Review Of The Novel "Feed By M.T. Anderson"

 

Disclaimer: This is not an actual review. I am neither a book critic nor a literary analyst. The content of this review is mainly based on my view and opinion of this novel/book. The word "review" is only used to categorize and grab the reader's attention.

Warning: May contain spoilers!

Overview:

 Feed is a dystopian, cyberpunk, satirical, young adult fiction novel by M. T. Anderson. It is set in a faraway future where everything and every person is being controlled by "feed", which is an internetworking brain implant.

The novel opens on the day when Titus and his group of friends decide to go and have fun on the moon where they meet a girl named Violet, whose attitude seems unusual to others. At a night club the group of friends and Violet get attacked by a cyberpunk and for the first time, they get their “feeds” deactivated. However, after a course of time, everyone's “feed” gets fixed except Violet who starts facing malfunctioning with her system.

~M.T Anderson, Feed

The novel also focuses on many aspects and issues such as consumerism, information technology, environmental issues etc. 

What I Liked About The Novel "Feed By M.T. Anderson":

At first, the novel seemed very boring to me. I was ready to put it down and move on like any other person. That is until a chapter or two later I started to realize what the author actually means with this story. And after that, I absolutely loved this book.

This novel was published in 2002 and just for predicting and showing what the future might look like for the people of Earth, M.T. Anderson deserves the highest literary award that exists. It was somehow meant to show that people “might” turn out to be like this in future but I do not think the author knew that this would be the reality of the human race one day. Reading this book in 2024 all I could think of was “This is not a work of fiction. This is my reality”. Although we are far away from being advanced enough to have regular trips to the moon for “fun”, yet overconsumption and overuse of the Internet, ignorance, emotional range, and talking style of characters are similar to our present-day reality.

The plot, setting, characters and attention to detail are very well crafted by Anderson. I like how Violet’s character had depth. She was intelligent, and emotional, cared about the world's problems, loved reading, gathering information and talked in full sentences that made sense. Violet was basically shown to be using her feed as a tool to live and not something her life depended on. The feed was wired in all of them in a way controlling their whole body. And once you're so tech-dependent, your brain loses its capability of thinking of its own and seeing life outside of what is being suggested to you. With violet it was different. She knew how to use her own brain outside of feed and that's why everyone felt she was unusual and different. They even labelled her a rebel. Even on the back of the book cover, the description defines her as a rebel which I believe was misleading. Titus’s friends labelled her as pretentious for using finer vocabulary and trying to discuss world problems. 

Book Cover Of Feed By M.T. Anderson 

At the same time, Titus the main character was shown to be ignorant, shallow, dense, consumed by advertisements and too deep in pop culture. From what I understood, Violet is what the world should be like and Titus is what unfortunately the world is turning out to be like. While reading I came to understand that Violet was not a rebel, or pretentious she knew that “feed” was a tool made for humans to have access to information. It was not meant to control them, they were meant to control and use it to their advantage. Unfortunately, others did not understand her point of view because they had their brains wrapped around advertisements and useless stuff. They were so used to having everything made easy to use, and easy to understand for them that they had forgotten to use their brains and emotions and process information without the help of “feed”.

I like how Anderson highlighted the corporate sector's hunger for producing more and more goods without batting an eye on what is happening to our environment. It tells the harsh reality of corporate business that if you or any other consumers are not beneficial to their business or agenda then they will toss you aside. It also shows how in the name of modernization, advancement, and urbanization humans are harming the natural habitat and ecosystem.

~M.T. Anderson, Feed

A lot of people complain about how this novel was narrated. They say it’s too slangy and hard to read and it feels like the author is trying too hard to force the point with phrases like “Do ya understand?”. But, I think it is perfect. He created a language for teens who are overly consumed by advertisements while keeping the classic teenage attitude intact. Unfortunately, what the author only used to define characters has become the actual reality. In reality, teenagers are using much worse slang and sentences. And do not get me started on how many times “like” is used in sentences. I am guilty of using it myself in my daily sentences a hundred times. The truth is the type of content which is consumed by people, and the type of information they come across influences the way they form their speech. This is what the author tried to show with his characters’ way of talking.

What I Didn't Like About The Novel "Feed By M.T. Anderson":

To put it in simple words, I didn’t like Titus. I have never been enraged by any fictional character as much as I was by him. Before I start my rant on how much I disliked his character and why let me clear that I totally get the idea behind his character and what the author was trying to convey. The fact that I disliked him so much proves that the author nailed delivering the message of this novel with his characters. Anyway, here’s why I dislike Titus:

Throughout the novel Titus kept asking people if he was stupid, or telling them that he wasn't stupid, the truth was he was not only stupid but ignorant and he had zero empathy in him. He liked Violet for being “different” than others but soon he started hating her for the same thing. Maybe it was because she reminded him of how his brain was rotting just like everyone else and that was too big of a reality check for him to digest.

The worst part that riled me up and made me almost hate him was when Violet sent him her memories and he deleted them without even looking at them and in the end he had the audacity to go to her and tell her that she won't die because he will remember her forever and he knew her best. After reading that part, I kept on thinking he didn’t even see her memories so how can he claim that?

He showed zero empathy when Violet started malfunctioning. He completely ignored her and went to have fun with his friends instead of being with the girl he claimed he was in love with. I totally get they were a bunch of "feed dependent", "brain-controlled" people. However, I still feel that if Quendy could feel jealous, Titus could feel a little bit sorry about Violet's situation and be nice to her. At least not gaslight her into apologizing to him for dying or malfunctioning.

~M.T. Anderson, Feed

Conclusion:

Overall, I liked the concept of the novel. I think it's a great story that can help you reflect on the present situation of the world and whatever is going around. You might get the idea of the bigger picture that the author tried to paint, a thing or two might click in your brain and you decide to filter out and control your own "feed" before it controls you.

I give this novel 4/5 stars.