practicing on the plane, 'welcome to Club Europa - the world's VIP room.'"
Představitelé výboru jsou samozřejmě nadšení, protože Evropa je tak elitářská, haha mrk mrk. No není to celé naprosto absurdní? Není to také celé naprosto reálné? No chápete?
Ráda bych podotkla, že jsem už dlouho nečetla knihu, u které mi byla šumák každá jedna postava na scéně. Ty stereotypní zkratky věci vůbec nepomáhají, nenašla jsem jedinou vtipnou věc, která by mi ulehčila trápení. (Bollywoodský film se točí ve Skotsku, HAHA.) Nevím jestli je to tím, že jsem tímto typem postav už přesycená, stejně jako příběhy o zlotřilých korporacích. Satira využívá stereotypů, ale v dnešní době mi na téhle knize zkrátka nepřijde nic objevného a tím pádem ani vtipného. Po tolika různých vhledech do vnitřního fungování trhu (the Big Short, Vlk z Wall Street) se zkrátka při karikaturování IT nerdů a byznysmenů už neplácám smíchy do kolen.
Jakmile došlo na počítačový virus, který ochromil svět a ovlivnil životy všech, byla už jsem tak otrávená, že jsem ten následný vývoj - hon na Arjuna, konspirační teorie, Guyův rozpad osobnosti, konspirační teorie, bollywoodskou dějovou linku, konspirační teorie... - dočítala z čiré povinnosti.
Opravdu se nemůžu dočkat, co mi o tom řekne můj vyučující. Nejspíš něco o realistickém vykreslení absurdity globalizace světa a exploitaci východních pracovníků.
Tahle úžasná záležitost je plná stereotypních charakterů, které možná byly v kurzu v době vydání. Mladý indický IT nerd, který neumí mluvit se ženami, a je poslán do Ameriky skrze pracovní agenturu. Nikdo neocení jeho práci, ale je skrytý génius.
Třicetiletý podnikatel, jehož marketingová agentura stojí a padá s jeho egem a know-how, které je ve vrstvení tuny prázdných frází a motivačních pouček jak vystřižených z příruček o sebepoznání.
Podnikatelova přítelkyně, která je znuděná jím, životem, poznamenaná dětstvím s bohatými rodiči, kteří penězmi nahrazovali lásku, a sebevraždou sestry.
Mladá indická filmová hvězdička, kterou matka doslova doprostituovala ke kariéře, kterou dívka nikdy nechtěla.
Jejich životy se protnou. Jak a proč? Nechte se překvapit. Nebo radši ne.
Celé to na mě působí jako pokus o satiru, který se někde nepříjemně zvrtnul. Zejména Arjun a jeho zkušenosti ze seattlovského Sillicon Valley naplňují škatulku zlotřilých emočně zakrslých egomaniaků, kteří jsou tím víc cool, čím výš jsou na škále Aspergera. Arjun sice zapadá svým napojením na čísla a emoční inteligencí na škále šneka, nicméně je brán jako pracovník třetí kategorie (aneb v Indii mají internet?). Samozřejmě touží po lásce a fyzickém doteku.
Také popisy ohledně Guye (který už nemá jako PR světu co předat) jsou jak z Obrazu Doriana Graye a jakoby měli svým zaměřením a sebemenší detaily ze života extrémně bohatých lidí poukázat na jejich vnitřní prázdnotu. Objevné.
The patrons, men and women, wore the charcole-greys and navy-blues of trust and probity, a visual field of sober business clothing broken very occasionally by a patterned tie or piece of silver jewellery. A more astute observer than Guy might have noticed the indecipherable quality of these small personal touches, as if instead of being the product of genuine quirks of taste or outlook their function was merely ritual, gestures of support for the idea of individuality rather than examples of its practice.
Guy si taky myslí, že lidi s východoevropským přízvukem by neměli pracovat ve službách, ale pro sexuální pracovníky ten přízvuk jde (buďte vklidu, podle jména Irina bych to tipovala spíš na Ukrajinku či Rusku, Albánci jsou tady jako obchodníci s lidmi). On je podle mě největší příkladem té HAHA satiry, protože jeho svět je plný cestování po asijských hotelech, kde pracují Asiati se jmény jako Carolyn a Kiearan (absurdní), snaha o byznys s lidmi, kteří vlastní golfová hřiště na poušti (absurdní), a s jakýmsi výborem pro imigraci do Evropské Unie.
"'Ladies and gentlemen,' Guy announced, with a verbal flourish he had been practicing on the plane, 'welcome to Club Europa - the world's VIP room.'"
Představitelé výboru jsou samozřejmě nadšení, protože Evropa je tak elitářská, haha mrk mrk. No není to celé naprosto absurdní? Není to také celé naprosto reálné? No chápete?
Ráda bych podotkla, že jsem už dlouho nečetla knihu, u které mi byla šumák každá jedna postava na scéně. Ty stereotypní zkratky věci vůbec nepomáhají, nenašla jsem jedinou vtipnou věc, která by mi ulehčila trápení. (Bollywoodský film se točí ve Skotsku, HAHA.) Nevím jestli je to tím, že jsem tímto typem postav už přesycená, stejně jako příběhy o zlotřilých korporacích. Satira využívá stereotypů, ale v dnešní době mi na téhle knize zkrátka nepřijde nic objevného a tím pádem ani vtipného. Po tolika různých vhledech do vnitřního fungování trhu (the Big Short, Vlk z Wall Street) se zkrátka při karikaturování IT nerdů a byznysmenů už neplácám smíchy do kolen.
Jakmile došlo na počítačový virus, který ochromil svět a ovlivnil životy všech, byla už jsem tak otrávená, že jsem ten následný vývoj - hon na Arjuna, konspirační teorie, Guyův rozpad osobnosti, konspirační teorie, bollywoodskou dějovou linku, konspirační teorie... - dočítala z čiré povinnosti.
Opravdu se nemůžu dočkat, co mi o tom řekne můj vyučující. Nejspíš něco o realistickém vykreslení absurdity globalizace světa a exploitaci východních pracovníků.
April 7, 2019
Transmission is the story of the havoc wreaked on society by a computer virus named Leela, named after a fictional Bollywood star named Leela Zahir. At its center is a young Indian computer programmer, Arjun Mehta, who releases the virus when his tenuous, exploitative job with a Silicon Valley antivirus company comes under threat. Kunzru interweaves this main story with several other threads: the rise and fall of Guy Swift, a British new-money entrepreneur who runs a company called Tomorrow*, which seems to specialize in marketing empty rhetoric to various multinational businesses; the career of Gabriella Caro, Guy's girlfriend, who works as a public relations manager and suffers from her family's old money; and briefly, Leela Zahir herself, who has been thrust into the world of show-business by her pushy mother.
Kunzru has a brilliant eye for satire. Guy Swift's proposal, for instance, that Europe be rebranded as a sort of "VIP zone" for elites in the same way that certain nightclubs market themselves toward the rich and the famous is comedy gold, especially given what happens to him later in the novel. The only problem, in my opinion, is that most readers are a little too used to having their hands held: that is, they often want authors to reveal the satirical facade, just for a moment, to drop a wink after delivering a piece of searing irony so as to say "hey, it's just satire, I'm only kidding." What I admire about Kunzru is that he doesn't do this, and so those who don't get joke, well, they miss out. It's a daring strategy, one that, as a quick perusal of the academic criticism about Kunzru's novels suggests, leads to some overly literal interpretations of his work.
The main shortcoming I found in Transmission was that Kunzru struggled to find a consistent range for his considerable comedic talents. A deliberately flat character like Guy Swift, for example, seems better designed for a much broader kind of comedy than was on offer. Mostly, I think this problem had to do with how Kunzru deals with social class, since the grand conceits of those in charge generally make them a perfect target for the kind of humorous poetic justice which is conferred on characters like Swift or Darryl Gant, Arjun's passive-aggressive boss at Virugenix. The strategy works less well when it comes to the more difficult aspects of society, for disillusionment, poverty, and exploitation are much harder to laugh at from the bottom up.
Kunzru usually manages to address such issues without seeming preachy, but it does make it seem as though the novel proceeds at two different speeds that don't quite gel with each other. Thus, there is the touching story of Arjun, who seems like a kind of holy fool, on the one hand, on whom is conferred a mixture of innocent sincerity and frustrated pathos, and on the other hand, the broad satire of the delusional Guy Swift, who could easily have wandered out of the pages of a Martin Amis story. The result is an entertaining but uneven novel, one in which the various threads are tied together competently but a little too glibly for my taste.
Kunzru has a brilliant eye for satire. Guy Swift's proposal, for instance, that Europe be rebranded as a sort of "VIP zone" for elites in the same way that certain nightclubs market themselves toward the rich and the famous is comedy gold, especially given what happens to him later in the novel. The only problem, in my opinion, is that most readers are a little too used to having their hands held: that is, they often want authors to reveal the satirical facade, just for a moment, to drop a wink after delivering a piece of searing irony so as to say "hey, it's just satire, I'm only kidding." What I admire about Kunzru is that he doesn't do this, and so those who don't get joke, well, they miss out. It's a daring strategy, one that, as a quick perusal of the academic criticism about Kunzru's novels suggests, leads to some overly literal interpretations of his work.
The main shortcoming I found in Transmission was that Kunzru struggled to find a consistent range for his considerable comedic talents. A deliberately flat character like Guy Swift, for example, seems better designed for a much broader kind of comedy than was on offer. Mostly, I think this problem had to do with how Kunzru deals with social class, since the grand conceits of those in charge generally make them a perfect target for the kind of humorous poetic justice which is conferred on characters like Swift or Darryl Gant, Arjun's passive-aggressive boss at Virugenix. The strategy works less well when it comes to the more difficult aspects of society, for disillusionment, poverty, and exploitation are much harder to laugh at from the bottom up.
Kunzru usually manages to address such issues without seeming preachy, but it does make it seem as though the novel proceeds at two different speeds that don't quite gel with each other. Thus, there is the touching story of Arjun, who seems like a kind of holy fool, on the one hand, on whom is conferred a mixture of innocent sincerity and frustrated pathos, and on the other hand, the broad satire of the delusional Guy Swift, who could easily have wandered out of the pages of a Martin Amis story. The result is an entertaining but uneven novel, one in which the various threads are tied together competently but a little too glibly for my taste.
February 14, 2009
I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I picked it up on the cheap, and forgot about it for almost two years. Even reading the trade dress, you have no idea what you are in for. The cover compares the author to Zadie Smith and Chuck Palahniuk, but the author comparison that most struck me was Don Delillo. Much of the second half of this had a "White Noise" feel to it, substituting a worldwide computer virus for the Airborne Toxic Event. All of the characters are fleshed out excellently, and I could easily have seen any of them being the focus of their own book. Even a character like Guy Swift, who is such an awful "new business" type of guy, throwing around whatever trendy buzz word suits use. I honestly disliked him, yet still felt embarrassed for him in a few parts.
I especially liked the way he wrapped everything up, having the last section read more as an investigative magazine article than the third-person narrative he used for the rest. I will definitely be picking up more of Hari Kunzru's work.
I especially liked the way he wrapped everything up, having the last section read more as an investigative magazine article than the third-person narrative he used for the rest. I will definitely be picking up more of Hari Kunzru's work.
December 6, 2023
Bleh. This is what I get for blind-buying remaindered books on the basis of glowing blurbs (back in 2006 when I let myself be swayed by such things, not the weirdly updated date on this review, which is actually from 15 years ago). Pretty trivial young-hip-information-era-global-culture stuff. Linked in my head to other annoying satire in similar voices, like the Russian Debutante's Handbook, which I think most people actually like.
July 26, 2012
I think it was the shallowness of the cliched characters that most disappointed me. Indian geek, Bollywood starlet, PR exec and their families, friends, colleagues and associates - all seemingly drawn from central casting playing their expected parts against a predictable backdrop of computer viruses, nerddom, client pitches, film shoots and the high life. And then the author seems to succumb to E.M. Forster's mantra that “Nearly all novels are feeble at the end. This is because the plot requires to be wound up.”
April 27, 2011
I found myself quite entertained while reading the first half of the book. You can’t not love Arjun and Mrs Zahir. But Guy on the other hand was so horribly boring. I realise he wasn't meant to be an exciting element but i am sure there are ways to make a character colourful despite the obvious blah-ness. Like many of the other reviewers I found myself skimming through Guy's story because it really wasn't worth the effort. Having said that, I still think it’s a pretty decent book.
June 9, 2017
It's an interesting premise for sure. It would have been ideal if the book hadn't meandered as much as it did. I liked reading about the intersection of computer viruses, Bollywood & a high-flying businessman.
For those who follow Bollywood, the parts about Rajiv Rana will be easily recognisable.
It's a good book especially considering it was written in 2005 and some of the points he makes about migrants/refugees are something the world is dealing with even today!
For those who follow Bollywood, the parts about Rajiv Rana will be easily recognisable.
It's a good book especially considering it was written in 2005 and some of the points he makes about migrants/refugees are something the world is dealing with even today!
January 18, 2021
Definitely felt like a book of the early 00s: parallel storylines, spotlighting the worlds of tech & ads & glamour, paranoia directed at potential terrorist conspiracies, and a handful of characters who are quite engaging but never exactly likable.
June 26, 2024
Arjun Mehta è un giovane ingegnere informatico indiano che si trasferisce negli Stati Uniti con grandi speranze e ambizioni. Arjun lavora per una compagnia di sicurezza informatica, ma si trova presto in difficoltà economiche e professionali e il suo mondo crolla quando viene licenziato senza un vero motivo. Disperato, decide di creare e diffondere un virus informatico, chiamato "Leela," ispirato a una celebre attrice di Bollywood.
Il virus si diffonde rapidamente, causando il caos in tutto il mondo. Le vite di vari personaggi si intrecciano a causa dell'epidemia digitale. Man mano che il virus si diffonde, emergono le conseguenze delle azioni di Arjun, rivelando le vulnerabilità e le interconnessioni della società globalizzata.
Il romanzo esplora i temi della globalizzazione, la diversità culturale e lo scontro che spesso provoca, la migrazione.
Questo romanzo purtroppo non è stato ancora tradotto in italiano ma se leggete in lingua io ve lo consiglio caldamente non soltanto per i temi affrontati ma anche per come vengono affrontati. Considerando anche l'anno di pubblicazione del romanzo, è evidente quanto l'autore fosse avanti e in qualche modo anche un profeta del futuro. Creando dei personaggi a tratti stereotipati, l'autore riesce perfettamente a mettere in luce le caratteristiche della società globalizzata e interconnessa moderna. La narrazione viene sempre fatta con un tocco di ironia e satira molto evidente che rende la lettura ancora più interessante. La voce narrante si alterna tra quella che sembra un narratore onnisciente con la narrazione dei singoli personaggi, e questa dicotomia mette ancora più in luce quella che è l'ironia di questo romanzo e di quello che succede.
Una lettura estremamente interessante che può far arrabbiare ma anche ridere, commuovere e che ci fa empatizzare con i personaggi.
Il virus si diffonde rapidamente, causando il caos in tutto il mondo. Le vite di vari personaggi si intrecciano a causa dell'epidemia digitale. Man mano che il virus si diffonde, emergono le conseguenze delle azioni di Arjun, rivelando le vulnerabilità e le interconnessioni della società globalizzata.
Il romanzo esplora i temi della globalizzazione, la diversità culturale e lo scontro che spesso provoca, la migrazione.
Questo romanzo purtroppo non è stato ancora tradotto in italiano ma se leggete in lingua io ve lo consiglio caldamente non soltanto per i temi affrontati ma anche per come vengono affrontati. Considerando anche l'anno di pubblicazione del romanzo, è evidente quanto l'autore fosse avanti e in qualche modo anche un profeta del futuro. Creando dei personaggi a tratti stereotipati, l'autore riesce perfettamente a mettere in luce le caratteristiche della società globalizzata e interconnessa moderna. La narrazione viene sempre fatta con un tocco di ironia e satira molto evidente che rende la lettura ancora più interessante. La voce narrante si alterna tra quella che sembra un narratore onnisciente con la narrazione dei singoli personaggi, e questa dicotomia mette ancora più in luce quella che è l'ironia di questo romanzo e di quello che succede.
Una lettura estremamente interessante che può far arrabbiare ma anche ridere, commuovere e che ci fa empatizzare con i personaggi.
May 25, 2017
Arjun Mehta is a young Indian man trying to make his way in America who, in a moment of despair, makes a mistake that will change three lives.
Leela is a young woman trapped in the Bollywood film industry by her mother's desires. Arjun's actions will make her infamous.
On paper, Guy Swift is the high-flying owner of a tech company. In reality, he needs to cinch a deal within the next few weeks or his company will lose its funding. Arjun's actions will turn his life upside down.
Transmission is a story that will put the fear of the internet in you, if it isn't already there. In one evening of emotion, Arjun brings the world crashing down to the ground. I knocked a star off in part for the slow beginning, but, to be fair, it was probably necessary. If we hadn't gotten to know Arjun before the event - if we hadn't gotten to know how sweet and naive he is, how desperate he is to succeed - we wouldn't sympathise with him. Kunzru's characters are all deeply flawed: Guy is misogynistic - I don't think he ever looks at a woman without thinking of her as an object - and you would not want to be one of his employees, Chris plays with Arjun's emotions, and Gaby needs change. For me, it was the characters that carried this story. I loved Gaby despite her flaws, and I loved her relationship with Leela even more. Conversely, I was glad to see Guy fall. I found the chapter where Arjun was called into Darryl's office really difficult to read. I think that was the point where I realised that this was no longer just a coursebook for me - I had begun to enjoy the story.
I mentioned a slow, confusing start as part of the reason why it lost a star, the other reason is a case of questionable consent. There is a not overly explicit scene between Arjun and Chris that I found highly uncomfortable because I'm not convinced that Arjun consented to what happened. The aftermath addressed the scene from a cultural perspective - Arjun being from India, and Chris being an American woman - but it never addressed what, for me, was the real problem. However, friends who have also read the book disagree with me on this. It is quite ambiguous. I also questioned Guy, the head of a computer company, clicking on a link in an email from somebody he didn't know. Perhaps this is because of when it was published (2005), but we're all taught not to do this nowadays for the exact reason given in the novel. A supposed tech expert doing it seems a little forced.
Transmission was a brilliant read that linked all of its characters together into a tangled web of email addresses and created an urban legend conspiracy worthy of a thousand internet forums. It's beautifully written, and with so much detail that you can't help but picture the world in your head. I love an ambiguous ending, and this one will leave you guessing and obsessing over the story for a little while.
Leela is a young woman trapped in the Bollywood film industry by her mother's desires. Arjun's actions will make her infamous.
On paper, Guy Swift is the high-flying owner of a tech company. In reality, he needs to cinch a deal within the next few weeks or his company will lose its funding. Arjun's actions will turn his life upside down.
Transmission is a story that will put the fear of the internet in you, if it isn't already there. In one evening of emotion, Arjun brings the world crashing down to the ground. I knocked a star off in part for the slow beginning, but, to be fair, it was probably necessary. If we hadn't gotten to know Arjun before the event - if we hadn't gotten to know how sweet and naive he is, how desperate he is to succeed - we wouldn't sympathise with him. Kunzru's characters are all deeply flawed: Guy is misogynistic - I don't think he ever looks at a woman without thinking of her as an object - and you would not want to be one of his employees, Chris plays with Arjun's emotions, and Gaby needs change. For me, it was the characters that carried this story. I loved Gaby despite her flaws, and I loved her relationship with Leela even more. Conversely, I was glad to see Guy fall. I found the chapter where Arjun was called into Darryl's office really difficult to read. I think that was the point where I realised that this was no longer just a coursebook for me - I had begun to enjoy the story.
I mentioned a slow, confusing start as part of the reason why it lost a star, the other reason is a case of questionable consent. There is a not overly explicit scene between Arjun and Chris that I found highly uncomfortable because I'm not convinced that Arjun consented to what happened. The aftermath addressed the scene from a cultural perspective - Arjun being from India, and Chris being an American woman - but it never addressed what, for me, was the real problem. However, friends who have also read the book disagree with me on this. It is quite ambiguous. I also questioned Guy, the head of a computer company, clicking on a link in an email from somebody he didn't know. Perhaps this is because of when it was published (2005), but we're all taught not to do this nowadays for the exact reason given in the novel. A supposed tech expert doing it seems a little forced.
Transmission was a brilliant read that linked all of its characters together into a tangled web of email addresses and created an urban legend conspiracy worthy of a thousand internet forums. It's beautifully written, and with so much detail that you can't help but picture the world in your head. I love an ambiguous ending, and this one will leave you guessing and obsessing over the story for a little while.
March 20, 2020
Main heroes: Arjun Mehta (an Indian programmer who goes to America but then is frustrated as his dreams meet reality and unleashes a virus based on his idol Leela); Leela Zahir (a Bollywood actress, almost prostituted by her mother); Guy Swift, head of a futuristic brand consultancy (who certainly realises the future may have no place for him).
Lots of ideas of transmission (main Indian hero to US, his sister working in outsourced Australian call centre, Indian actress in Scotland filming, transmission of brand ideals, idea of EU border police which Guy is pitching to but then is in turn arrested by, transmission of American and Western beliefs, values and culture) as well as information theory (and in particular the idea of noise and interference). This is captured not just in the virus (which in itself was Arjun’s misguided attempt to save his own job) but in people’s purposes frustrated, none of the main characters is happy (see above) and the minor characters – Yves (VC), Rajiv (male co-star), Gabrielle (Guy’s girlfriend), Leela’s Mum – are also living frustrated lives which are not working out they way they intended.
As with Impressionist the book suffers from feeling lightweight – it doesn’t really leave much of an impression behind.
With Impressionist this fitted theme of book, here could argue (I guess!) that his message is lost in the noise of the book.
However, the author suffers from having lots of ideas and themes but not caricatures rather than characters and very wide ranging plot (particularly here where there is a section at the end summarising everything although with no real resolution of what happened – again though this could be argued that the ending is lost in noise).
Lots of ideas of transmission (main Indian hero to US, his sister working in outsourced Australian call centre, Indian actress in Scotland filming, transmission of brand ideals, idea of EU border police which Guy is pitching to but then is in turn arrested by, transmission of American and Western beliefs, values and culture) as well as information theory (and in particular the idea of noise and interference). This is captured not just in the virus (which in itself was Arjun’s misguided attempt to save his own job) but in people’s purposes frustrated, none of the main characters is happy (see above) and the minor characters – Yves (VC), Rajiv (male co-star), Gabrielle (Guy’s girlfriend), Leela’s Mum – are also living frustrated lives which are not working out they way they intended.
As with Impressionist the book suffers from feeling lightweight – it doesn’t really leave much of an impression behind.
With Impressionist this fitted theme of book, here could argue (I guess!) that his message is lost in the noise of the book.
However, the author suffers from having lots of ideas and themes but not caricatures rather than characters and very wide ranging plot (particularly here where there is a section at the end summarising everything although with no real resolution of what happened – again though this could be argued that the ending is lost in noise).
June 7, 2008
sometimes when a book gets so sprawling - like when at the end you are so far from the places and people you started with - the through-line of the book weakens. but with this book, i felt like i traveled far, very far, by the end - twists and turns all over - but somehow kunzru kept it vibrant and strong the whole time.
the descriptions of the programmers working at Virugenix made me laugh out loud - sounded like the floor i work on at MIT. throughout the book there were precisely accurate descriptions of people that i could picture, down to the last detail, like Leela's mom wearing "shiny snakeskin-effect jeans and a tiny T-shirt with the word "Angel" picked out in sequins across the front" ...but does that allow a book to age well? i guess i don't care. I also loved Guy Swift, especially when he devised his JGOE plan and when he got caught up in "Operation Atomium".
near the ending, i loved the conspiracy theorists, the Mehtologists - reviewing the surveillance tapes, hilarious.
i also loved the ending.
I'm so glad my brother recommended this book to me!
the descriptions of the programmers working at Virugenix made me laugh out loud - sounded like the floor i work on at MIT. throughout the book there were precisely accurate descriptions of people that i could picture, down to the last detail, like Leela's mom wearing "shiny snakeskin-effect jeans and a tiny T-shirt with the word "Angel" picked out in sequins across the front" ...but does that allow a book to age well? i guess i don't care. I also loved Guy Swift, especially when he devised his JGOE plan and when he got caught up in "Operation Atomium".
near the ending, i loved the conspiracy theorists, the Mehtologists - reviewing the surveillance tapes, hilarious.
i also loved the ending.
I'm so glad my brother recommended this book to me!
November 28, 2020
What happens if Chetan Bhagat and Sobha De were equipped with better writing skills and vocabulary ? A book called Transmission by Hari Kunzru. To be honest, this was my first book of this much acclaimed writer, and after going through it, wonder why? Kunzru's Impressionist received same rave reviews and awards, and I was eager to read this book which is a contemporary tale of a young indian computer geek landing in California chasing his dream. But sadly it ended up being a cliched and a dragged out boring read. Granted, the author is gifted in his writing skills, but overall each of the characters in the story ended up to a boring unidimensional cliche as if playing out a badly scripted Bollywood movie with bad actors. Mercifully the book is short, and spares the reader of much agony, but I am certainly not picking up another one of this writers book anytime soon.
August 16, 2019
3.5 stars. At times farcical, at other times funny, and at still other times deadly serious and uncannily prophetic, Kunzru's TRANSMISSION is a strange novel. I'm teaching it in a class on Information Structures, and the novel does well with entangling the problems of international immigration with code and viruses that never respect such borders. Yet the problems of computer labor are central to this story, even if its protagonist is a bit shallow. Overall, highly recommended for anyone looking at race, technology, and global capitalism.
May 24, 2020
Entertaining for the majority of the book, although the end felt a bit detached. I was much more invested in the Arjun storyline than the Guy storyline. This did break me out of a fairly significant reading slump, so that certainly makes it a good read for me.
September 14, 2022
This was a wonderful book ... almost a "bonfire of the vanities" for the current tech world, only with some more personal aspects. The author was a fantastic narrator, and the book was fun and exciting. I enjoyed it tremendously.
July 9, 2023
Μέτριο
March 23, 2025
This was so sharp and incisive and laugh-out-loud funny. Quickly becoming obsessed with Hari Kunzru.
June 20, 2025
so fun
May 5, 2019
This was the novel I needed, I just didn’t know it. Fast-paced, entertaining and dripping with a cheeky humour. I felt real sadness and had some real laugh out loud moments. There is something to love and hate about just about all of the characters.
October 28, 2021
I actually started reading this book a few years ago at TAMU, but never ended up finishing it, although I enjoyed what I did read. I’m glad I came back to it.
Really what I loved most about this book is the way that Hari Kunzru shows how the virtual infects the actual throughout the story. As the computer virus spreads over the world and causes all sorts of issues, we see the virus start to seep into the landscape the characters traverse. For a novel set in the late 90s I thought it was a brilliant way to go.
Towards the end I started to feel a little disconnected from the characters. I think because at that point the novel moves away from the main character that takes up most of the beginning part of the story and moves on to center more ancillary characters. But in general I thought it was a solid book and I would try some other titles by Kunzru.
Really what I loved most about this book is the way that Hari Kunzru shows how the virtual infects the actual throughout the story. As the computer virus spreads over the world and causes all sorts of issues, we see the virus start to seep into the landscape the characters traverse. For a novel set in the late 90s I thought it was a brilliant way to go.
Towards the end I started to feel a little disconnected from the characters. I think because at that point the novel moves away from the main character that takes up most of the beginning part of the story and moves on to center more ancillary characters. But in general I thought it was a solid book and I would try some other titles by Kunzru.
April 14, 2013
Light Satire From a Thin Story (2013)
Kunzru, Hari (2004). Transmission. New York: Penguin.
Arjun Mehta is a computer nerd in India who is hired by a recruiting firm to work as a programmer in America, his life’s dream come true. He ends up at a software security firm in Seattle, testing for computer viruses. He is incredibly naïve and nerdy, which makes for some very humorous observations about American life, especially in the software business. Arjun manages to befriend a tattooed, punky woman who works nearby at Microsoft. As is inevitable in the computer tech business, there are layoffs, and Arjun faces not only loss of job, but also of work visa, and the prospect of returning to his village in India in disgrace. So he writes a little virus, called “Leela,” and inserts it into the network, thinking he will later be the hero to discover and defeat it, thus proving his worth and saving his job. Instead, the virus goes out of control and spreads internationally, causing near collapse of financial, transportation, and other industries worldwide. Arjun goes on the run before the authorities figure out he was the perpetrator.
Meanwhile, two other stories are interwoven with Arjun’s basic tale. One is the story of a young, rich, egocentric, incompetent, self-blind, drug-fueled executive, Guy Swift, who runs a “brand management” startup. He babbles wonderful nonsense to clients about “total brand mutability” tracked with his proprietary “brand mutation maps” that lets customers “identify with the brand holistically.” It’s funny satire. Alas, Guy is unable to satisfy his venture capitalist funders when his computers are brought down by the Leela virus.
A third story line concerns a Bollywood film star named Leela, who is tormented by reporters who suspect the virus was a publicity stunt by her people. She despairs and is unable to work. She was Arjun’s most favorite movie star, and the reason he named the virus after her. He sends her a note to apologize, but that reveals his identity to the authorities, sending Arjun into hiding. Leela’s story is the least interesting, providing a few satirical jabs at easy targets like image-crazed producers, mob-backed financiers, and temperamental actors, but without the sharp satirical bite of the other two stories.
As with many so-called literary novels these days, independent character stories are loosely tied together and declared to be a novel. Maybe that’s okay, but I find it unsatisfying when a novel lacks a strong, causally-driven story line running through the middle. Also like many recent novels, this one ends by fading away. Did the authorities catch Arjun and hold him responsible for the virus? We never learn. There is no resolution of whatever dramatic tension had been built up for any of the characters.
The novel presents some engaging characters and the outline of an interesting story, but the characters are just puppets and the story goes nowhere. The result is some funny satirical bits but an unsatisfying experience overall.
Kunzru, Hari (2004). Transmission. New York: Penguin.
Arjun Mehta is a computer nerd in India who is hired by a recruiting firm to work as a programmer in America, his life’s dream come true. He ends up at a software security firm in Seattle, testing for computer viruses. He is incredibly naïve and nerdy, which makes for some very humorous observations about American life, especially in the software business. Arjun manages to befriend a tattooed, punky woman who works nearby at Microsoft. As is inevitable in the computer tech business, there are layoffs, and Arjun faces not only loss of job, but also of work visa, and the prospect of returning to his village in India in disgrace. So he writes a little virus, called “Leela,” and inserts it into the network, thinking he will later be the hero to discover and defeat it, thus proving his worth and saving his job. Instead, the virus goes out of control and spreads internationally, causing near collapse of financial, transportation, and other industries worldwide. Arjun goes on the run before the authorities figure out he was the perpetrator.
Meanwhile, two other stories are interwoven with Arjun’s basic tale. One is the story of a young, rich, egocentric, incompetent, self-blind, drug-fueled executive, Guy Swift, who runs a “brand management” startup. He babbles wonderful nonsense to clients about “total brand mutability” tracked with his proprietary “brand mutation maps” that lets customers “identify with the brand holistically.” It’s funny satire. Alas, Guy is unable to satisfy his venture capitalist funders when his computers are brought down by the Leela virus.
A third story line concerns a Bollywood film star named Leela, who is tormented by reporters who suspect the virus was a publicity stunt by her people. She despairs and is unable to work. She was Arjun’s most favorite movie star, and the reason he named the virus after her. He sends her a note to apologize, but that reveals his identity to the authorities, sending Arjun into hiding. Leela’s story is the least interesting, providing a few satirical jabs at easy targets like image-crazed producers, mob-backed financiers, and temperamental actors, but without the sharp satirical bite of the other two stories.
As with many so-called literary novels these days, independent character stories are loosely tied together and declared to be a novel. Maybe that’s okay, but I find it unsatisfying when a novel lacks a strong, causally-driven story line running through the middle. Also like many recent novels, this one ends by fading away. Did the authorities catch Arjun and hold him responsible for the virus? We never learn. There is no resolution of whatever dramatic tension had been built up for any of the characters.
The novel presents some engaging characters and the outline of an interesting story, but the characters are just puppets and the story goes nowhere. The result is some funny satirical bits but an unsatisfying experience overall.
February 12, 2021
Too prose-heavy for my liking. Soldiered through to 35% before realizing the narrative is going nowhere and it's just not worth the labour.
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