Reviews

The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe

curlymango's review against another edition

2.5

Janelle and Co I’m so sorry, this wasn’t my jam despite how much the album is my jam. New Dawn and the Dirty Computer are really cool concepts that I wish were fleshed out in one story or book series rather than shorts. It felt like they were trying to find a good balance between being too vague about the specifics of the New Dawn system and giving too much exposition (e.g. the end of Pynk Hotel), but never quite landed in that sweet spot. My favorite was probably Save Changes, mostly because it was easier to follow. Though take this with a grain of salt because I read the book in one sitting at the library so I could remove the holds on my account before closing time. I’d definitely still try out future works from Monáe, and I’ll always appreciate the inclusion of queer and non-binary characters.

psionedge's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

magsnificentmils's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bwood95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

jmckendry's review against another edition

81% in and I just had to stop. I really really wanted to like this collection of stories, but I couldn’t connect to the characters at all, they felt very flat for the most part with few exceptions.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first story, The Memory Librarian, and I also enjoyed Save Changes. I didn’t read very much of the last story in the book, so I can’t really rate that one but the rest of the stories were so dull.

I don’t keep up with pop culture, so I (embarrassingly, apparently) had never heard of Janelle Monae before picking this up. During the time was reading the book, I listened to her album Dirty Computer, and while I thought the concepts were interesting I don’t love upbeat music in general.

Maybe I’m just not in the right space to appreciate her art. I loved the world she creates in these stories, but they just weren’t written for me and that’s okay.

1.5 stars, DNF

readingindreams's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

cass_keeps_reading's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

maddy_brown99's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

Interesting concepts overall, but still definitely parts of this world I don’t totally understand. Some stories were more enjoyable than others, for sure. 

catsncoffee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-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

5.0

torgiepie's review against another edition

I'm gonna try this again at a later time.