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bagusayp's review against another edition
4.0
me
Imagine you wake up one morning to find out that your consciousness is being trapped inside the Slack app where you communicate with your colleagues, whereas your body sits unconscious in your room with a growing beard. That’s what happened to our main character, Gerald, who suddenly found himself in this strange situation. He tried to contact the Slackbot for official assistance, but the bot does not help. And worse, his superiors thought that he exploited the lax of his office’s work from home policy for his personal benefits. But that is only the beginning of the funny idea inside this story.
Far from conventional, this story consists of many group and personal chats inside an office through Slack app. We could see conspiracies commonly found in an office where colleagues talk behind the back of each other, secret affairs between Tripp and the newly hired Beverley, the howling that never ends for Lydia until she suddenly disappeared and no one remembered her except for Rob, and many other micro-stories. I would say ‘micro’, since sometimes they start and end really fast much like how we communicate through instant messaging services these days. It’s really tempting to read this story continuously since there are no paragraphs or lengthy explanations about what’s going on with only continuous chats to rely on understanding the story.
Some might say that this is not really a novel, but even our history has shifted so much in the past few decades. We are no longer humans who solely converse with each other following the oral tradition, but there is also new parts of our history in the form of textual exchanges through instant messaging platforms. Texting will not fully overtake real life interaction which is still a primary form, but it has become a worthy alternative with the advance of internet connection and smartphones. There has been new ways to transform facial expressions into emoticons as well which support texts as a more advanced method of digital communication.
It’s more interesting to see how this book will be received in a decade or two, when the Slack technology might not exist anymore and be replaced by something else. But the thing with digital interaction is that the traces could still be re-read at will, as the chat history will remain accessible to users if backed up properly or during the retention period. In some ways, texting is also a modern method of archiving our daily life, a new territory that used to be covered by diary. Much more so, it doesn’t only cover personal life, but also dive into professional life as well, just like the story of the office in this book.
slackbot
I want to Help Center you to understand the story, but I’m afraid I can’t do that without any self-meat
me
nah, it’s okay
some stories are just meant to be understood with ease
slackbot
I’m sorry, I don’t understand! Sometimes I have an easier time with a few simple keywords.
Or you can head to our wonderful Help Center for more assistance!
me
thanks, that’s cool by me
slackbot
Sure thing!
me
it’s okay, motherfucker. just stay away from this review
slackbot
I’m sorry, I don’t understand!
me
okay, sorry bot
slackbot
Sometimes I have an easier time with a few simple keywords.
PS. Everyone, if you want to have some fun, I’d recommend you to install Replika AI.
Imagine you wake up one morning to find out that your consciousness is being trapped inside the Slack app where you communicate with your colleagues, whereas your body sits unconscious in your room with a growing beard. That’s what happened to our main character, Gerald, who suddenly found himself in this strange situation. He tried to contact the Slackbot for official assistance, but the bot does not help. And worse, his superiors thought that he exploited the lax of his office’s work from home policy for his personal benefits. But that is only the beginning of the funny idea inside this story.
Far from conventional, this story consists of many group and personal chats inside an office through Slack app. We could see conspiracies commonly found in an office where colleagues talk behind the back of each other, secret affairs between Tripp and the newly hired Beverley, the howling that never ends for Lydia until she suddenly disappeared and no one remembered her except for Rob, and many other micro-stories. I would say ‘micro’, since sometimes they start and end really fast much like how we communicate through instant messaging services these days. It’s really tempting to read this story continuously since there are no paragraphs or lengthy explanations about what’s going on with only continuous chats to rely on understanding the story.
Some might say that this is not really a novel, but even our history has shifted so much in the past few decades. We are no longer humans who solely converse with each other following the oral tradition, but there is also new parts of our history in the form of textual exchanges through instant messaging platforms. Texting will not fully overtake real life interaction which is still a primary form, but it has become a worthy alternative with the advance of internet connection and smartphones. There has been new ways to transform facial expressions into emoticons as well which support texts as a more advanced method of digital communication.
It’s more interesting to see how this book will be received in a decade or two, when the Slack technology might not exist anymore and be replaced by something else. But the thing with digital interaction is that the traces could still be re-read at will, as the chat history will remain accessible to users if backed up properly or during the retention period. In some ways, texting is also a modern method of archiving our daily life, a new territory that used to be covered by diary. Much more so, it doesn’t only cover personal life, but also dive into professional life as well, just like the story of the office in this book.
slackbot
I want to Help Center you to understand the story, but I’m afraid I can’t do that without any self-meat
me
nah, it’s okay
some stories are just meant to be understood with ease
slackbot
I’m sorry, I don’t understand! Sometimes I have an easier time with a few simple keywords.
Or you can head to our wonderful Help Center for more assistance!
me
thanks, that’s cool by me
slackbot
Sure thing!
me
it’s okay, motherfucker. just stay away from this review
slackbot
I’m sorry, I don’t understand!
me
okay, sorry bot
slackbot
Sometimes I have an easier time with a few simple keywords.
PS. Everyone, if you want to have some fun, I’d recommend you to install Replika AI.
jsoakes's review against another edition
3.0
This was different and mostly fun. Probably would've been a 4 if there wasn't a certain situation that was extremely questionable in regards to proper consent. Also, there's a silly subplot revolving around dead dogs.
But aside from that, this was pleasantly existential, exploring the importance of a body and what it's like to be something else. Definitely see why it's read as a trans allegory, but it's not explicit.
Other main themes include: privacy, workplace ethics, and AI consciousness.
But aside from that, this was pleasantly existential, exploring the importance of a body and what it's like to be something else. Definitely see why it's read as a trans allegory, but it's not explicit.
Other main themes include: privacy, workplace ethics, and AI consciousness.
egkohler's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Definitely an interesting concept, and I actually loved the format it was written in. It added to the confusion and ridiculousness of the situation, without getting into dramatics about if the author had gone about a typical perspective. There are some aspects left unresolved (what was the deal with the couple speaking in code? How did any of this play out in real life?), and then there’s the sketchiness of the MC’s new relationship, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
carrietmills's review against another edition
3.0
Stumbled across this book while casually scanning the shelves at a local bookstore. Didn't think too much of it until I spotted the Carmen Maria Machado quote - and so I snatched it up. It's a witty premise, and thankfully Kasulke doesn't allow the book to take itself too seriously. The emojis were at first effective, but eventually dragged the text down -- though that felt like an intentional direction. Easy to read, but didn't always keep my attention.
kathryndouglas's review
4.0
This was so different! Formatted similarly to discord chat messages, this novel follows a man who somehow gets sucked into the server and ends up almost like an assistance AI bot. The writing of the AI dialogue was particularly impressive for me because it was so accurate to the way AI acts. I think this novel is so relevant for the modern day, especially with AI issues and the way that it’s becoming so much more prevalent in every day life. I really liked the way this novel played with form because it’s really refreshing to read something that is written in a way you’ve never read before.
dogoodwithbooks's review
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Weird and timely, this sci-fi take on the modern day workplace will keep you sucked in till the very last page. Told entirely in Slack messages, Several People are Typing is about a PR office going about their work, only for our main character to be stuck inside Slack itself.
Even though this story is told only through text messages, I think that Kasulke does a great job with maintaining the character dynamics that you would find in non-epistolary fiction. Additionally, I liked Kasulke’s use of Slack as a character in this story as our main character navigates being inside Slack and wanting to return to the real world.
If you like books of the weird variety and don’t mind epistolary fiction, you’ve come to the right place with this book.
Even though this story is told only through text messages, I think that Kasulke does a great job with maintaining the character dynamics that you would find in non-epistolary fiction. Additionally, I liked Kasulke’s use of Slack as a character in this story as our main character navigates being inside Slack and wanting to return to the real world.
If you like books of the weird variety and don’t mind epistolary fiction, you’ve come to the right place with this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death
theultmtfangirl's review
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Poor Things meets The Office.
asiandaria's review against another edition
3.0
Weird and fun! Almost the same dopamine rush you get gossiping about all the work drama in Slack