I read an interview with the author of this book in the Christian Science Monitor. I was immediately fascinated by the concept. It also didn’t hurt that it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. I usually borrow my books from the library, but the hold was too long on this one. I quickly bought myself a copy and read it.
The action takes place in a near future where people with insomnia can be treated with an implant. These compress the rest and restoration from sleeping so that the effects of eight hours of sleep can be achieved in only five hours. Buried deep in the license agreement is that your data can be shared with pretty much anyone who can do pretty much whatever they want with it. This leads to an algorithmic system of pre-crime. All of a person’s online activity and dreams are combined with the surveillance in public spaces to come up with a risk score. When this rises above 500, people can be involuntarily held as a “retainee” for twenty-one days for the protection of society. Sara Hussein is one such person retained. She is arrested at the airport upon returning from a business trip. She is eager to see her family but some minor issues turn into her arrest. They claim due to her dreams that she is a danger to her husband. But the system is so corrupted by financial incentives and simple carelessness and cruelty that most retainees spend much longer than twenty-one day in confinement.
This is the story of how what many feel is a good idea when executed turns out to be a disaster. It explores the concepts of identity and individuality as well as what we owe to each other in society as well as in closer relationships. In many ways, it is a modern vision of Orwell’s 1984 but far more realistic and plausible. What happens in the retention centers is on a small scale what often happens in prisons today. This is my favorite kind of speculative fiction. It takes today, nudges it into the near future, and explores how human nature reacts to the change. This is a poignant and touching story that should serve as warning. We need to take data privacy much more seriously that we do now.
My rating: 5/5
