An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank GreenMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: The Carls just appeared.
Roaming through New York City at three AM, twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship—like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor—April and her best friend, Andy, make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day, April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world—from Beijing to Buenos Aires—and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight.
Seizing the opportunity to make her mark on the world, April now has to deal with the consequences her new particular brand of fame has on her relationships, her safety, and her own identity. And all eyes are on April to figure out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.
June 2021 book group selection.
I have very mixed thoughts on this book. On one hand, I quite enjoyed the cast of characters, the premise was interesting, and Carl was intriguing. The sub-text or sub-message of what social media can do to a person/society is both facinating and terrifying.
On the other hand, I did not enjoy April May and I somewhat bored with her plot line and found the pacing...slow. I thought more than once of setting the book aside but, (see first hand) there were a handful of items that kept me turning the page.
Mostly, I wanted to know more about Carl. And Andy. And Robin. And all the rest.
April, not so much.
Which I hear is the case in book two.
So I'll be reading book two because there is just enough curiosity to find out more.
This is one book you'll have to read and decide if it's worthwhile.
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