A fruitful, dynamic discussion!

Little Brother was a good fit for everyone who showed up to the discussion last Sunday! We all had something unique to say about it, which expanded our appreciation of it as a piece of modern literature; that is the ultimate goal of a book club, am I right? Here are some highlights:

We all agreed that the antagonist, DHS (Department of Homeland Security), was a bit one-dimensional, making the good vs. evil aspect of the plot excessively black and white; it needed more of a grey area, with "bad" folks on the good side and "good" folks on the bad. However, this plot structure really drove the story and kept us reading. The composition is very strong, with great timing, memorable scenes and likable characters, though we felt some characters could have been further developed, such as Van and Jolu. We are reminded of Orwell's "Big Brother" in 1984, to which "Little Brother" is an appropriate counterpoint.

The target audience--young adults--is quite apparent to some readers, especially in comparison to Doctorow's other books (those of us who have read his other work wouldn't call this one his best, but that may have something to do with some readers being outside the age group Little Brother is supposedly geared toward).

Marcus (aka M1k3y, W1n5ton), our protagonist, is the only character suitable for the role of narrator. We discussed how different our experience would have been had the story been told through any other character's eyes, and we agreed that Marcus was wisely chosen. His quirkiness could be seen in a number of ways, depending on where the readers see themselves in relation to the target audience (if they choose to approach it this way). It was said that Marcus actually created a fair amount of trouble for himself throughout the story, but it makes him a very believable, well-developed character that most of us can identify with in some way.

Our more "geeky" club members appreciated the accuracy and knowledgeability that Doctorow displays with his use of technology as a character (and second narrator, in my opinion). There were definitely some shots taken at the Microsoft Corporation--all in good fun, of course--which we found amusing.

The generation-gap concept plays a major role both in the book and in the discussion of it. The behavior of the adult characters in comparison to the teen characters reflects what we've seen in American culture for decades; young people are ready to fight for what they believe in, while adults tend to follow what authority figures dictate. Why? Fear. Fear is another secondary character in Little Brother. DHS acts out of fear, instilling fear in those they wish to control, which seems to work more effectively on adults, who have already passed through the invincible rebellious phase (and its consequences) that is so stereotypical of teenagers.

So who blew up the bridge? By the end of the story, does it really matter? What if DHS was the terrorist all along?

To make a longer story shorter (I hope that wasn't too painful), Little Brother is a timely tidbit of fiction that reminds us of the recent past and perhaps forecasts the near future.

So what's our next book? On Sunday, the following titles were suggested (we need a few more before we vote!):

Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)
Anathem (Neal Stephenson's most recent)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)
Hyperion (Dan Simmons)

We seem to be on a bit of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy binge--I'm all for it!

Thanks to everyone for waking up my brain on an otherwise lazy Sunday!

Meeting date changed--March 15th

Due to some scheduling conflicts, we're now meeting March 15th (Sunday). Hope to see you there! Following the discussion, I'll post some highlights.....