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A review by nadibooks93
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
5.0
4.5
Despite it not being my type of book, I'm not going to forget it anytime soon. Throughout the book, I had three words going through my mind, 'What the fuck?'. The author takes a concept that we've most likely subconsciously thought of but because it's too much for our small human brains to comprehend, we dismissed it. Blake Crouch did not and he set out to make us feel small, or in his words using Jason's voice, like ‘a grain of sand on an infinite beach.’ or 'a fish, swimming in a pond.'.
“All your life you’re told you’re unique. An individual. That no one on the planet is just like you. It’s humanity’s anthem.”
What life lessons did I take with me after reading this book? I’ll start recounting them. It can take all but a month or less for a person to change drastically. While it’s true that it all depends on what happens in our lives, fundamentally, it is our thoughts and choices that make us who we are or rather, that slowly but surely change us.
“It's terrifying when you consider that every thought we have, every choice we could possibly make, branches off into a new world.”
“Life doesn’t work that way. You live with your choices and learn. You don’t cheat the system.”
There were some parts which I didn't like. Daniela’s reaction to the situation in particular, she recuperated quite fast and let me tell you, if I were in her shoes, I would not know what to do. Actually, scratch that, I would not want to be in Daniela's shoes, ever. I felt the author was rushing to bring the story to a close and he left a lot of unanswered questions. Such as: 'What is going to happen to those other versions of Jason, do they not matter?’ ‘Is Jason the original?’ ‘How are Jason, Daniela and Charlie going to live in a new world where there must be other versions of them living in it?' Perhaps that was the author’s intention by choosing to leave the ending open.
There is one thing I would like to do if it was possible, I would like to see all the other versions of me living their different lives from mine, not to steal their lives the way Jason2 did but rather to motivate myself into creating a version of a life that I envision for myself. However, it is true what Jason said:
“I’ve seen so many versions of you. With me. Without me. Artist. Teacher. Graphic designer. But it’s all, in the end, just life. We see it macro, like one big story, but when you’re in it, it’s all just day-to-day, right? And isn’t that what you have to make your peace with?”
Or that we should appreciate what we have:
“What a miracle it is to have people to come home to every day. To be loved. To be expected. I thought I appreciated every moment, but sitting here in the cold, I know I took it all for granted. And how could I not? Until everything topples, we have no idea what we actually have, how precariously and perfectly it all hangs together.”
Despite it not being my type of book, I'm not going to forget it anytime soon. Throughout the book, I had three words going through my mind, 'What the fuck?'. The author takes a concept that we've most likely subconsciously thought of but because it's too much for our small human brains to comprehend, we dismissed it. Blake Crouch did not and he set out to make us feel small, or in his words using Jason's voice, like ‘a grain of sand on an infinite beach.’ or 'a fish, swimming in a pond.'.
“All your life you’re told you’re unique. An individual. That no one on the planet is just like you. It’s humanity’s anthem.”
What life lessons did I take with me after reading this book? I’ll start recounting them. It can take all but a month or less for a person to change drastically. While it’s true that it all depends on what happens in our lives, fundamentally, it is our thoughts and choices that make us who we are or rather, that slowly but surely change us.
“It's terrifying when you consider that every thought we have, every choice we could possibly make, branches off into a new world.”
Spoiler
Jason2 thought he could have a ready-made family on a silver platter without so much as working hard at creating one when he could have met with the Daniela from his world and start over again. He thought by creating the godforsaken box, he was taking the easy way out but it’s like Daniela said:“Life doesn’t work that way. You live with your choices and learn. You don’t cheat the system.”
There were some parts which I didn't like. Daniela’s reaction to the situation in particular, she recuperated quite fast and let me tell you, if I were in her shoes, I would not know what to do. Actually, scratch that, I would not want to be in Daniela's shoes, ever. I felt the author was rushing to bring the story to a close and he left a lot of unanswered questions. Such as: 'What is going to happen to those other versions of Jason, do they not matter?’ ‘Is Jason the original?’ ‘How are Jason, Daniela and Charlie going to live in a new world where there must be other versions of them living in it?' Perhaps that was the author’s intention by choosing to leave the ending open.
There is one thing I would like to do if it was possible, I would like to see all the other versions of me living their different lives from mine, not to steal their lives the way Jason2 did but rather to motivate myself into creating a version of a life that I envision for myself. However, it is true what Jason said:
“I’ve seen so many versions of you. With me. Without me. Artist. Teacher. Graphic designer. But it’s all, in the end, just life. We see it macro, like one big story, but when you’re in it, it’s all just day-to-day, right? And isn’t that what you have to make your peace with?”
Or that we should appreciate what we have:
“What a miracle it is to have people to come home to every day. To be loved. To be expected. I thought I appreciated every moment, but sitting here in the cold, I know I took it all for granted. And how could I not? Until everything topples, we have no idea what we actually have, how precariously and perfectly it all hangs together.”