3 out of 4 stars
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My Author Is Dead by Michel Bruneau would easily be worthy of a full rating points if story-telling were the only consideration. This book skillfully combines the art and process of literary fiction with an abundance of satire to cleverly disguise it within the dystopian genre.
From a first person perspective, Adam, the anti-hero protagonist opens with narrating a baffling presentation of a prologue and a chaotic courtroom scene that drops the reader smack-dab in the middle of everything. This sets the stage for making sense of Adam's world by seeing how little sense it seems to make on the surface, permitting a return to the beginning chain of events that led to the first chapter. The narration meanders through cleverly nerdy literary references that serve as world-building blocks of allusions. Bruneau delightfully uses the contrast of the absurd to illuminate the reality of age old philosophical and ideological quandaries. If the reader makes it far enough, a circle back to the opening is completed and the narration continues to see Adam through his trial and the humorous turns taken to resolve everything.
However, using satire and references to base an entire literary world on has its drawbacks, primarily in that it relies heavily on how well the reader will be able to keep up with or receive them. As such, the subject of religious ideology is a central theme among the things satirized, which some may find controversial or even offensive whether they get the jokes or not. I would still recommend it nonetheless though, or perhaps even more so, as challenging those ideas is more or less in line with one of the main points of the book. That said, I didn't agree with the conclusions implied through the plot resolution, but I didn't have to in order to appreciate the story as a whole and the journey narrated in the process.
On the subject of awareness, I will also note that there were a handful of errors that I caught mostly towards the end of the book; not enough to detract from enjoyment but enough to question the editing quality. I had been prepared to give the benefit of the doubt and speculate that though an editor may have been employed, perhaps they didn't make it to the end. Unfortunately, after some deliberation I have decided against this as it's more likely that if one has to ask, then either there was no editor or it was done poorly enough that it can't be regarded as having been done professionally.
Overall, I'm resigned to giving this book a 3 out of 4 stars rating here. As much as I'd like to give it a full 4, the questionable editing drags it down to a 3. Would still absolutely recommend to anyone as an entertaining read with a well thought premise and creative experience that many will likely find relatable.
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My Author Is Dead
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