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bbrassfield's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting, deeply philsophical novel dealing with software constructed consciousness, android personhood and a love triangle, of sorts. Also, Alan Turing doesn't die in 1954 and I love the part he plays in McEwan's story here, as the one partially responsible for the Adam and Eve androids. The novel gets off to a relatively slow start, focusing on the relationship between Miranda and Charlie. At first it seems like their relationship won't develop very far as Miranda appears pretty lukewarm about their long term prospects, but the sex is good so they continue seeing each other. In his mind, Charlie charts a course that will lead them to marriage, but in his actual interraction with Miranda he must walk a thin line in the beginning.
Miranda as a name evokes to my mind Shakespeare's Miranda and in Machines Like Me, the comparrison is indeed apt given her interraction with Adam, the android Charlie perhaps foolishly purchases with some of the money his mother leaves him. It is at the point Adam enters their lives that the novel has everything it wants to use to tell the story and set the reader thinking down a path of what does it really mean to be sentient, an independent thinking thing capable of self determination. Is Adam, as a possessor of artifical intelligence, programmed to respond a certain way in any given set of experiences he may encounter, a person?
The novel makes a good case for his personhood up until a main twist in the plot as we reach near the end.
Spoiler:
Adam hints to Charlie early on something ominous about Miranda but for a good chunk of the story we as readers remain in the dark as to what it might be. Her secret is that she falsely accused an old schoolmate of rape to see him in prison for the actual rape of her sister. She and Charlie see this as a form of justice but Adam, programmed as he is, can only see the absolute truth of the matter, which is Miranda committed a crime, regardless of the rationale and this is where the novel really comes together. Charlie and Miranda by this time are looking at marriage and the adoption of a troubled child but if Miranda goes to prison, this would put the adoption in danger. They try to reason with Adam but he can only see it one way so Charlie whacks him over the head, essentially killing him, but not before Adam has arranged the details of Miranda's crime to be sent to the proper authorities. She does in fact go to prison and the adoption is in jeapordy.
To cut to the chase: Their affairs end up in a pretty good place for Charlie and Miranda, and they win their appeal so they can go ahead with the adoption, but the real question I believe the novel asks is highlighted in a late scene between Alan Turing and Charlie. Charlie has returned his Adam to Alan Turing and after relating some his personal life story to Charlie, Turing tells him he hopes that one day what Charlie did to Adam will be crime the equivalent of murder.
Adam certainly appears to possess awareness, sentience. I find it interesting that Charlie doesn't mention to Turing that when Charlie attempted to turn Adam off the android resisted and hurt Charlie in the process. This is useful information given the context! The reader is left to ponder.
Miranda as a name evokes to my mind Shakespeare's Miranda and in Machines Like Me, the comparrison is indeed apt given her interraction with Adam, the android Charlie perhaps foolishly purchases with some of the money his mother leaves him. It is at the point Adam enters their lives that the novel has everything it wants to use to tell the story and set the reader thinking down a path of what does it really mean to be sentient, an independent thinking thing capable of self determination. Is Adam, as a possessor of artifical intelligence, programmed to respond a certain way in any given set of experiences he may encounter, a person?
The novel makes a good case for his personhood up until a main twist in the plot as we reach near the end.
Spoiler:
Adam hints to Charlie early on something ominous about Miranda but for a good chunk of the story we as readers remain in the dark as to what it might be. Her secret is that she falsely accused an old schoolmate of rape to see him in prison for the actual rape of her sister. She and Charlie see this as a form of justice but Adam, programmed as he is, can only see the absolute truth of the matter, which is Miranda committed a crime, regardless of the rationale and this is where the novel really comes together. Charlie and Miranda by this time are looking at marriage and the adoption of a troubled child but if Miranda goes to prison, this would put the adoption in danger. They try to reason with Adam but he can only see it one way so Charlie whacks him over the head, essentially killing him, but not before Adam has arranged the details of Miranda's crime to be sent to the proper authorities. She does in fact go to prison and the adoption is in jeapordy.
To cut to the chase: Their affairs end up in a pretty good place for Charlie and Miranda, and they win their appeal so they can go ahead with the adoption, but the real question I believe the novel asks is highlighted in a late scene between Alan Turing and Charlie. Charlie has returned his Adam to Alan Turing and after relating some his personal life story to Charlie, Turing tells him he hopes that one day what Charlie did to Adam will be crime the equivalent of murder.
Adam certainly appears to possess awareness, sentience. I find it interesting that Charlie doesn't mention to Turing that when Charlie attempted to turn Adam off the android resisted and hurt Charlie in the process. This is useful information given the context! The reader is left to ponder.
mcchonchie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jenpaul13's review against another edition
3.0
The line between human and machine gets thinner and more complicated in Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Charlie's life has seemed a bit aimless, but with an opportunity presents itself for him to be able to purchase one of the first synthetic humans he seizes it. Crafting the personality of Adam, along with input from his neighbor and romantic interest Miranda, Charlie brings Adam online and begins to socialize him, allowing him to learn and develop further. Soon a conflicting romantic interest between the three arises, dragging Miranda's dark and secret personal history into the equation, creating a moral dilemma of great proportions. In deciding how best to act in the given situation, Adam's interpretation of right is to abide by the law, despite the personal ramifications, while Charlie and Miranda prefer a gray area that seems to benefit all parties involved, driving a rift in their lives that has lasting consequences.
An intriguing story that provokes contemplation on what constitutes being human, the narrative explores a variety of topics to demonstrate the complexities of human life that are difficult to replicate within an artificial intelligence. The alternate history setting of London in the 1980s that was explored within this novel was intriguing for how it posited technology advancement would progress with the continued input of key scientific minds and what impact that would then have upon the world. Though the story moved well there was some tangential text within the novel that felt at odds with the rest of the narrative - it contributed to the wealth of intricately complicated topics to contemplate but didn't feel directly connected with the primary train of thought that Charlie was presenting.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Charlie's life has seemed a bit aimless, but with an opportunity presents itself for him to be able to purchase one of the first synthetic humans he seizes it. Crafting the personality of Adam, along with input from his neighbor and romantic interest Miranda, Charlie brings Adam online and begins to socialize him, allowing him to learn and develop further. Soon a conflicting romantic interest between the three arises, dragging Miranda's dark and secret personal history into the equation, creating a moral dilemma of great proportions. In deciding how best to act in the given situation, Adam's interpretation of right is to abide by the law, despite the personal ramifications, while Charlie and Miranda prefer a gray area that seems to benefit all parties involved, driving a rift in their lives that has lasting consequences.
An intriguing story that provokes contemplation on what constitutes being human, the narrative explores a variety of topics to demonstrate the complexities of human life that are difficult to replicate within an artificial intelligence. The alternate history setting of London in the 1980s that was explored within this novel was intriguing for how it posited technology advancement would progress with the continued input of key scientific minds and what impact that would then have upon the world. Though the story moved well there was some tangential text within the novel that felt at odds with the rest of the narrative - it contributed to the wealth of intricately complicated topics to contemplate but didn't feel directly connected with the primary train of thought that Charlie was presenting.
ursovrmne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
i did enjoy this. i agree with the other reviews that maybe the ethics mcewan was trying to display were delivered in a bit of a clunky way. but i really enjoyed the story. maybe the end wasnt my fav. i actually think i wanted MORE exploration of adam. loved the revisions of history, that was super fun. i think really what this book proved to me is that i really REALLY love sci-fi (is this sci-fi idk the exact right terms) about androids and stuff. like i really need to get into this genre. do androids dream of electric sheep? is like an all-timer for me and i think thats what drew me to this book. the blurb really drew me in but also maybe it was the mention of a love triangle because im really into those since seeing challengers <3
michaelpdonley's review against another edition
4.0
A nice Twilight Zone what-if set in an alternate 1980s London. Feels a little heavy-handed in its moralizing, and a little cliched in its plot, but Ian McEwan is a great author, so it’s still way above average.
jaclyncrupi's review against another edition
2.0
When Ian McEwan gets it right boy does he get it right. But when he gets it wrong he gets it very very wrong (see Solar, Sweet Tooth etc.). Machines Like Me is very very wrong. It’s not good. In fact, it’s bad. Really bad. His handling of sexual assault and rape is problematic AF. He makes androids boring (the only good bit is when Charlie is mistaken for the droid), he writes haiku, he drones on and on about Turing. Every ‘big idea’ he grapples with has been grappled with before in fiction and in better and more interesting ways than his attempts. I don’t care about his alternative history. Also, what’s with the kid, Mark, and McEwan acting like 22-year-old Miranda wants to adopt him. She’s 22! Wtf was that? Ok, I’m going just to pretend he never wrote this and this book does not exist. There, fixed.
manolitagafotas's review against another edition
Just boring despite the interesring premise
boneillius's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ncteisen's review against another edition
3.0
There were some interesting ideas tossed around, but in the end I found it a bit unfocussed and annoying. Maybe all the talk of P=NP was just too close to home for me... I had flashbacks to my introductory Computer Science theory course at umich
lomili's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0