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reviewed The Future by Naomi Alderman

Naomi Alderman: The Future (Hardcover, Simon & Schuster) 4 stars

The latest novel from the Women’s Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Power, The Future is …

slow middle, weird ending

4 stars

it took me forever to get through this, mostly because the middle was overly drawn out with exposition on "this is how we got here." I love me some character development but this wasn't compelling and so it was a slog to get through.

similarly, the ending felt forced. like there was a true ending, and the editor wanted a couple of extra chapters to tie up the loose ends so the reader wouldn't feel cheated out of a conclusion after investing so much time in that sloggy middle. and then that felt too rosy so there was another ending tacked on.

the structure of this book, woof: you think youre done, there are acknowledgements, and then there's another chapter, a colophon, and then more book?! what kind of easter egg nonesense is that?! if I wasn't reading on paper, I would have missed it.

I really did like the concept of this book though. It's a shame that these things got in its way.