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Simon Stephenson

Autore di Set My Heart to Five: A Novel

4+ opere 176 membri 10 recensioni

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Set My Heart to Five is one of the most original and quirky books I have read in a long time. Set in a near future where humans have destroyed most things on Earth (and the moon), this story is narrated by Jared, a bot made to look exactly like a human with one big difference: he has no capacity for feelings. Things become complicated for Jared once he realises that he is starting to experience feelings in spite of his programming and has to learn how to understand them with the help of his new friend Dr Gludenstein and lots of old movies. This brings him to the realisation that he must use his new understanding to write a movie of his own which will finally reconcile humans and bots... and become a fugitive in the process.

I found the book a bit hard to get into initially, particularly as I struggled to follow Jared's unique way of speaking and his constant use of expressions like "10/10" and "I cannot!". Once I got the hang of it though, I found this to be one of the most delightful reads this year. Jared's quest to prove that bots are not all murderous unfeeling machines becomes a touching reflection on what it means to be human and to love, while delicately raising questions around diversity and discrimination.

This book clearly doesn't take itself too seriously and there were several points where I laughed out loud. The parallels between Jared's journey and the movies he enjoys were great fun, and actually made me want to brush up on some classical movies I have yet to watch. One thing I struggled with though was Jared's over-explaining. It was entirely fitting with his character, but ended up feeling repetitive and slowed the book down quite a lot. Part of the middle section felt especially dragging, but the ending more than made up for it. I was having ALL the feelings too!

Overall, this was a great discovery, and I'm glad I stuck with it despite the initial struggle. I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with this little toaster with a heart.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
… (altro)
 
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bookforthought | 5 altre recensioni | Nov 7, 2023 |
There were compelling aspects to this book for sure, though at times the pacing dragged and I wanted the narrator to establish the whodunnit aspect sooner. With the popularity of The Good Nurse, this would be a fun pairing for many readers.
 
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ACLopez6 | 3 altre recensioni | Feb 25, 2023 |
A young doctor is caught up in an investigation into a series of deaths in the London hospital he is working in as a junior doctor. Because of his previous history of opioid theft the police treat him as their prime suspect. Eventually all the doctors and nurses come under suspicion.

The narrative is written 20 years later, when the young doctor has finally worked out who was responsible for the deaths of a number of patients. The reader is taken on the journey of discovery that he went through.

Chapters of the book are interspersed with descriptions of people who in history have been healthcare serial killers. In some cases the number of deaths they were responsible for was incredible.

A well constructed novel and an enjoyable read.
… (altro)
½
 
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smik | 3 altre recensioni | Dec 29, 2022 |
Not so much a murder mystery as a story about how the practice of medicine affects humans, the book is set in 90s London. Narrated by a doctor struggling with recovery from opiod addiction at a hospital struggling with everything, it follows his relationships with colleagues and the investigation into excess deaths that suggests that one of the providers might be killing the occasional patient. It’s interspersed with quick summaries of historical medical murderers from various countries. Not my usual thing but I thought it was pretty enjoyable, if fairly clear whodunnit relatively early.… (altro)
 
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rivkat | 3 altre recensioni | Nov 7, 2022 |

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4
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176
Popolarità
#121,982
Voto
3.9
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ISBN
30
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