Review by mentat_stem - Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town

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3.25

dark funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I think I'll expand on this review, but some quick thoughts for now

This was my second time reading this. The first was as a free download. The author was a major proponent of promoting himself this way.
Definitely rated this higher after my first read.
The main character is a quirky entrepreneur and book collector. The latter blinded me to his problematic aspects when I first read this.
A handful of the characters taken together feel like personalities bouncing around in Elon Musk's head.
The day after tomorrow tech extrapolation feels very of it's moment, right before smart phones surfaced
The surreal aspects stand in well for the absurd anxieties of modern life.
Casual violence/murder, statutory rape and the various characters reactions to both make this a problematic read
The central mystery wrapped itself up way too quickly in the end.

I'm glad I reread this and look forward to catching up on more Doctorow, but I'm not excited about recommending this particular book to most readers.