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emma's Reviews > Annie Bot
Annie Bot
by
by
emma's review
bookshelves: non-ya, dystopian, arc, sci-fi, from-publisher-author, 3-and-a-half-stars, recommend, reviewed
Feb 02, 2024
bookshelves: non-ya, dystopian, arc, sci-fi, from-publisher-author, 3-and-a-half-stars, recommend, reviewed
the future is scarier than any horror movie <3
this is a creepy sci-fi book and also an intense allegory for emotionally abusive relationships and also a damning exploration of misogyny all in one.
it's a book about a dystopian future in which men see women as only good for sex, homemaking, or parenting. in other words, our present day reality. (buh dum ch.)
reading this unrelentingly icked me out and made me feel grateful for my sentience and freedom, like when you have a cold and your nose is stuffed and you're like "i'll never forget to appreciate clear nasal passageways ever again."
i enjoyed the fact that this book did not pander or condescend to its audience in its themes, and granted the reader the ability to pick up on what was going on most of the time on their own. (although i did not enjoy the moments when it had our protagonist provide a neat summary of something that had been going on for hundreds of pages. or understand why there was a moment when a random woman was outed (?) as trans.)
it pulled its punches sometimes and felt overzealous at others, but overall this book was cool and impressive and skin crawly.
in a good way.
bottom line: i hate modern life.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
this is a creepy sci-fi book and also an intense allegory for emotionally abusive relationships and also a damning exploration of misogyny all in one.
it's a book about a dystopian future in which men see women as only good for sex, homemaking, or parenting. in other words, our present day reality. (buh dum ch.)
reading this unrelentingly icked me out and made me feel grateful for my sentience and freedom, like when you have a cold and your nose is stuffed and you're like "i'll never forget to appreciate clear nasal passageways ever again."
i enjoyed the fact that this book did not pander or condescend to its audience in its themes, and granted the reader the ability to pick up on what was going on most of the time on their own. (although i did not enjoy the moments when it had our protagonist provide a neat summary of something that had been going on for hundreds of pages. or understand why there was a moment when a random woman was outed (?) as trans.)
it pulled its punches sometimes and felt overzealous at others, but overall this book was cool and impressive and skin crawly.
in a good way.
bottom line: i hate modern life.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
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Reading Progress
December 26, 2023
– Shelved
April 29, 2024
–
Started Reading
May 1, 2024
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-21 of 21 (21 new)
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message 1:
by
Amory
(new)
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rated it 3 stars
Mar 21, 2024 12:13AM
Anyone else notice how Klara and The Sun like this book is - the writing style, the robots emotions and� well where do I stop comparing the books?
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Read this and I really liked it. I was so surprised, not the typeof book I usually pick up. But it showed me I should explore some more.
hey emma, have you read funny story by emily henry yet?
I’m interested in your review, I’m trying to branch out my genres so this one is going on my list!
Actively reading this book and my brain constantly is just wtf
Gray wrote: "Actively reading this book and my brain constantly is just wtf"well said
Sophia wrote: "I’m interested in your review, I’m trying to branch out my genres so this one is going on my list!"i hope you enjoy!
H wrote: "hey emma, have you read funny story by emily henry yet?"yep!
Maria Paula wrote: "Read this and I really liked it. I was so surprised, not the typeof book I usually pick up. But it showed me I should explore some more."i felt similarly!
Amory wrote: "Anyone else notice how Klara and The Sun like this book is - the writing style, the robots emotions and� well where do I stop comparing the books?"i didn't find it very similar!
Spoilers below.
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I think it was actually quite symbolically resonant that their couple's therapist was trans. I also think it was characteristic of Doug to be the type of guy who had to point it out to someone.
Many trans people have similar struggles to those Annie faces throughout this book: the world views them as different from who they are. Annie is constantly having her thoughts, actions, and beliefs minimized because she is a bot instead of a human, even though she essentially becomes a human throughout this story.
The fact that the therapist specializes in bot-human relations is telling. She may also have felt as though the world has not always seen her for who she truly is. It could explain why she is one of the few humans in this story who is able to have some empathy for Annie. They both have presumably had to struggle to have their identities and experiences validated.
this book was so not what i typically enjoy reading but i really liked this one
This book reminded me a lot of the book the Stepford Wives.
This so seems like the kind of book that I want to read!
Doug is a bigoted narcissist, if I didn't know better I'd say the author wrote a book about my ex, and commenting about people being trans was thing he often did...
Really makes me think of all the talk about AI, Annie kept getting smarter over time . It also made me think of Handmaids talk . Ugh!!
Angela wrote: "Spoilers below.
I think it was actually quite symbolically resonant that their couple's therapist was trans. I also think it was characteristic of Doug to be the type of guy who had to poi..."
I was about to point out the same thing! Because Greer even poses this comparison herself, when Annie and Doug see the therapist who specializes in "trans and nonbinary mental health as well as human-bot interactions" (Ch. 6). It's emphasized over and over again, when people are shocked at how they're unable to tell Annie from a real human. And then Doug poses the same question to Annie about Dr. VanTyne:
"Could you tell she was trans?" he asks.
Surprised, Annie reviews her impressions of Monica. "No. Not from her appearance."
"She is, though," he says.
Like HMMMMMMMMMM sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Angela wrote: "Spoilers below.
I think it was actually quite symbolically resonant that their couple's therapist was trans. I also think it was characteristic of Doug to be the type of guy who had to poi..."
Also - Can I quote your comment in my review? It’s perfect.
Totally forgot about the trans therapist until I read your review. I felt like that was just to point out how misogynistic Doug was up until the very end because he was still hypercritical of women even after therapy.
Doug is such a primitive man. Omg. That’s why I loved the ending of this book so much! There is no other way it could have ended to make me happy.
Me reading it with a sinus infection and stuffy nose 😔
