Grace Chan's Every Version of You was the November Read for the New Scholars Book Club.
New scientist Book club kept thinking about the inner workings of the mind while reading the November reading, moving from neurologist Masood Hussein look at the brain disorders of some of his patients, Our brain, ourselvesto Grace Chan's sci-fi exploration of a world whose citizens upload their brains to a virtual utopia, Every version of you.
Following the stories of Tao-Yi, who does not want to leave our world, no matter how it has been destroyed by climate change, for the sake of the digital paradise of Gaia, and her boyfriend Naveen, who was one of the first to upload his brain, Every version of you definitely piqued the interest of the book club members. It certainly did for me too: I felt like this book touched on so many issues, from what makes a person who they are to the meaning of home, and from climate change to grief.
“I really liked it. It was probably the club's best selection so far,” writes Glen Johnson on our blog. Facebook group. “My knowledge of Avatars is limited to the first film of the same name, so [I] I was a little confused for the first few chapters,” says Margaret Buchanan. “However, as soon as I delved into the story, the book captivated me. I can understand the need to escape the mess we've made on Earth, but I found Tao-Yi's need to retain his essence and individuality really believable.”
Judith Lazell also found the novel “a very enjoyable read” and noted something that also impressed me: “I really enjoyed the throwaway moments and the oblique way in which the dangerous state of the planet was described,” she says. Such a good point: I thought about how Chen forced us to piece together the terrible reality of late '21.st.20th century Australia was handled brilliantly.
Of course, this book club has a lot of members (there are over 22,000 of you now), so not everyone was so positive. “I loved the book, but the ending was a mixed bag,” says Linda Jones, while Jennifer Marano was also unconvinced by some of the details: “The climate situation in the book is very alarming,” she says. “I just finished the book and felt very unsatisfied. There was some hope that the planet could recover and most people would be uploaded to Gaia in cyberspace, but there was no mention of how the digital universe they escaped to was powered.”
Every version of you stayed with me for several months (I read it back in May) as I pondered the many questions it raised – including, of course, whether I would upload myself or not. I am inclined to believe that no, just like Chan herself, as she told me in our interviewand participants are discussing this issue on the Internet. “In the current world, no, but if/when our world deteriorates to the same extent as in the book, it may be a different story,” says Steve Swan.
Karen Sears has an interesting take on this issue. “When I started reading this book, I thought I would avoid downloading until I was confident in Gaia's structure, policies, and protocols,” she writes. “Then I injured my knee ligaments and that changed my mind a little bit. I was thinking more about the fact that maybe I would be less inclined to stay in the current world if access became very difficult.”
One of the things I really liked about the book is how it touches on disability through Naveen's pain and discomfort in the real world – the main driving force behind his desire to upload into Gaia. I thought it was handled with care and sensitivity, and that also struck a chord with Niall Leighton.
“I think it’s a credit to Chan that she’s making an effort to address issues of disability and marginalization (especially given some of the criticism of other recent books!), although I think there’s more to be said,” Niall said in response to Karen. “If we reject the continuity of consciousness premise, what does that say about the decision to upload? There are enormous contemporary problems with how we deal with and potentially end physical and mental suffering, and with the way human societies are structured in ways that make life unnecessarily difficult for people with disabilities.”
In his review of the book, Niall writes that he had “extremely mixed feelings” about the affair. “This is a complex, multi-layered work that comments on a number of contemporary themes, and without a doubt it touched my brain. In that way, it meets my expectations of a good sci-fi novel. Grace Chan clearly worked very hard on her plot, characterization and prose, and it's a great book if you like that sort of thing,” he writes.
“On the other hand, I'm not one of those people. This turned out to be yet another book answering the apparently insatiable demand among publishers, if not among readers like me, for yet another person bravely facing yet another dystopian hell.”
This was something that several members brought up, not just another dystopia! “It's an easy enough read, but I can't say I particularly like it. It's another dystopian look at the future, and we've had a few of those this year, e.g. Dengue boy And Roundabout Circulation” says David Jones.
According to Phil Gursky, the book “eventually grew on me (I wasn't sure I wanted to finish it at first).” “Although it was another depressing dystopian (end of the world due to climate change) novel, it interested me,” he writes. “One comment: a world where everything is always online reminds me of when I'm riding the O train in Ottawa and I'm the only one reading a paper book (and not looking at my cell phone!). Note to Phil: I also follow other readers on the London Underground – and I'm glad to say I'm never the only one!
I've heard that you members don't want another dystopia – I guess the problem is that science fiction is usually set in the future, and the interesting thing is whether that future will be better or worse than our current reality. I hope you'll approve of our December read anyway, even if it has shades of utopia: a book by Iain M. Banks Game playerafter he carried out another Banks novel, Consider Phlebasain a book club vote. The action takes place in the interstellar man-machine society of the Culture, which tells the story of the great Jernau Morath Gurge. A master of every game he tries, Gurgeh will challenge himself in the brutal Azad Empire's notoriously difficult game, the winner of which will become emperor.
Come and take a look at extract here, from the very beginning of the novel, and also fascinating piece Bethany Jacobs, a colleague of the late Banks, is a science fiction author in which she explores his “amazing” abilities as a world-builder. And do it join our Facebook groupIf you haven't already, please share your thoughts on all of our readings.
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