Literature®

Literature® is an odd little novella. It’s sort of a mishmash of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Books have been banned, and creating fiction is a crime. It’s not clear as to why. A company that specializes in transportation tries to recruit Billy, a journalist, after he covers the unveiling of some of their new vehicles. Billy has been indoctrinated into a terrorist organization called Gilgamesh by his girlfriend’s brother, Vince.

Literature® is a strange reading experience. It has a vague, post-modern feel, where the time and setting sort of hop around to different points in Billy’s story. However, the plot felt a little thin, and I feel the author could have said more. Someone remarks late in the book that literature is banned because “people have to get to work.” Both Billy and his girlfriend, Jane, communicate in a wildly illiterate text speak, yet Billy makes a living from writing and Jane has a Ph.D.

While it was an enjoyable book, Literature® didn’t seem to live up to its full potential. I would not have minded a longer and more fully fleshed out story. Readers who enjoy the bitter flavor of dystopia will enjoy this quick read.