Seriously amazing social commentary. I'll write a longer review after my second reading. I'm leading a book group discussion on it next month and need a second reading to be on the ball enough for that. ( )

Part-fiction, part autobiography, part critical theory think piece, part stand-up-comedy act, part battle-cry-of-the-resistance, part therapy for the traumatised: to evaluate this book as being only one of those things is to find it coming up short; take it as all of them, and it becomes a fun experience and a gateway. Light, cheeky, sincere, cynical and thought-provoking, I enjoyed this book without expectations although, as with some movies, I can see how others with expectations might have found themselves disappointed. I found it a fun, provocative, and insightful commentary on interpersonal relations as much as societal trends in technology and capitalism. ( )

You can read my review of this book at the New York Journal of Books here: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/review/mere-future ( )

On the one hand, this is a thoughtful essay about modern culture, the effects of the internet, and the tension between the values we think we hold versus the ones we'll actually defend. On the other, it's a set of rambling character sketches of mostly unlikeable people and an eyeroll-worthy manufactured denouement. On the gripping hand, it's a well-crafted prose poem that goes on a bit too long to be entirely readable.

So did I like it? In order: yes, no, and eh. ( )

This was a puzzling book to me. The Mere Future takes place “In the future, when things are slightly better because there has been a big change.” I was expecting a dystopia, but I finished the book still not certain whether things were, in fact, slightly better. “The big change” is a political one, involving housing costs plummeting (eliminating homelessness) and a ban of chain stores and public advertising in New York. Also, the “Media Hub” provides almost all employment.

The characters, however, seem to be sacrificed to the satire. The main characters are unlikeable and self-obsessed. Their relationship is dysfunctional to say the least. This isn’t inherently bad, but I didn’t feel any personal investment in them or their relationship. They seemed to just be vehicles for information about the reality of the “big change”...

Read the rest of my review here: http://lesbrary.com/2012/06/23/danika-reviews-the-mere-future-by-sarah-schulman/ ( )