Disturbing and thought-provoking. This is a rather sinister take on a future of social media influencers and inequality.
In a post-modern world, Kry has experienced a reset to preserve his youthfulness in a world obsessed with youth and beauty. The novel delivers on exploring “the science of vanity” as promised in the synopsis. Vanity is explored sexually, physically, economically, and more, in its worst imagined ways. Note to Self is a well-written and engaging read, but not for the faint of heart going in. Described as a retelling of HG Wells’ The Time Machine, I’m sure reading that work prior provides some context for the relations in this story.
When I started reading, I wasn’t sure whether to imagine Kry as male or female because it wasn’t made clear until later. The fixation with beauty and eternal youth and the skimpy clothes after the reset made me think woman, but it makes sense that the author waits to reveal Kry’s gender. In this world, vanity goes both ways and is displayed in meFaces⎼ phones and slams⎼ posts. Men and women are equally obsessed with appearances, and those who don’t fit the beauty standard⎼ curvy women and chiseled men⎼ are cast to the outskirts of the city.
Full review on Reedsy Discovery.
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