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iainjclarkSo, as I mentioned in my thoughts about Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, I've just read William Gibson's Pattern Recognition.
Briefly, the novel concerns Cayce Pollard, an American with a phobia of trademarks, who sniffs out what's about to be cool so it can be "productised" and sold. During a trip to London, Cayce takes on a job that leads her to unravel a conspiracy of sorts. The plot takes its cues from thrillers, but the book is actually quite a low-key, thoughtful tale of self-discovery. It's an immensely readable, very human novel with a likeable protagonist. I've seen this described as Gibson's most mature novel, and it certainly felt that way.
I've been away from Gibson for some time, having read the Neuromancer trilogy ages ago, but the moment I opened the first page it was clear that his writing style remains as pithy, modern and recognisable as ever. I can say without too much embarrassment that I had to re-read the first sentence a few times to make sure I'd got the sense of it, but fortunately he stops trying quite so hard after that. What remains is incredibly sharp prose, full of specific observations and characterisation. Gibson has a noticeable knack for coining fresh metaphors that get to the heart of what he's describing.
That kind of fresh insight is one of the novel's strengths. The world of the book is more or less the one we live in; it's not really science fiction at all, even though it shares the sensibility of SF. The best way I can describe it is that the book approaches the real world as if it were a science fiction invention, drawing out all the matter-of-fact ways in which technology and global communication are now a commonplace part of many people's everyday lives. It would have been SF ten years ago. Now it's just the world we live in - one which will probably seem dated in about ten minutes time.
I suppose it's the kind of pseudo-SF you get in present-day techno-thrillers, except that Gibson is doing something altogether more perceptive and philosophical. He's much more interested in the mundane aspects of technology: the personal gadgets, not the military hardware. The story is partly about the alienation of being a stranger abroad, surrounded by familiar things that are not-quite-the-same, but it's also about the things that are shared: the global brand-names, and the ways in which our lives are inter-twined across the internet with people we've never met, in countries we've never visited. Throughout the book Cayce is looking for patterns and meaning - in popular culture, in trademarks, in the meme-like spread of information, in newsgroups, in history, and of course in herself. I liked this a lot. Cayce is a very likeable protagonist, completely individual and quirky, but also someone whose day to day concerns are very universal. It helped that I can empathise quite strongly with someone who engages with online communities on a daily basis. :-)
In some ways this is quite an easy read. It doesn't break much new ground in terms of story structure, and nothing happens which is particularly gut-wrenching or shocking. It's not a "difficult" novel. What makes it fresh, and worthwhile, is that it bothers to shine a spotlight on the things we take for granted in a way that makes us stop and think twice. It has a pleasing sense of operating on several levels at once: it's partly a rumination about modern society and how it's changing as a result of globalisation, and it's also a very warm, likeable - even geeky - story of someone searching for patterns and meaning. Ultimately it's both satisfying and thoughtful.
(Now if this hangover would just stop, I'd be a happy man. Why do I even agree to these office nights out, anyway...? Ouch. Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch. Ouch.)
Briefly, the novel concerns Cayce Pollard, an American with a phobia of trademarks, who sniffs out what's about to be cool so it can be "productised" and sold. During a trip to London, Cayce takes on a job that leads her to unravel a conspiracy of sorts. The plot takes its cues from thrillers, but the book is actually quite a low-key, thoughtful tale of self-discovery. It's an immensely readable, very human novel with a likeable protagonist. I've seen this described as Gibson's most mature novel, and it certainly felt that way.
I've been away from Gibson for some time, having read the Neuromancer trilogy ages ago, but the moment I opened the first page it was clear that his writing style remains as pithy, modern and recognisable as ever. I can say without too much embarrassment that I had to re-read the first sentence a few times to make sure I'd got the sense of it, but fortunately he stops trying quite so hard after that. What remains is incredibly sharp prose, full of specific observations and characterisation. Gibson has a noticeable knack for coining fresh metaphors that get to the heart of what he's describing.
That kind of fresh insight is one of the novel's strengths. The world of the book is more or less the one we live in; it's not really science fiction at all, even though it shares the sensibility of SF. The best way I can describe it is that the book approaches the real world as if it were a science fiction invention, drawing out all the matter-of-fact ways in which technology and global communication are now a commonplace part of many people's everyday lives. It would have been SF ten years ago. Now it's just the world we live in - one which will probably seem dated in about ten minutes time.
I suppose it's the kind of pseudo-SF you get in present-day techno-thrillers, except that Gibson is doing something altogether more perceptive and philosophical. He's much more interested in the mundane aspects of technology: the personal gadgets, not the military hardware. The story is partly about the alienation of being a stranger abroad, surrounded by familiar things that are not-quite-the-same, but it's also about the things that are shared: the global brand-names, and the ways in which our lives are inter-twined across the internet with people we've never met, in countries we've never visited. Throughout the book Cayce is looking for patterns and meaning - in popular culture, in trademarks, in the meme-like spread of information, in newsgroups, in history, and of course in herself. I liked this a lot. Cayce is a very likeable protagonist, completely individual and quirky, but also someone whose day to day concerns are very universal. It helped that I can empathise quite strongly with someone who engages with online communities on a daily basis. :-)
In some ways this is quite an easy read. It doesn't break much new ground in terms of story structure, and nothing happens which is particularly gut-wrenching or shocking. It's not a "difficult" novel. What makes it fresh, and worthwhile, is that it bothers to shine a spotlight on the things we take for granted in a way that makes us stop and think twice. It has a pleasing sense of operating on several levels at once: it's partly a rumination about modern society and how it's changing as a result of globalisation, and it's also a very warm, likeable - even geeky - story of someone searching for patterns and meaning. Ultimately it's both satisfying and thoughtful.
(Now if this hangover would just stop, I'd be a happy man. Why do I even agree to these office nights out, anyway...? Ouch. Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch. Ouch.)