Deborah InstallBesprekingen
Auteur van A Robot in the Garden
Besprekingen
Ben is drifting - his parents died six years earlier, his grief led to his dismissal from the veterinary school, his marriage is dissolving around him and he really sees no reason to do anything. Until Tang that is - for a reason that even he cannot explain, the little robot becomes the center of a recovery and even Amy leaving him does not change his new path. So off they go on a trip around the world to try to find some help for Tang - who appears to be in mortal danger from some of the damage he had sustained.
Ben starts the novel as a looser who blames everyone else for his issues and never fulfills his promises and ends it as a mature man who is ready for anything life throws at him. The almost comical elements (from the dog they meet to the megalomaniac villain that tries to kill them) are mixed with the story of an evolving father/son relationship (Tang behaves like a brat half of the time and as a toddler otherwise) and that combination should not work and yet, it somehow ends up working.
It is a cute novel that can be read as a metaphor for parenthood (and towards the end the author pushes a lot towards that) or as an adventure story. It is both things at the same time, despite some chunkiness and a somewhat uninspired middle. The end makes you smile though - because good wins against evil and all is good in the world (well, mostly).
The novel does not seem to have become very popular in English but the Japanese seem to have liked it enough to publish more volumes in the same series (the originals were never published in English from what I can see).
The robot is basically a child in this story. One that learns as he goes. It was delightful. Tantrums and all. The man is ... well, I'd be irritated to live with him, but he does his own learning as he goes as well. The woman, I'd also not want to live with, and I'm not sure how I feel about her own growing. I think she just tries to get back what she had because her other option didn't work out for her. The robot definitely makes this story.
Install clearly set out to write a warm and fuzzy book when she wrote A Robot in the Garden and that's exactly what she did. It's a clever new take on an old theme and completely enjoyable reading.
I thought A Robot in the Garden was a great read, and I smiled constantly. Here's this little robot with a big personality that reminds me of both Gir and Marvin at the same time. Here's this familiar world, set in the not too distant future, filled with robotic technology, and it's surprisingly plausible. And here's this married couple, relateable and real and all I want to do is put the pieces back together.
A Robot in the Garden is a wonderful book that'll make your emotions tingle in delightful ways. This one is a definite must-read for those looking for a memorable book with great characters and a long-lasting fuzzy-feeling at the end.
Review originally posted on:
In un epoca in cui gli androidi sostituiscono gran parte del lavoro fatto dagli uomini quel robot risulta anacronistico e la moglie chiede a Ben di liberarsene. Lui, ovviamente, non lo fa e si affeziona subito a quel piccolo ammasso di rottami che ha bisogno al più presto di una riparazione. Dopo che la moglie lo lascia Ben decide di intraprendere un viaggio con Tang per cercare il suo costruttore o qualcuno che possa dargli una mano a ripararlo. L'avventura li porterà dal Regno Unito fino alla Micronesia attraverso America e Asia.
La storia è carina e in alcuni punti anche divertente, però c'è qualcosa che non mi convince. Forse il fatto che sia scritta da una donna e il protagonista sia maschile, non so ci sono delle frasi che sono troppo femminili, troppo strane sentite in bocca ad un personaggio maschile.
E' un libro comunque semplice da leggere e da capire, parla di amicizia, amore, affetti e rivincite della vita, insomma c'è tutto per un mix strappalacrime, ma non abbastanza per una come me che non ama le cose scontate...
Ben is a pathetic specimen of the human race. Ever since his parents died in an accident, his own life has been on hold, to the point where he just sits at home in his pyjamas and doesn't even realise when his ambitious wife Amy leaves him. But one day he finds the titular robot in his garden, which he names Tang after one of the few words the robot utters, and is suddenly motivated to travel halfway around the world to find a way to fix his new friend.
That's the story, really, apart from the last chapters about parenthood (yawn). Tang is at once endearing and grating - yes, I said it, he's annoying, with all the sulking and throwing tantrums. I know he's supposed to be like a child, but that's probably why he set my teeth on edge. I am a lifelong fan of Knight Rider, so the bar for human-sentient machine bonding is set high, what can I say? Ben does need to grow up, and fast, so there's that for the story arc, but the mood shifts from Adams does Asimov into zen life journey, which didn't quite work for me.
The story is set in the future as robots and androids are common features in most households. This particular robot, Tang, is one of the most wonderful book characters that I have been introduced to. He is both earnest and emotive and he won my heart in the course of a page or two. Tang is a mystery, he is slightly broken and Ben wants to repair him but doesn’t know where he comes from or how to go about fixing him. When Amy walks out on them, Ben and Tang go on a road trip to discover how to fix Tang, and in doing so, Ben finds a path to fixing himself as well.
A Robot in the Garden is delightful and heartwarming. Tang the robot is loyal, clever, at times difficult to manage and an altogether fantastic creation. Ben starts the book hapless and hopeless but matures into a considerate, caring individual. For me, the character of Amy was under-developed, she was very harsh and career-focused at the beginning of the book, but later on that Amy had completely disappeared but without seeing the process, this felt a little contrived. This is not a story with earth shaking revelations or rewarding emotional depths, it is a feel-good story that makes you smile. Nevertheless I loved this book and want to tell everyone to read it for the robot. I guarantee that this retro robot will steal your heart.
What starts out as a novelty for Ben turns into a journey for both Ben and the robot. A robot not only in actual miles going from the UK to Texas to Tokyo to Micronesia and back, but a journey in life. As the mystery surrounding Tang's origins eventually comes to light, Ben realizes his sentient robot, while not shiny, smooth and new like the androids owned by his sister and most other people, has become a part of his life he is unwilling to give up, and more importantly, is determined to protect.
This is a charming and delightful novel that made me smile, laugh and cry.
3 
cameling | 23 andere besprekingen | Jan 8, 2017 |
cameling | 23 andere besprekingen | Jan 8, 2017 | Simply, this is one of those books that I want to push toward people. I want to go from reader to reader and ask, "Have you heard of this? No? You should read it if you like fiction." Honestly, I don't even want to describe it, because no description does justice to what Install has created here. It will remain one of my favorites.
Absolutely recommended.
2 whitewavedarling | 23 andere besprekingen | Oct 8, 2016 |
whitewavedarling | 23 andere besprekingen | Oct 8, 2016 | Tang was child-like & I fell in love with him & his go-to gesture of picking at his gaffer tape holding his front flap together. He & Ben were growing up together. Ben was healing from his grief.
I received a complimentary copy from Sourcebooks Inc. & NetGalley. That did not change my opinion for this review.
(Full disclosure: I received an electronic ARC for review through Edelweiss/NetGalley.)
Amy curled her lip. “Ben, it’s a robot, it doesn’t have feelings. It doesn’t care where it is or how broken it is. And this talk about you teaching it…you can’t even get it to talk properly. Wouldn’t you be better off doing something more productive?”
“Funny, ain’t it, the way we apply human qualities to these machines? People can get real attached to them. We have a cemetery just down the road for folks who’ve lost their androids.”
Thirty-four-year-old Ben Chambers is in a bit of a rut. By which I mean a gaping, stretching chasm from which escape seems impossible. His parents died six years ago - adventurous adrenaline junkies in their retirement, they perished when the light aircraft they were flying hit a bird and crashed - and Ben's been struggling with grief and depression ever since.
After their deaths, his studies faltered, and he was asked to take a leave of absence from the veterinary program he was enrolled in. Luckily, his parents left Ben his childhood home and a large chunk of money to live on; but this only enabled his chronic unemployment and general aimlessness. His wife Amy, a successful attorney, is understandably fed up; Ben doesn't even try to pull his own weight in the form of household chores. Tang is just the straw that broke their marriage's back.
When a beaten-up robot suddenly appears in their back garden one September morning, Ben fixates on him. (Ben is certain he's a He, even if robots don't have genders as such.) He's convinced that "acrid Tang" - "Tang" for short - is special and in need of saving. Among the bolts and rivets and squat boxes that make up Tang's body, Ben finds a broken cylinder, slowly but surely leaking fluid, in Tang's chest - right about where his heart would be. Armed just with a few partial inscriptions on Tang's undercarriage, Ben resolves to find Tang's creator before the cylinder runs dry and Tang stops working.
Under normal circumstances, this might be just another of Ben's broken promises ... and then Amy leaves him, moving in with his sister/her best friend Byrony. He decides to show them - SHOW THEM ALL!!! - by fixing Tang, just like he said he would. And so begins a rather epic journey, that takes him from his home in the UK to an android brothel in San Francisco; the Houston Space Museum in Texas; the welcoming streets of Tokyo, Japan; and, finally, to find a mysterious recluse scientist in Palau, Micronesia.
Along the way Ben becomes rather attached to his new charge, who is indeed special: exuberant and petulant and oh-so-obstinate, full of life and will and an eagerness to learn. Tang is someone, not something, and his sentience - obvious for all to see - challenges the conventional notion that robots and androids are objects to be used, exploited, and owned. (There's a great animal rights message hiding in here, though the book never addresses it explicitly. Many of the lessons introduced through the character of Tang are equally applicable to nonhuman animals. Just saying.) As the moment of their parting draws near, Ben questions whether he can let Tang go, even if it's for the little guy's own good.
The plot of A Robot in the Garden is a little different than I expected, but the overall feeling and tone met and maybe even exceeded my hopes. This is a crazy sweet story that will make you laugh, cry, and both anticipate and fear for the future - and what it might hold for potential AI.
Tang is, without a doubt, the breakout star here. He's sweet and brave and a little childlike in his demeanor and experiences; but, like all kids, he can also be a handful. Tang knows what he likes and wants, and isn't above manipulating, lying, and throwing "Tang-trums" to get his way. He can be jealous and rude, but also has a tremendous capacity for compassion and kindness. He has hopes and dreams and ambitions - just like any other person. He brings to mind Johnny Five from Short Circuit, even though Tang is a little more humanoid in design.
Ben is ... a little more complicated. Like Tang, he can be petulant and childish, but it's a much less attractive look on an adult man than a scrappy, six-year-old robot. Honestly, it took me a long time to warm up to Ben, especially given his shitty attitude towards his wife. He's not mean-spirited, not exactly, though he doesn't seem to give much thought to how his behavior affects her. Though he does come around, eventually - in fact, his early bad attitude is essential to the narrative arc of the story - it still doesn't make any of the early Ben/Amy scenes any more enjoyable to read. But the ending almost makes up for it. (Almost!)
A Robot in the Garden is quirky and charming, but in the best way possible: rarely does feel forced or grating, despite the more outlandish flourishes. It's also surprisingly funny; I found myself laughing out loud more than once, and rarely can books make me do much more than smirk.
I was a little disappointed that Kyle the three-legged sausage dog didn't join them for the duration of the trip, but the draft excluder was a nice consolation prize. That and watching Tang shop for his own things, when previously he was a "thing" himself. So cute!
Read from: under a dog pile (preferably rescue dachshunds), with a box of tissue within grabbing distance.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/06/24/a-robot-in-the-garden-by-deborah-install/
Ben must save the robot and in doing so will put his own life in order again.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Sourcebooks/Landmark via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
This debut novel from Deborah Install is a warm-hearted, whimsical tale about the journey unattended grief will launch us on, a journey towards understanding, acceptance and love.
7 out of 10 Recommended to readers looking for a lighter read.
Deborah Install's debut novel A Robot in the Garden did just that!
Sometime in the near future in England, androids are an accepted part of everyday life, doing the cooking or gardening - even driving. They're high functioning, replacing the original robots.
Ben Chamber's wife Amy would like an android to help around the house (According to her, Ben does very little to help, well, very little anything) One morning though... "There's a robot in the garden" my wife informed me.
Ben is fascinated by the little robot - he's battered and worn and wherever could he have come from? He decides to keep him. But Amy has decided not to keep Ben - the marriage is done and she moves out. "But one thing she had said hurt more than anything else. 'He's never actually achieved anything.' She was right. I hadn't. It was about time I did."
And so Ben decides to save Tang, the broken robot. He will find his owner and get him fixed!
Tang and Ben set off on a journey that will hopefully heal Tang - and without him noticing - Ben as well. A Robot in the Garden houses quirky characters, odd situations, adventures and a pair of lead characters that you can't help but cheer for, between its pages. Ben is a perennial nice guy, who has just lost his way for a bit. And, as funny as it sounds, Tang has quite the personality, despite his limited vocabulary and boxy body.
I honestly laughed out loud so many times at Tang's antics. Tang was actually inspired by Install's own young son. As one character remarks "He's not so very different from a child if you ask me." Ben too is quite funny, albeit unintentionally sometimes.
I'm not going to spoil the book for you by revealing any more. Suffice it to say that the road trip to fix Tang is one you want to take.
A Robot in the Garden was funny, heartbreaking, heartwarming and so very, very good. How else could I describe The Robot in the Garden? Well, if you loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - cross that with Wall-E and you'll have an idea. Absolutely, positively recommended!
Instead, Ben finds himself intrigued by this little robot, who calls himself Tang, and when Amy leaves him, he decides to track down his maker, to try to fix the broken cylinder inside him.
It’s impossible not to like Tang, with his childlike charm and innocence, and I completely fell in love with him. Yet there’s so much more to this book, as Tang is the not the only one who needs to be mended.
I don’t want to talk too much about the journey taken, and the unfolding story, but I will say that this is a book with both heart and humour. It’s hard to believe that such a book can be a début for the author, and I will be advising everyone to read it when it’s published in April 2015. #JoinTheTangGang
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library book read 8/14/2023½