aka YA Literature

Friday, October 10, 2008

Little Brother


I picked up Little Brother by Cory Doctorow at the library today. I started reading it as soon as I arrived home and did not put it down until I finished. Honestly, it is the most fascinating book I have read in a long time. It is like a modern day Nineteen Eighty-Four. The setting is San Francisco, right after a terrorist attack on the Bay Bridge. Much of the book deals with security measures, hacking, and high tech computer lingo, but you don't have to be a techie to get it. Overall, it was the message of the story that I really loved. I think Andre "bunnie" Huang explains it best in the Afterword, "Little Brother is a reminder that no matter how predictable the future may be, we don't win freedom through security systems, cryptography, interrogations and spot searches. We win freedom by having the courage and conviction to live every day freely and to act as a free society, no matter how great the threats are on the horizon."

3 comments:

Greg Cerveny said...

I'm glad you found it as engaging as I currently am. I had to stop myself at the end of the book club assignment to make sure I didn't over read. I would really like it if you came and joined the discussion at Urban Monarch:

http://www.urbanmonarch.com/category/media/book-club/

Sheryl said...

I started reading it and I liked it well enough, but I just never finished it. I think I read about half of it. I liked how everything was utterly plausible, from the character actions to the technology. I think it's actually an "important" book in terms of what it demonstrates about technology and government and individual rights. I should go back and finish it.

Unknown said...

ooh! That sounds interesting (especially since I just finished the Uglies series and I really liked the future-istic thing). I think I'll order it on amazon right now...