Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Little Eyes

While this book intrigued me during the entire reading experience there was a lot more that could've been explored and explained. Altogether it was a fascinating, and slightly horrifying, study on technology and the internet's negative impacts!

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emory's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

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torismazarine's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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saint_eleanor's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This made me feel so many different emotions but ultimately was super unsettling and also so human, is the only way I can describe it. It asks lots of important questions, like about your consciousness and what is an ‘extension of u’ and what is not. Super close and intimate (sometimes too intimate) look at the human condition if it was ruled by little portals. Also, this book is translated beautifully.

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emily_koopmann's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-paced

4.5

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evelynritzi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This one definitely was odd, familiar, and unsettling - black mirror vibes - as advertised! Technology at its worst. It really made me think about how loose we are about trusting strangers on the internet, revealing so much about our lives in subtle ways. Our social media is our Kentukis in a way, giving strangers a glimpse at our personal lives free of charge. At the same time, for viewers, we are so drawn to the most mundane content (get ready with me, eat with me etc) because in a way it provides a sense of adventure and connectedness. It also made me think a lot about “sharenting” and how parents are way too comfortable sharing everything about their kids without thinking about who is on the other end watching with ill intentions. It was a little hard to keep up with all the characters and locations, that would be my only complaint!

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house_of_hannah's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

I couldn't picture these Kentukis as anything other than Furbys. Doesn't matter if it's described as a crow, bunny, or dragon, my brain says Furby.

I did end up overwhelmed by how many different POVs we are given here. Instead of being numbered, each chapter is titled with a town name. Some we only see once, others several times. We see new POVs almost right up until the end, so it would take me a few paragraphs sometimes to remember who the people are.

The first chapter is essentially what you first think is going to happen in a situation like this. Also, imagine my surprise when the first chapter is titled South Bend, which is only 30 minutes from my hometown, and a place I've been a million times. Definitely makes it more real, but that was one town the book only visited once.

We do get a variety of situations throughout the story, but I don't believe any of them are happy endings. Since there are so many POVs, it also feels like we are viewing the stories from a distance (maybe in our own Kentuki ?). For me I think I would have have been more interested in delving into some of these stories deeper, and understanding the characters a bit more, instead of having some of the one off POVs.

You definitely need to have a sense of disbelief going into this, as the entire concept is something that just would not work in reality. The legality of it is extremely sketchy, security would be a nightmare, but all countries agreeing on something like this would just never happen.

Overall this just ended up as an average read for me. I felt most of the POVs stayed too surface level, as the connections with the Kentukis would be cut right as things were getting interesting. There are two more books by this author that I am interested in reading though, so I will be checking out more of her writing.

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savvylit's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Each chapter of Little Eyes features a perspective of either a kentuki keeper or dweller. What follows is possibly the best fictional take on human nature on the Internet. Kentukis serve as the perfect symbol for fully-online parasocial relationships. The concept of a kentuki seems exaggeratedly far-fetched at first -- who would want to let an anonymous stranger into their home in the form of a moving camera? However, how different is that from extremely online folks who chronicle most of their days for viewers? I'd say not very. Kentukis are the perfect vessel for Schweblin to explore socializing in the digital age and all of its motivations and consequences. Distilled to its essence, Little Eyes is an expertly crafted meditation on loneliness, voyeurism, cruelty, and projection.

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