Mockingbird
Author: Walter Tevis
Genre: Science Fiction
Year: 1980
Rating: 8 of 10
Reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World but with Tevis’ brand of sad romance. As with The Man Who Fell to Earth this book is about becoming human, but instead of an alien discovering his humanity this story is about humans rediscovering their heritage in a world where reading has become illegal and robots keep mankind in a stupor of drugs and entertainment, discouraging any emotional interaction between people. Privacy has become the most important thing in people’s lives and even making eye contact is discouraged. And this is the world in which unfolds a love story about regaining human dignity. There are vivid scenes of comradery, of ignorance, and the absurdity of allowing machines to run the show, about the future being placed in the hands of one individual. A terrible responsibility that no one could possibly be prepared for, certainly not using machine logic. Overall this was a wonderful book, not quite the tear-jerker that was The Man Whole Fell to Earth, but well worth reading. I’m looking forward to reading more of Tevis’ books as he has proved to be a consistently wonderful writer.
Purchase: Buy!