Looking for a gift for the reader on your list? May we suggest a science-fiction thriller about an imaginary (but terrifying) epidemic of word flu?
Alena Graedon’s novel, The Word Exchange, would make a great gift for someone who loves getting engrossed in a good story. The protagonist Anana/Alice searches for her father and encounters a number of eccentric and shady characters in the search. Which ones are on her side?
More philosophically, the story brings up the question about our dependence on technology. Some of us have already experienced the phone numbers we no longer remember because we don’t have to: our phones have them programmed in. As we rely more heavily on our devices, do we sacrifice some of our own ability to remember and reason? These are great questions to ponder as we come to the end of the year. Surely someone you know would love this book.
Reviews
This just in from Tor.com’s “Best Books of 2014.” Ryan Britt reviewed The Word Exchange. To quote just a portion:
“When a new sort of e-reader is introduced onto the market and people start jacking it into their heads, an aphasic “word flu” sweeps the globe. It’s a haunting, exciting, thoroughly researched novel that approaches levels of hard SF. I think this was not only one of the best books of 2014, but one of most thoughtful works of science fiction of the current decade. A must read for lovers of books, words, and the future.”
“[A] nervy, nerdy dystopic thriller…. Clever, breathless and sportively Hegelian in theme … The Word Exchange combines the jaunty energy of youngish adult fiction (boyfriend trouble, parent conflicts, peer pressure and post-collegiate jitters) with the spine-tingling chill of the science-fiction conspiracy genre…. Graedon makes you wring your hands for her heroine–and tremble for the future of the English language throughout her 26 chapters, achieving the singular feat of turning the alphabet into a cliffhanger. As much fun as Graedon has with her Borgesian doomsday scenario, her novel folds serious meditations on language and society into its manhunt.” –Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review
“The relationship between language, its vessels, and the woes of the status quo has been a longtime favorite theme of dystopian fiction, and it is front and center in The Word Exchange, the fast-paced, thrill-a-minute début novel of Alena Graedon…. [S]he creates a powerful sense of mystery about what, exactly, is causing ‘the word flu,’ how it is spreading, and why it is affecting different people in different ways…. [I] raced greedily to the last page, enjoying Graedon’s plot-weaving every step of the way.” –Peter C. Barker, The New Yorker.com
“Great…. Set in the near future, the novel is a sobering look at how dependent we are on technology and how susceptible we are to the distortions of language.” —The Washington Post
“[A] propulsive, twisty future-noir … [Graedon’s] vision of the future is less alarmist than alarmingly within reach. Her attention to language–and the breakdown of language–invites comparisons to writers like Anthony Burgess and Lewis Carroll. Anana is an Alice figure, and the New York City she lives in a grim, Web 4.0 wonderland.” –The Daily Beast
“Sharp … [D]azzling … [The Word Exchange] offers a snappy, noir-inflected vision of a future New York suffering from an epidemic of aphasia brought on by super-smartphones … Graedon’s language is sparklingly inventive…[and] so enjoyable…Graedon is too good a writer, it seems, to let an opportunity for linguistic play slip … Despite all of its considerable linguistic sophistication, the novel offers a blunt message: Words are good. Reading is good. Books are good.” –Slate.com
Are you intrigued? Do you think this would make a great gift for a friend or family member? If so, then here is your opportunity to save 20% off the list price and get a wonderful holiday gift for yourself or a word lover in your family. And yes, we are the proud parents.
