Close to the Machine: Technophilia and its discontents


Author: Ellen Ullman
Rating: 3/5

I devoured this book.
I was actually surprised that at night, before bed I found myself thinking about it and wanting it to read more.

However, while it was indeed an enjoyable read, I expected somewhat more.
Approaching the book I expected it to be more of an essay and with a deeper technological focus.
Instead it’s just a story, which happens to be set in a particularly “technological period” (the late 90s).

It offer some insight still about the general “esprit du temps” but it by no means dives in the nitty gritty details of implementation or architecture design.

It was a nice, enjoyable read, but not what I was expecting.

Would read again some time in the future.

Book Details