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ebooklover's review against another edition
4.0
Although the writing is artful and the book focuses very much on poetry - I think this is a very accessible book for anyone interested in poetry. I loved the main character Marian, she really felt fleshed out and real (apparently she is based on a real famous poet). She was tough, proper, challenging, playful and endearing. The other characters, however, were much less impactful. (I did love the AI, Charlotte, though)
Some of the familial aspects/themes of this book didn't land 100% with me. They felt a little, I don't know. I hesitate to say "breezed over" since there are several very long hindsight passages that lay out Marian's family history. So I guess I felt like the actual emotional depth to some of her decisions with her son are not explored as well as they could have been. I do think a version of this book where that backstory is only hinted at could have been successful as well.
There is a huge "wtf" passage that was clearly (and openly) written by an AI at the end of this book that completely took me out of the narrative :( I appreciate the ambition to include that, but it really just had me so confused. And I felt stupid for trying to make sense of it. Maybe that is part of the bigger point the author is trying to make about AI?
Anyway, just read the book so you can make up your own mind about it. It was a really unique experience and the story is very relevant in the modern age!
Some of the familial aspects/themes of this book didn't land 100% with me. They felt a little, I don't know. I hesitate to say "breezed over" since there are several very long hindsight passages that lay out Marian's family history. So I guess I felt like the actual emotional depth to some of her decisions with her son are not explored as well as they could have been. I do think a version of this book where that backstory is only hinted at could have been successful as well.
There is a huge "wtf" passage that was clearly (and openly) written by an AI at the end of this book that completely took me out of the narrative :( I appreciate the ambition to include that, but it really just had me so confused. And I felt stupid for trying to make sense of it. Maybe that is part of the bigger point the author is trying to make about AI?
Anyway, just read the book so you can make up your own mind about it. It was a really unique experience and the story is very relevant in the modern age!
mckmillican's review against another edition
5.0
I think the book will feel dated one year from now but for right now it is a perfect book.
kassiani's review against another edition
3.75
Ponderings on poetry and AI.
"Who was I now if something else could write for me?"
"Do you think it's important for humans to have a function? We're not toasters!"
a poet is a "dreamer daring enough to try to express the world as it really is, or as it could be, in a mess of alphabet and empty space, meter, grammar, punctuation. Language is the worst tool we have except for all the others: a painter and her pigments, a photographer and her nitrates."
"Poetry can muster what is invisible and impossible, and unmistakenly felt, it can bend the day."
"Who was I now if something else could write for me?"
"Do you think it's important for humans to have a function? We're not toasters!"
a poet is a "dreamer daring enough to try to express the world as it really is, or as it could be, in a mess of alphabet and empty space, meter, grammar, punctuation. Language is the worst tool we have except for all the others: a painter and her pigments, a photographer and her nitrates."
"Poetry can muster what is invisible and impossible, and unmistakenly felt, it can bend the day."
mdarceyhall's review against another edition
4.0
A poetic, philosophical, and heart-warming read about a poet collaborating with AI. I appreciated Michaels' musings on creativity and art -- who decides what qualifies as art, who can create art, etc. -- sprinkled throughout an equally enjoyable storyline. I highly recommend this to anyone who is also having an existential crisis on AI's potential takeover of everything and the threat to creative endeavors.
ksu_ads's review against another edition
5.0
The book is rather not what I am typically reading, but it contains a lot of lively, human ideas and elaborations that really touched me and made me think about my own life, life path, behavior.
4 stars because it was not such a wow in comparison to the books I rate 5 (or rather no wow for me).
4 stars because it was not such a wow in comparison to the books I rate 5 (or rather no wow for me).
natjac98's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
jaidadivine's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jarku's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A fully dimensional character study, more of an exploration of the writing craft or a thought experiment than a novel. While the use (and assessment) of LLM-generated prose is interesting, it is too easy to see through this endeavour to the grant proposals that funded it, clearly pitched before the ending was seamed together.
thehancam's review
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.0
I liked this more in concept than in execution. I appreciate it as an interesting collaboration between an author and a language model, but often found myself bored and disappointed (especially because readers never see the entirety of the final poem — Chekov's poem, if you will).