A Calculated Life

author: Anne Charnock
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/15
date added: 2015/05/15
shelves:
review:
In 'A Calculated Life' the question about what it takes to be human gets asked in an interesting way.

In a not too distant future, corporations hire humans engineered as supercomputers to calculate probabilities and other high mathematical functions. They work a shorter work day, but use their brains constantly to work on projects. They live in their own housing and eat at their own cafeteria.

Jayna is a newer model working at predictive agency Mayhew McCline. When news of a co-workers death hits the office, Jayna is thrown out of her routine. She becomes curious about the world that the humans around her inhabit: their children, living quarters, food, etc. This leads her to circumvent the rules and live dangerously. This could lead to a recall by her creator and factor, but Jayna can't help herself. Is this a defect?

This is not quite a dystopian future, but things are trending towards not so great. Outside the part of the city where Jayna lives, people live in run down apartments and trade for used books and clothing. There is a noticeable downturn in food quality for these people. There is not much violence in this society thanks to genetic engineering, and Jayna doesn't experience much prejudice, but she is treated differently.

I really enjoyed this book and the questions it puts in the reader's mind. The closest equivalent to this book I can think of is Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go.' The stories aren't that similar, but the mood of the book is. And since that book is one of my favorites, I call that high praise indeed.

I received a review copy of this ebook from
Amazon Publishing, 47North, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this wonderful ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1FpHUPw