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Pros: This was an incredibly unique and intriguing story with courage, compassion, and love at its core. It was also a very topical lesson about how much we rely on machines and automation for comfort. Be wary of the Robot Overlords.
Cons: Sometimes Dixon's descriptions of how people moved, "clomping, shriveling" were a bit odd, but other than that, the book was perfection.
Full Review
Harold and Edie Winters have lived in the same house for the last forty years. All of the appliances are now "smart", meaning, more or less, sentient. There's Clock, taciturn and to the point, since he, of course, tells time. Wellington Fridge, who keeps the food cool; Watch, who oversees the running of the House since he is worn on Harold's wrist. And then there's the small, efficient, ever-inquisitive Roomba, or as she prefers to be called, Scout, after she heard Harold reading To Kill a Mockingbird to Edie.
Unfortunately, Edie's health is declining, and it's only too soon that she succumbs to her illness. All of the appliances feel the loss and start to worry about what this will mean, what changes may occur now that Harold is the only Human in the house. Though Watch is, for the most part, in charge, they are, of course, all monitored by The Grid. It all began with self-driving cars, The Grid keeping traffic clear, and then its reach extended from Transportation to supply chains, and soon, The Grid was running everything.
Shortly after Edie's death, a young neighbor, Adrian, a former pupil of Edie's, begins coming to the house to use her piano to practice for his Level 5 Exam at the conservatory. Harold was hesitant at first, leery of letting Adrian practice, since the Piano is a bittersweet memory of Edie. But soon, the presence of Adrian, his excitement and enthusiasm, fill the house with warmth and joy. And though it's against protocol, Scout begins helping the boy with the Bach piece he plans to play at his exam.
After Edie's death, their daughter Kate is granted two-weeks' furlough from her job working for The Grid to come to the house and start cataloging, organizing, and removing her mother's things. Due to an incident that occurred when she was younger that resulted in the death of a friend, Kate has been "sanctioned", meaning there have been limitations put upon her. She must do as The Grid tells her, and she has been chafing under its yoke for years.
It all comes to a head when Robots arrive to remove the Piano. In the ensuing scuffle, Harold trips down the stairs and breaks his hip, breaking the first protocol of all appliances: that of keeping humans free from pain. The Grid slowly begins turning things off, and Kate knows that it will only get worse. She starts trying to figure out a way to override the Grid, and with the help of the intrepid and courageous Scout, she may have figured out a way to succeed and keep her Father safe and in his rightful home.
This was a short, sweet, heartfelt, genuinely emotional, and perfect story. It was equal parts heart-wrenching and heartfelt, and I would recommend it to anyone since not only is it a great story, it's also unnervingly "on point" since we are becoming more and more reliant on AI and automation of machines to take care of the annoying but necessary parts of life.
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