Consumed by What We Consume

I just finished Feed by M.T. Anderson and enjoyed it immensely. It’s about consumption. (Author’s note: This post is from 2013.)What struck me most about it, and perhaps one of the reasons I liked it so much, is that it seemed so retro.

By this I mean it reminded me very much of science fiction from the late sixties and early seventies, John Brunner or Philip K. Dick for example (even Samuel R. Delany’s “Dhalgren,” to a degree). I think this a combination of the satire, the style of the satire (quick pace, an invented vernacular) and the overall theme (consumers consumed by what they consume, so to speak). Generally, I’m not a huge fan of satire because it tends to come across as slight and facile. Anderson, however, gives his satire a greater degree of depth through his characters, particularly his main character Titus, but also with his character of Violet and her father. Because the characters are well drawn, the satire of the book eventually takes a back seat as the story evolves into tragedy. In other words, the drama is very good. I was particularly struck by Titus and how he responds to what is happening to Violet, which came across not just as realistic but as truthful. Similarly, I liked the father when he expresses his grief. In a way, this story is a loss of innocence for both him, the father, and Titus. It’s a very good book but I would suggest that if you see it simply as satire you will miss a majority of the book – and the best part at that.

February 9, 2013

(Note: This old post, here re-posted, was my first shot at using the WordPress Gutenberg editor. I found it a bit clunky, but usable. However, there were problems with images that were centred in the editor but insisted on being left-justified on publishing. I couldn’t figure out the problem so I went back to the classic editor to fix it.)