Anthimos’s Comments (group member since Nov 07, 2022)

Anthimos’s comments from the Data Guild Reading club group.

Hm i read it a while back, but by memory, It felt like the author was explicitly extolling the virtues of books; probably because Its really hard to "show" their value. But still I felt like I was being told what to think/feel. Actually that's the main thing I felt. The descriptions felt bombastic, for example with the hound, trying too hard to make it seem scary.

I also remembering not really believing his wife and her friends were real people. I think it was meant to feel dystopian with their hyperfixation on the screen and earpieces and their unwillingness to look at new ideas but personally i found it hard to accept.

I wonder if thats just the style. Its meant to resonate with you if you already have some similar conception but doesn't spend time getting you there. You are meant to teleport to that reality rather than understand how that reality is really your reality with extra steps, which is what i thought the point of dystopian novels is.

I'm also noticing that I was feeling that the book was supposed to be a present reflection of reality rather than a warning, which made me feel defensive or dismissive. Maybe that explains all of it. Now that im thinking about it its sort of landing more. Like how his own wife rejected him like that, in her sleep. That's heartbreaking

What do you think?

I thing I would like to get better at understanding books and talking about them. Ive sort of been noticing a lot has been going under my radar. Is this worth it?, or how would you go about this? How advanced is your conception of books?

off topic(?) but i would advise off fahrenheit 451 even though its often mentioned alongside 1984 unless you have a thesaurus implant or like very symbolic literature(?). I personally read half the book until i realized i had understood 50% of what was read. And well the story isn't that special anyway. to me the book felt like a pedestalization of books with the same vibe with people who diss on new technology. Has some interesting parts though