The America of 2037 is a country distracted by, infatuated with, and addicted to Arcadia.
The brainchild of reclusive genius Juan Diego Reyes, Arcadia is a wickedly immersive, all-encompassing social-media platform and virtual-reality interface. Although Arcadia has made the Reyes family fabulously wealthy, it’s left them – and the rest of the country – impoverished of that rare currency: intimacy. When Juan Diego mysteriously vanishes, the consequences shatter the lives of the entire Reyes clan.
As matriarch Autumn struggles to hold the family together, siblings Gideon, Holly, and Devon wrestle with questions of purpose and meaning – seeking self-worth in a world where everything has been cheapened. Outside the artificial safety of Arcadia, America has crumbled into an unrecognizable nation where a fundamentalist ex-preacher occupies the Oval Office, megacorporations blithely exploit their full citizenship, and a twenty-foot-high Great Wall of Freedom plastered with lucrative advertising bestrides the US-Mexican border.
In a polarized society now cripplingly hooked on manufactured highs, the Reyes family must overcome the seduction of simulation to find the kind of authentic human connection that offers salvation for all.
Confuse this not for science fiction Long and pointless expositions, bo-h-ring dialog, solipsistic navel contemplations on top of a subject that could have been interesting. Don’t forget the occasional gratuitous language, probably de rigueur since the work claims literary ambitions. Whatever. Let’s start with some detail: the opening wants to describe the grip of an addictive vieo game on a dysfunctional teenager (I think that’s what it tries to do, at least). A better writer could have used an immersive gaming session to…
My favorite book to date The story is riveting and while some may find the changes in chapters confusing, I loved it. Seeing from different perspectives. After reading the book, I don’t think its description makes sense, though. The story of this near future America is compelling and realistic. Nothing is too far fetched. The perfect book to read after reading 1Q94.
Gandert is an excellent writer whose language is simple but striking Gandert is an excellent writer whose language is simple but striking. I read a lot of books set in the near future and many in the genre offer interesting ideas about where society is headed without the literary prowess to take you there, not so with Lost In Arcadia. The book builds gracefully and when it really kicks in the writing gets punchy and efficient. Unlike other books I’ve read set in the future, Lost in Arcadia doesn’t rely on cheap tricks and long winded explanations of new…