Hey guys, it’s Ashleigh, and welcome back to the Dormless Diary’s literature column! This week, we’re moving away from poetry to discuss a sci-fi novel, because who doesn’t need a break from reality this year?
The book we’re discussing this week is An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. If that author’s name sounds familiar, it may be because you recognize Green from his job hosting Crash Course and SciShow videos. Or, you might recognize Hank Green because he is the brother of John Green (a la The Fault in Our Stars).
Rest assured, though: Hank Green is not writing his brother’s somewhat cheesy Young Adult novels. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, rather than following teenagers falling in love, focuses on a recent college graduate, April May (yes, that is her actual name). One evening, April films a video on a cool statue she finds in New York and names Carl. April initially believes that the statue is an art piece, but she wakes up the following morning to news that these statues have appeared in every major city in the world, and no one knows where they came from or who put them there. She also wakes up to the news that her video has gone viral. Enticed by the money and fame available to her, April chooses to latch onto this moment and becomes a political pundit. This career move, though, launches her into even further fame as the news surrounding the “Carls” becomes even more strange and the Carls become a source of political controversy. April then must grapple with her decision to place herself into the spotlight and how the Carls, and her role in the rhetoric surrounding them, have changed the world forever.
I know this description of the book makes it seem a bit dull, but let me assure you: this book is a wild ride. By the end of the first 30 pages, I was completely hooked. We learn that the Carls have strange chemical properties, that there’s some conspiracy/mystery on Wikipedia surrounding them, and that they have appeared overnight with seemingly no cause or perpetrator. And that’s just the first part of the book! What the heck is up with these things?
Perhaps even more pressing than the Carls (even though they are certainly super weird and freaky) is the issues the book highlights. What is social media doing to our society? To our democracy? How does the Internet as a whole shape us, for better or for worse? Is fame worth it, even if you are promoting a good cause? How do we solve huge political issues in our polarized landscape? All of these questions are asked intelligently; there are no easy answers, but that doesn’t stop the novel from looking for them.
The only gripe I have about the book is the protagonist, April. April is, at times, a bit annoying. She is an inherently quirky character (she’s a former art student, after all), and that leads her to say dumb things that will probably make you roll your eyes at some point. I think her occasional annoying personality, though, is on purpose. April is who we’d be if we suddenly gained a million followers on Twitter. She’s fame-hungry, self-absorbed, and yet lonely and self-hating, cutting off the people she loves most. She knows she’s deeply flawed and yet continues to take part in a harmful system, and I think for that reason alone, she is incredibly relatable. Even if she’s sometimes stupid, we still want her to be okay, for her to turn out fine. After all, if she doesn’t, what does that say about us?
In conclusion, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing combines sci-if intrigue with the important questions of today quite effortlessly. It is a fun, thrilling, and fast-paced novel that keeps you on your toes and takes time to ponder simultaneously. It has a funny, yet flawed, narrator, and you will want to keep those pages turning. I give it 4.5/5 stars.
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