This review contains spoilers for Followers.
The concept of this book really stood out to me, and I was looking forward to see some type of futuristic, dystopian-esque Black Mirror novel play out before me. As a disclaimer, the version of the book that I was reading was the 2018 ARC that was given out at Book Expo -- I am not aware if there were any changes between the advanced copy and the final printed version.
At times the story felt a little scattered -- when the author would jump between 2015/2016 and 2051, most of the time it was a cohesive jump, but at some points I felt as though I was thrown into an entirely different story. Going from 2051 Marlow and her attempt at leaving Constellation back to 2015/16 with the author talking about characters we had only heard of once was throwing me off -- I kept wondering how their stories connected and they never fully were able to establish relationships that made sense.
A majority of the plot devices has a lot of potential, but it felt as though scenes were either being rushed or they were being filled with overzealous details that did not pertain to the characters and their development. Switching between 2015/2016 and 2051, the author takes us on a journey into a world where the internet we use today stopped working in 2015 to a world where the internet has the largest presence in everyone's lives in 2051.
2015 Orla and Floss have this symbiotic relationship with one another where Orla provides Floss the fame, and Floss provides Orla the internet presence as a journalist wanting to become a novelist. At least, that was the plan, until Orla suddenly finds herself with as much fame as Floss when her and her boyfriend's documentary-style tv show airs. Floss continuously does reckless things in order to get the attention on her at every chance she gets, and unfortunately it takes her basically pushing a girl down stairs to launch her into stardom.
2051 Marlow and Floss are participating in what basically appears to be a 24/7 reality world where they cannot make any decisions for themselves. Marlow, Floss's daughter, has always lived in this network-ran world, where her every move is watched by her millions of followers and a device talks to her in her head as if they are one being.
After being on medication for nearly twenty years, Marlow is taken off of this miracle drug when the network reveals to her that she and her husband, Ellis, will be having a baby. This basically triggers Marlow's descent into realizing that nothing everything is as it appears -- she becomes more aware of her surroundings and the hold that the network has on everyone in Constellation. She is looking for privacy, a concept that no one really entertains, with everyone's lives in Constellation being broadcasted for their millions of followers.
In the 2015/16 chapters we learn a lot more about how Floss and Marlow ended up in Constellation and how Marlow even came to be. Her relation to Orla is something that surprised Marlow, especially as she was just under the impression that Aston was not her biological father. But to find out that Floss was not her biological mother was a shock to her, and really pushed forward her turn to privacy. So many people in Marlow's life are just there to use her for followers, fame, and money -- they have no concern for her wellbeing and basically view her as a product instead of a person.
The ending of the book personally left me with more questions than answers. I felt a little underwhelmed and that the writing was not fulfilling what the plot needed to push it forward. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I found myself wondering how much longer it would be until it was over. The idea was definitely there, but some plot points felt as though they fell through the cracks and were never picked back up.
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