Tell The Machine Goodnight by Katie Williams

mkittysabkworm

Tell The Machine Goodnight by Katie Williams

Kindle Edition, 304 pages

Published June 19th 2018 by Riverhead Books

Read on June 27 Took me 3hrs to read straight through

I’ve been interested in Speculative Fiction Lately in my terms it’s sort of like Weird Fiction leading more into Science Fiction but not with aliens and more down to earth, like something that could really actually happen. If you would like to know more about the genre I found a great blog post that explains it a lot better than I do : Annie Neugebauer on Speculative Fiction .  Or there is always Wikipedia.

Here is the book Blurb and a Picture so you know what I am talking about:

Smart and inventive, an emotional page-turner that considers the elusive definition of happiness.

Pearl's job is to make people happy. Every day, she provides customers with personalized recommendations for greater contentment. She's good at her job, her office manager tells her, successful. But how does one measure an emotion?

Meanwhile, there's Pearl's teenage son, Rhett. A sensitive kid who has forged an unconventional path through adolescence, Rhett seems to find greater satisfaction in being unhappy.  The very rejection of joy is his own kind of "pursuit of happiness." As his mother, Pearl wants nothing more than to help Rhett--but is it for his sake or for hers? Certainly it would make Pearl happier. Regardless, her son is one person whose emotional life does not fall under the parameters of her job--not as happiness technician, and not as mother, either.  Told from an alternating cast of endearing characters from within Pearl and Rhett's world Tell the Machine Goodnight delivers a smartly moving and entertaining story about relationships and the ways that they can most surprise and define us. Along the way, Katie Williams playfully illuminates our national obsession with positive psychology, our reliance on quick fixes and technology. What happens when these obsessions begin to overlap? With warmth, humor, and a clever touch, Williams taps into our collective unease about the modern world and allows us see it a little more clearly.

Here is my Review from goodreads I gave it 3 Stars because I felt it had no ending.. the book just stopped.. like the author just didn’t have anything else to say. I put these type of books on my “dove off a cliff shelf”.  

Pearl works for the Apricity Corporation, and basically she reads suggestions for people to help them achieve happiness from the Apricity Machine after taking a DNA sample. It’s expensive so mainly rich people set appointments. Some people are happy and use the results and some get mad. It is also used to tell if people are mentally stable in a roundabout way by the machines suggestions.. such as “sleep” when she read for the Famous Actress Calla Pax. There are also more POV’s from other people entangled in Pearl’s life, like her son Rhett, Her boss Carter.. and eventually she starts talking to the machine aftter her son goes to college and her ex-husband remarries.. so much happens omg!! It was a really good drama but the end kinda left me hanging.. like what!?

Hope you like my post!

If you would like to read Tell the Machine Goodnight I have a copy but I can’t post it. So give me a PM? It’s epub.

cynic

Thanks for sharing your review. I haven't really explored the genre.

It is a disturbing reality. People are too dependent on technology and the real world often takes a back seat.