Alan, a retired man with a bizarre family, gets caught up in a scheme to blanket Toronto with free wireless internet.

I wasn't too sure what to expect, going in. I'd heard that Doctorow's work was very, very strange, and this is true. I've been trying to think of a more politically correct way to say it, but I've failed: this is some weird-ass sh*t. But it's good weird-ass sh*t; it's weird-ass sh*t with a lot of heart. Argus and his family are inhuman in body, but they're very human in soul.

(Their names also change by the minute. It's the first letter that's important here, not the stuff that comes after it. Alan becomes Art becomes Avi becomes Allen, and so on and so forth).

But - and there's always a but, isn't there? - oddly enough, I didn't get quite so much out of the human elements, (which were all bizarrely fantastical and fantastically bizarre), as the technostuff. Don't get me wrong, Alan and his family are beautifully rendered, and their strange interactions make for some compelling reading, but the science fictiony portions of the novel were the most fun. Art and his friend Kurt are determined to change the face of interpersonal communication, and I loved watching them work it all out. I initially found it a little confusing, (non-scientist, me), but I quickly caught on. I really looked forward to these scenes; they were by far my favourites.

That's not to say that Alan's personal struggles aren't compelling. They certainly are. He tries so, so hard to be normal, but he can never quite manage it. He wakes his young neighbors up at eight in the morning. He covers the walls of his home with bookcases - even the stairwells, the bathroom and the kitchen. He turns his observations of human nature into long, rambling lectures on business and technology and moral responsibility. He's downright weird. And yet, it's difficult not to like him. You want him to succeed; you want him to figure it out, at long last. And you always, always want to learn more about him and his strange, unconventional family.

All in all, this was a very good book. I had a great time with it, and it's given me a lot to mull over. But I find, oddly enough, that I have no desire to read it again. It was a great one-night stand, and I do wish I'd read it in a class so I could discuss some of the themes at greater length, but I don't want to get involved with it on a long-term basis. I feel all right about passing my copy on to someone else.

(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina). ( )

It was a little hard to get into at first, but I ended up really liking it. The "magical" parts of it remind me quite a bit of Bradbury's October Country, with a touch of Dunsany thrown in. Quite a bit different than some of Doctorow's other novels which feel a bit more like Stross with some political issues thrown in. A few of those here.

The characters themselves have a certain realism that is hard to describe.

There were one or two rough transitions, which made me consider going to 4 and a 1/2 stars. To be honest though, recapturing the Bradbury magic meant a lot to me. ( )

He writes well and is imaginitive - your father's a mountain, your mother a washing machine! Would be even better if it had a plot and the evil characters had some obvious motivation. ( )

Download a free version here (From Authors Website): http://craphound.com/someone/download...

Now the review.

I enjoyed this book greatly. It was written in 2005, when wireless technology was just becoming widespread, cell phones just started replacing landlines, and netbooks were still in the imagination of designers. So even though its 4 years old, it feels a bit dated, especially where free wireless networks come in, but in a lot of other aspects, it could be a novel written in 2009.

This story really shouldn't work, but it does, and once you realize its a modern day creation myth, it really works. This is the story that would have been written if the ancient Greeks lived in today's connected society. ( )

Ok, I admit it. I bought it for the cover. Seriously, how cool is it??? I also loved the bit on the back that reads " He himself has a secret or two. His father is a mountain, his mother is a washing machine, and among his brothers are a set of Russian nesting dolls" . How could that not pique your interest?
It's a great story about coping with a disfunctional family, realizing that everyone has family weirdness, loving your eccentric friends, letting down your guard and doing your best to leave the world a better place. I loved that the characters all had their good sides and their issues (except for Davy/Daniel/Doug) and I loved that it was so darn entertaining while it gave me something to think about.
Great art on the cover and an outstanding read. Can it get any better? ( )