A scathing comment on current social media and celebrity
This book drew me in, guided my opinions, and kept me on the hook with the skil and mastery of an Instagram influencer. I turned each page with the frenzied anticipation of a YouTube subscriber watching their favorite personality's newest video.
"Followers" is a scathing comment on today's social media and celebrity culture, with alternating chapters set in a government-run Internet future. The author lays out for the reader the current reality, insta-fame, "reality" stars, and then catapults us nearly 50 years into the future, where the government runs the Internet AND it's celebrities, and followers have ramped up their mob mentality to an even more dangerous degree. This book is enlightened "af".
"Followers" really nails its characters. Orla is the reluctant and then thirsty celebrity, initially buried in writing her book and ultimately pre-occupied with tracking her twitter mentions. Floss is the "talent", desperate for fame and attention and willing to take any shortcut to achieve it. In the future, Marlow is THE reality star, live streaming her existence to millions of followers 24 hours a day. Her life is sponsored, influenced, and influencing. Marlow is "The Truman Show" mixed with "Keeping Up with the Kardashians". Her life was "literally" created in a board room, and her future child will be created in a lab.
I tore through this book as fast as my greed little eyes would allow. It's a long book, but I felt each chapter was necessary to tell this story. I absolutely recommend this book to anybody who likes a sarcastic social criticism and to anybody who loves to hate reality celebrities.
"Followers" is a scathing comment on today's social media and celebrity culture, with alternating chapters set in a government-run Internet future. The author lays out for the reader the current reality, insta-fame, "reality" stars, and then catapults us nearly 50 years into the future, where the government runs the Internet AND it's celebrities, and followers have ramped up their mob mentality to an even more dangerous degree. This book is enlightened "af".
"Followers" really nails its characters. Orla is the reluctant and then thirsty celebrity, initially buried in writing her book and ultimately pre-occupied with tracking her twitter mentions. Floss is the "talent", desperate for fame and attention and willing to take any shortcut to achieve it. In the future, Marlow is THE reality star, live streaming her existence to millions of followers 24 hours a day. Her life is sponsored, influenced, and influencing. Marlow is "The Truman Show" mixed with "Keeping Up with the Kardashians". Her life was "literally" created in a board room, and her future child will be created in a lab.
I tore through this book as fast as my greed little eyes would allow. It's a long book, but I felt each chapter was necessary to tell this story. I absolutely recommend this book to anybody who likes a sarcastic social criticism and to anybody who loves to hate reality celebrities.