I think like 5 years ago I would have liked the meta commentary on tech more. Now it seems kind of trite and, as apparently the first employee at Instagram, I feel like the author is too embedded in the world he's satirizing to effectively be critical of it.
I liked the fact that there were no simple answers at the end. There were some interesting things about memory and identity and so on that were still vague by the end. I was left feeling like the story was going somewhere interesting thematically and never quite got there, but the journey was still enjoyable
In ways similar to Kasulke's Several People are Typing, this book is taking up the materiality/immateriality of digital media. An app tracking more than just your clicks (biometric data, facial expressions) combines with big data in surprising ways. Plus, the main character is an Art History major who is working in content moderation.
If you liked the FX show Devs (and if you haven't seen that, watch it!), this book has a number of similarities.
Review of 'Please Report Your Bug Here' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Please Report Your Bug Here, by Josh Riedel, is a mixture of coming of age, social commentary, and fantasy novel. The protagonist is Ethan Block, who has a liberal arts background but is working on a start-up social media site called DateDate. He works with just two other people, known as the engineer and the Founder, until they are bought by The Corporation, a bigger social app that appears to be modeled on Facebook.
During his employment in social media, Ethan is witness to the dawn of certain technologies, and how, in the pursuit of wealth, this social media platform is willing to expose the general public to potential harm with features that are not completely understood. This is where it becomes part fantasy novel. The author creatively conjures up a possibility that does not seem possible in real life, at least not literally, to drive a plot about social …
Please Report Your Bug Here, by Josh Riedel, is a mixture of coming of age, social commentary, and fantasy novel. The protagonist is Ethan Block, who has a liberal arts background but is working on a start-up social media site called DateDate. He works with just two other people, known as the engineer and the Founder, until they are bought by The Corporation, a bigger social app that appears to be modeled on Facebook.
During his employment in social media, Ethan is witness to the dawn of certain technologies, and how, in the pursuit of wealth, this social media platform is willing to expose the general public to potential harm with features that are not completely understood. This is where it becomes part fantasy novel. The author creatively conjures up a possibility that does not seem possible in real life, at least not literally, to drive a plot about social media that is unique.
Ethan is both intrigued and disturbed by what is at first referred to as “the black box bug,” and he and Noma, a young woman who is hired as a contractor at DateDate, start to investigate this phenomenon. Noma contributes mystery to this story, as she has prior knowledge that she does not immediately share with Ethan.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a strong sense about Ethan’s emotional state, or his feelings about others. For example, his one long relationship came to an end, and the thoughts Ethan shares with the reader about this are not enlightening. I thought he seemed like an ambivalent stranger throughout the story. Noma is a sympathetic and intense character, and I might have related to her more, had she been the focus of this cautionary tale.
Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable story with an inventive plot, though it was not an urgent read for me. There were times when the dialogue seemed a bit improbable to me, perhaps because of a lack of experience on my part with this particular work environment and culture.
Thank you very much to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. for sharing this new novel.
