Book review: Makers by Cory Doctorow
Feb. 8th, 2011 01:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kilroyPrint date: 2009 (20s: 1, 50s: 1, 60s: 4, 70s: 7, 80s: 7, 90s: 6, 00s: 15)
I described this book to a friend the other day as one that didn't know what it wanted to be. Doctorow is a stylish enough author that he could write practically anything and have it be interesting, and the book is definitely interesting. But it feels like half of three books instead of one complex whole.
First, there's the story of two men, geeks and friends, and the people they get to know over a period of many years. There's some meat there-- it deals with body issues, love, growing up and responsibility. The extended cast is practically Dickensian in its caricature. Everyone changes by the end, but it doesn't feel like it has any weight to it... we don't go deep enough into any one person to find what goes on important, and there's no moral framework being played out here.
Second, there's the science fiction story. Doctorow is quite possibly the best near-futurist working today; he's a master at coming up with plausible tomorrows as opposed to distant futures. There's a cornucopia of ideas in Makers, gross and subtle changes that pepper the entire book. Many of them are actually instigated by the main characters. But as with the characters, none of them feel important. There's at least one that affects millions of people and practically kills one of the characters, but you just sort of glide over it without feeling any impact. Most science fiction comes down to "if we change this, what happens?" Makers reads more like "What if we changed this and nothing happened?"
Which brings us right to #3, the social issues story. There's a radically different economic model used in this story. There are homeless people right up in your face for most of the book. It takes an inside-out view of corporate greed and touches on weight prejudice. One of the major strands of the book is about journalism, ethics, and the price you have to pay for the truth. And yet I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. It's the shotgun effect, a lot of stuff covered shallowly as opposed to a few things covered deeply. Makers deals with the homeless but never really pauses to let the reality sink in.
If there had been a compelling plot tying it all together, this would have been a hell of a ride. But there isn't. There's just a bunch of stuff that happens to some guys. There's logic to the events but no inevitability, no sense that what happens is appropriate. I love Doctorow dearly, but it feels like this needed another round with the editor to go from being interesting to good.
Verdict: Keep. (25.5/73)
Page count: 416 (14514 total)
Completed: 41 (19 female authors, 22 male authors)
Rejected: 32 (20 male authors, 12 female authors)
Next book due: Wed. 2/16
I described this book to a friend the other day as one that didn't know what it wanted to be. Doctorow is a stylish enough author that he could write practically anything and have it be interesting, and the book is definitely interesting. But it feels like half of three books instead of one complex whole.
First, there's the story of two men, geeks and friends, and the people they get to know over a period of many years. There's some meat there-- it deals with body issues, love, growing up and responsibility. The extended cast is practically Dickensian in its caricature. Everyone changes by the end, but it doesn't feel like it has any weight to it... we don't go deep enough into any one person to find what goes on important, and there's no moral framework being played out here.
Second, there's the science fiction story. Doctorow is quite possibly the best near-futurist working today; he's a master at coming up with plausible tomorrows as opposed to distant futures. There's a cornucopia of ideas in Makers, gross and subtle changes that pepper the entire book. Many of them are actually instigated by the main characters. But as with the characters, none of them feel important. There's at least one that affects millions of people and practically kills one of the characters, but you just sort of glide over it without feeling any impact. Most science fiction comes down to "if we change this, what happens?" Makers reads more like "What if we changed this and nothing happened?"
Which brings us right to #3, the social issues story. There's a radically different economic model used in this story. There are homeless people right up in your face for most of the book. It takes an inside-out view of corporate greed and touches on weight prejudice. One of the major strands of the book is about journalism, ethics, and the price you have to pay for the truth. And yet I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. It's the shotgun effect, a lot of stuff covered shallowly as opposed to a few things covered deeply. Makers deals with the homeless but never really pauses to let the reality sink in.
If there had been a compelling plot tying it all together, this would have been a hell of a ride. But there isn't. There's just a bunch of stuff that happens to some guys. There's logic to the events but no inevitability, no sense that what happens is appropriate. I love Doctorow dearly, but it feels like this needed another round with the editor to go from being interesting to good.
Verdict: Keep. (25.5/73)
Page count: 416 (14514 total)
Completed: 41 (19 female authors, 22 male authors)
Rejected: 32 (20 male authors, 12 female authors)
Next book due: Wed. 2/16