I had a writing teacher once who said 'Never leave your characters alone. Without someone else, there's no interaction. No interaction, no conflict. No conflict, no story. If you have to have a character walking along the beach, alone with his thoughts, give him a dog.'

Smythe violates that rule to brillant effect here. The 'dog' here is the Machine of the title. It is described, but does not interact. The protagonist is left alone for long stretches. Giving this isolation something to focus on (the Machine) attenuates it some how, intensifies it, into a mood of deep uncertainty and dread. The fact that loneliness is her primary motivation intensifies this mood even more (to end her isolation, she isolates herself more and more). I can't explain how or why this dread works so well without giving away the ending, but it really does. I liked the subtlety of it.

It's a sad book, but in a tragic not pathetic way. 'Pathetic' here as in pathos, describes a story that is just contingently sad, but could have turned out differently. 'Tragic' describes a story that is essentially, necessarily sad, where no matter what turn the characters take, the road will still end, badly. The pathetic can work sometimes, but usually results in a feeling of 'why did I subject myself to this?'; it has a sadness that simply reinforces or adds to one's own. Tragedy is different. The impossibility of a happy ending provides a kind of catharsis, a sadness that releases or purges one's own, like a 'good cry'. That The Machine manages to be such a tragedy in the absence of any direct or immediately apparent conflict is quite a stylistic accomplishment.

I am definitely left curious about Smythe's other books.

If you read this, and you feel like it's dragging in the middle, stick it out. The climax builds up not the steadily rising heat of typical bestseller, but in a low slow burn that ends in an explosion of.... can't say. Hurry up and finish so we can talk about it.



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Beth tries to recharge her broken partner, hurt in an undisclosed conflict by a move to a new place. The titular Machine adds a whiff of mystery. The de rigour warming global scenario is rather dull, but the pain level never lets up.... ( )

This is a dystopian novel. Beth, the main character, has lost her husband. Something happened in the war and now he is a vegetable. She seizes on an idea to restore him. She buys a Machine on the black market that will restore his memory bit by bit. Laura, her fellow teacher, warns her against playing God. The novel has a Frankenstein overtone. Is the Machine the monster or is Vic, the husband she is restoring, the monster? The story wrestles with various themes: what is intelligence? can you just restore the good memories? are you human if that is all that is restored are your good memories? what if the person restored cannot control his impulses? The writer writes in the first person and does not put quotes around dialogue which is disconcerting. The book has a surprise ending which is suggested earlier on. The book takes place in a dystopian future in England after a war. For unexplained reasons the weather is hot and uncomfortable due to some unfortunate climate changes. Since "Beth" is the book, the main question for the reader is do you identify with Beth. Would you have attempted to rescue Vic? Would you play God like Beth in order to rescue your loved one? Perhaps one major criticism I have is Laura, her antagonist, seems to be a stock Christian character and not well-developed. The Machine is actually more well-developed than Laura. ( )

Beth wants her marriage and husband back. Returned from war mentally damaged, she agrees to let the Machine heal him by purging his memory of the horrors of his experience in the war. Complicit in the treatment he now remains in a home for those left in a 'vacant' state following the treatment. Machines were scrapped following the controversy of the side effects after use. Beth has a plan and buys an Machine illegally to restore Vic her husband.

I like how Smythe has set this story on the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth because it brings a realism to the tale as I know both areas well.

This is a complex book written in simple layers using language that makes you think about its meaning. It questions the mind and memory, it brings a fear of the future and how in creating 'healthy' minds danger of what could be created instead.

At first I was eager to rush and read the story, but Beth draws you into her world slows you down and then I wanted to explore the tale more thoroughly.

The environment, society and personalities are depicted in such a plausible manner that I could almost feel the tiredness of such heat and the hopelessness of daily life.
Smythe gives lines that are simply perfect such as the school trip with reluctant teachers and pupils to:
"the Barrage Exhibition Centre, built in what used to be an art museum above a McDonald's"
This is such a brilliant line. (There is a real Museum of Communism which is next door to a casino and above a McDonald's in Prague that I have visited!)

I can completely identify with Smythe's vision of the future and his irony.

The final chapter of the book is a surprise and worth the read.

I would recommend this book as an excellent read, one which will leave questions in your mind after you put it down.
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Beth wants her marriage and husband back. Returned from war mentally damaged, she agrees to let the Machine heal him by purging his memory of the horrors of his experience in the war. Complicit in the treatment he now remains in a home for those left in a 'vacant' state following the treatment. Machines were scrapped following the controversy of the side effects after use. Beth has a plan and buys an Machine illegally to restore Vic her husband.

I like how Smythe has set this story on the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth because it brings a realism to the tale as I know both areas well.

This is a complex book written in simple layers using language that makes you think about its meaning. It questions the mind and memory, it brings a fear of the future and how in creating 'healthy' minds danger of what could be created instead.

At first I was eager to rush and read the story, but Beth draws you into her world slows you down and then I wanted to explore the tale more thoroughly.

The environment, society and personalities are depicted in such a plausible manner that I could almost feel the tiredness of such heat and the hopelessness of daily life.
Smythe gives lines that are simply perfect such as the school trip with reluctant teachers and pupils to:
"the Barrage Exhibition Centre, built in what used to be an art museum above a McDonald's"
This is such a brilliant line. (There is a real Museum of Communism which is next door to a casino and above a McDonald's in Prague that I have visited!)

I can completely identify with Smythe's vision of the future and his irony.

The final chapter of the book is a surprise and worth the read.

I would recommend this book as an excellent read, one which will leave questions in your mind after you put it down.
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