Jon PENNYCOOK reviewed Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
Review of 'Mockingbird' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Great book. The world is controlled by computers/robots who implement what they think humans want based on 20th century car adverts, no-one is allowed to drive, the teaching of reading is forbidden, privacy and individuality are mandated at the expense of relationships, and thinking about problems is frowned upon. No children have been born for decades. The last and greatest model of robots, the Mark 9, was created when humans still cared about such problems, based on the contents of single human's brain. All the Mark 9 robots eventually committed suicide, except the last one which was designed to be incapable of killing itself. Groups of people, from time to time, burn themselves in groups of 3 in public places, but the compulsion to privacy prevents anyone else stopping them or even talking to them.
As you read the book, you think that everything is terrible and can only get …
Great book. The world is controlled by computers/robots who implement what they think humans want based on 20th century car adverts, no-one is allowed to drive, the teaching of reading is forbidden, privacy and individuality are mandated at the expense of relationships, and thinking about problems is frowned upon. No children have been born for decades. The last and greatest model of robots, the Mark 9, was created when humans still cared about such problems, based on the contents of single human's brain. All the Mark 9 robots eventually committed suicide, except the last one which was designed to be incapable of killing itself. Groups of people, from time to time, burn themselves in groups of 3 in public places, but the compulsion to privacy prevents anyone else stopping them or even talking to them.
As you read the book, you think that everything is terrible and can only get worse, but there is a happy ending, and it's well worth reading, as we find out why there are no children, why car adverts are so bad and how they eventually lead to no-one driving, and how religion changes when people can't read.
