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bookwormcat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is amazing. So many twists and turns it gave me whiplash!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Blood, Religious bigotry, Cancer, Cursing, Death, and Violence
Minor: Animal death
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Another naomi alderman slay
The characters were well written and the plot was engaging, winding and answered all my little questions
Chefs kiss, live laugh love martha
The characters were well written and the plot was engaging, winding and answered all my little questions
Chefs kiss, live laugh love martha
‘How does trust build between people? It is an offering and a recieving, it is putting yourself in a position to be hurt, just a little, and noticing that they refrain.’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicide attempt
bekkah_co's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book was a delight to read. It had such an interesting format, mixing standard prose with the stylistic choices of the message boards, that had no issue keeping me engaged. It was stylistically interesting and the point of view changes were done masterfully.
The Future combines notions of religion, anxiety around the current state of affairs of the world, and that there could be a chance for redemption into an exciting narrative filled with high-tension and thought provoking scenarios. Overall, this was a rich read. If you enjoy religion, Alderman's use of Sodom and Gomorrah as a framing narrative provides a useful frame to view the novel within. It hinges heavily on the ability to recognize the parallels to our own current world and how things could either get better or continue into absolute destruction. The Future is a perfect example of realistic fiction of what could be if our own world continues the way it currently is.
I wish we could have seen more of the relationships between the characters. This book felt very dependent on external factors and not fully on interpersonal relationships. Eventually some of the billionaires do merge together as they face the same chaos and anxieties. Yet, I think this was intentional. These are people living high rolling lifestyles with little concerns for those around them. Their lives become a routine of white-collar crime, fighting frivolous legal battles, and spending exuberant amounts of money. Out of all the characters in The Future, Zhen was by fair the most compelling. She was caught in a game for billionaires by falling in love with one and ultimately had her life severely disrupted. She was a survivalist trying to survive not just the apocalypse but navigating the world of money and power.
Two notes:
The Future combines notions of religion, anxiety around the current state of affairs of the world, and that there could be a chance for redemption into an exciting narrative filled with high-tension and thought provoking scenarios. Overall, this was a rich read. If you enjoy religion, Alderman's use of Sodom and Gomorrah as a framing narrative provides a useful frame to view the novel within. It hinges heavily on the ability to recognize the parallels to our own current world and how things could either get better or continue into absolute destruction. The Future is a perfect example of realistic fiction of what could be if our own world continues the way it currently is.
I wish we could have seen more of the relationships between the characters. This book felt very dependent on external factors and not fully on interpersonal relationships. Eventually some of the billionaires do merge together as they face the same chaos and anxieties. Yet, I think this was intentional. These are people living high rolling lifestyles with little concerns for those around them. Their lives become a routine of white-collar crime, fighting frivolous legal battles, and spending exuberant amounts of money. Out of all the characters in The Future, Zhen was by fair the most compelling. She was caught in a game for billionaires by falling in love with one and ultimately had her life severely disrupted. She was a survivalist trying to survive not just the apocalypse but navigating the world of money and power.
Two notes:
- It could be gayer.
I was very invested in the relationship between Zhen and Martha. I felt robbed when we didn't get more! - The ending was interesting and is really what prevents this from being a 5 Star for me.
The ending was almost too idealistic for me. Human nature is fickle. I would love to believe that everyone was good and wanted to promote a better future, but there is always going to be greed. Just because three billionaires disappear and their companies get broken up does not mean it will inspire a global "Let's Fix This" movement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicidal thoughts
kizzy's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The chronology, or lack of, is very difficult to follow. For 2/3 of it, I wanted to heave it against a wall. I’m still trying to decide if it was worth it in the end. An ambitious and creative undertaking with a hopeful ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Self harm, Blood, Animal death, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Vomit, and Body horror
mtnest's review
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Gun violence, Blood, and Death
Minor: Sexism
metaphorsandmisc's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Drug use
susanatherly's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, and Classism
caseythereader's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thanks to Simon and Schuster for the free copy of this book.
- THE FUTURE is a book that takes our current reality and pushes it forward just slightly. You can see exactly what (and who) Alderman is drawing inspiration from, and it's quite terrifying.
- This book is pretty fast paced, but I found it dragged a bit in the middle. Some of the backstory parts felt a bit repetitive to me, but once we got back into the thick of it, I was in.
- Zhen and Martha are such intriguing characters to me, both running from their pasts and absolutely never being able to outrun it.
- No spoilers, but the last page??????????????? Please come chat if you've read it!
- THE FUTURE is a book that takes our current reality and pushes it forward just slightly. You can see exactly what (and who) Alderman is drawing inspiration from, and it's quite terrifying.
- This book is pretty fast paced, but I found it dragged a bit in the middle. Some of the backstory parts felt a bit repetitive to me, but once we got back into the thick of it, I was in.
- Zhen and Martha are such intriguing characters to me, both running from their pasts and absolutely never being able to outrun it.
- No spoilers, but the last page??????????????? Please come chat if you've read it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Death, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Cursing, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
nukie19's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is definitely not something to pick up casually, much like Alderman's previous work. She delves into some heavy stuff, tying together cults, the influence of technology companies, internet security, plagues/viruses, and more. It also will suit reader who have longer reading opportunities - especially the beginning jumps around in time and between characters not super obviously, and it was a bit difficult to track when read in shorter spurts. Overall, I thought the ideas were amazing and I enjoy that Alderman isn't afraid to suggest some extreme options for...well, the Future. I think this would make a great book club choice, as there is so much to discuss. 3.5 stars, rounded down.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence
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