A Robot in the Garden

Johnny Five is alive!

(Full disclosure: I received an electronic ARC for review through Edelweiss/NetGalley.)

Amy curled her lip. “Ben, it’s a robot, it doesn’t have feelings. It doesn’t care where it is or how broken it is. And this talk about you teaching it…you can’t even get it to talk properly. Wouldn’t you be better off doing something more productive?”

“Funny, ain’t it, the way we apply human qualities to these machines? People can get real attached to them. We have a cemetery just down the road for folks who’ve lost their androids.”

Thirty-four-year-old Ben Chambers is in a bit of a rut. By which I mean a gaping, stretching chasm from which escape seems impossible. His parents died six years ago - adventurous show more adrenaline junkies in their retirement, they perished when the light aircraft they were flying hit a bird and crashed - and Ben's been struggling with grief and depression ever since.

After their deaths, his studies faltered, and he was asked to take a leave of absence from the veterinary program he was enrolled in. Luckily, his parents left Ben his childhood home and a large chunk of money to live on; but this only enabled his chronic unemployment and general aimlessness. His wife Amy, a successful attorney, is understandably fed up; Ben doesn't even try to pull his own weight in the form of household chores. Tang is just the straw that broke their marriage's back.

When a beaten-up robot suddenly appears in their back garden one September morning, Ben fixates on him. (Ben is certain he's a He, even if robots don't have genders as such.) He's convinced that "acrid Tang" - "Tang" for short - is special and in need of saving. Among the bolts and rivets and squat boxes that make up Tang's body, Ben finds a broken cylinder, slowly but surely leaking fluid, in Tang's chest - right about where his heart would be. Armed just with a few partial inscriptions on Tang's undercarriage, Ben resolves to find Tang's creator before the cylinder runs dry and Tang stops working.

Under normal circumstances, this might be just another of Ben's broken promises ... and then Amy leaves him, moving in with his sister/her best friend Byrony. He decides to show them - SHOW THEM ALL!!! - by fixing Tang, just like he said he would. And so begins a rather epic journey, that takes him from his home in the UK to an android brothel in San Francisco; the Houston Space Museum in Texas; the welcoming streets of Tokyo, Japan; and, finally, to find a mysterious recluse scientist in Palau, Micronesia.

Along the way Ben becomes rather attached to his new charge, who is indeed special: exuberant and petulant and oh-so-obstinate, full of life and will and an eagerness to learn. Tang is someone, not something, and his sentience - obvious for all to see - challenges the conventional notion that robots and androids are objects to be used, exploited, and owned. (There's a great animal rights message hiding in here, though the book never addresses it explicitly. Many of the lessons introduced through the character of Tang are equally applicable to nonhuman animals. Just saying.) As the moment of their parting draws near, Ben questions whether he can let Tang go, even if it's for the little guy's own good.

The plot of A Robot in the Garden is a little different than I expected, but the overall feeling and tone met and maybe even exceeded my hopes. This is a crazy sweet story that will make you laugh, cry, and both anticipate and fear for the future - and what it might hold for potential AI.

Tang is, without a doubt, the breakout star here. He's sweet and brave and a little childlike in his demeanor and experiences; but, like all kids, he can also be a handful. Tang knows what he likes and wants, and isn't above manipulating, lying, and throwing "Tang-trums" to get his way. He can be jealous and rude, but also has a tremendous capacity for compassion and kindness. He has hopes and dreams and ambitions - just like any other person. He brings to mind Johnny Five from Short Circuit, even though Tang is a little more humanoid in design.

Ben is ... a little more complicated. Like Tang, he can be petulant and childish, but it's a much less attractive look on an adult man than a scrappy, six-year-old robot. Honestly, it took me a long time to warm up to Ben, especially given his shitty attitude towards his wife. He's not mean-spirited, not exactly, though he doesn't seem to give much thought to how his behavior affects her. Though he does come around, eventually - in fact, his early bad attitude is essential to the narrative arc of the story - it still doesn't make any of the early Ben/Amy scenes any more enjoyable to read. But the ending almost makes up for it. (Almost!)

A Robot in the Garden is quirky and charming, but in the best way possible: rarely does feel forced or grating, despite the more outlandish flourishes. It's also surprisingly funny; I found myself laughing out loud more than once, and rarely can books make me do much more than smirk.

I was a little disappointed that Kyle the three-legged sausage dog didn't join them for the duration of the trip, but the draft excluder was a nice consolation prize. That and watching Tang shop for his own things, when previously he was a "thing" himself. So cute!

Read from: under a dog pile (preferably rescue dachshunds), with a box of tissue within grabbing distance.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/06/24/a-robot-in-the-garden-by-deborah-install/ show less

There's such a simple beauty to this story, mixing realistic drama with just a touch of science fiction, that I fell in love with immediately. Each character was given such attention to detail and mannerism, and each moment presented so naturally, that the book carried itself along with an inertia that surprised me. From the description, I really wasn't sure I'd enjoy it at all, truthfully, but I loved it.

Simply, this is one of those books that I want to push toward people. I want to go from reader to reader and ask, "Have you heard of this? No? You should read it if you like fiction." Honestly, I don't even want to describe it, because no description does justice to what Install has created here. It will remain one of my show more favorites.

Absolutely recommended. show less

I started out liking this novel, which reminded me of The Hitchkiker's Guide to the Galaxy (only actually funny in places), but by the final chapters, the author's message about finding yourself and taking responsibility and being ready to have children just felt far too forced and I was left vaguely insulted. I get it, already!

Ben is a pathetic specimen of the human race. Ever since his parents died in an accident, his own life has been on hold, to the point where he just sits at home in his pyjamas and doesn't even realise when his ambitious wife Amy leaves him. But one day he finds the titular robot in his garden, which he names Tang after one of the few words the robot utters, and is suddenly motivated to travel halfway around the show more world to find a way to fix his new friend.

That's the story, really, apart from the last chapters about parenthood (yawn). Tang is at once endearing and grating - yes, I said it, he's annoying, with all the sulking and throwing tantrums. I know he's supposed to be like a child, but that's probably why he set my teeth on edge. I am a lifelong fan of Knight Rider, so the bar for human-sentient machine bonding is set high, what can I say? Ben does need to grow up, and fast, so there's that for the story arc, but the mood shifts from Adams does Asimov into zen life journey, which didn't quite work for me. show less

In einer wohl nicht allzu fernen Zukunft findet Ben in seinem Garten einen kleinen Roboter, der nach eigener Aussage Tang heißt. Der Kleine wächst ihm ans Herz, ganz im Gegensatz zu seiner Frau Amy, die Tang am liebsten zum Schrott werfen würde. Doch es ist nicht nur Tang, über den die Beiden uneins sind, sondern auch ihre unterschiedlichen Lebensauffassungen, die sich offenbar nicht miteinander vereinbaren lassen. Während Amy erfolgreich als Anwältin arbeitet, lebt ihr Mann nach einem abgebrochenen Tiermedizinstudium in den Tag hinein, dank dem Erbe seiner Eltern ohne finanzielle Probleme. Bens phlegmatisches Herumhängen nervt sie schließlich so, dass sie ihn verlässt und er mit Tang zurückbleibt. Statt nun weiter in show more Lethargie zu versinken, entwickelt er jedoch plötzlich einen Tatendrang als er entdeckt, dass sein kleiner Freund dringend repariert werden muss. Er bucht eine Reise in die USA und danach um die halbe Welt, voller Sorge dass es für Tang vielleicht zu spät sein könnte.
Vorab erst mal zur Beruhigung: So kitschig wie der Titel sich anhören mag, ist die Geschichte glücklicherweise nicht ;-) Das Original mit 'Ein Roboter im Garten' drückt zwar nicht so auf die Rührseligkeitsdrüse (sofern's die gibt ;-)), trifft den Kern aber mindestens ebenso gut und würde vielleicht auch eine Reihe anderer Leseinteressierter anlocken.
Es ist eine Art modernes Märchen, das sich Eltern gut mit ihren Kindern fast jeden Alters anhören können, sieht man von der zufälligen Übernachtung im Androiden-Bordell ab. Tang ist ein Roboter, der letzten Endes nichts anderes als ein Kleinkind ist, um das man sich kümmern und sorgen muss - ich bin mir sicher, Groß und Klein werden ihn mit seiner zu Beginn sehr rudimentären Sprechweise schnell ins Herz schließen. Auf der Reise wächst Ben an seiner Aufgabe, sich um Tang und seine Reparatur zu kümmern und wird bei jeder weiteren Etappe ein Stück erwachsener wie in gewisser Weise auch Tang, dessen Wortschatz sich stets weiter vergrößert und immer vernünftiger wird. Doch die Geschichte ist nicht nur 'gefühlig', sondern durchaus auch witzig und abenteuerlich, manchmal vielleicht etwas zu viel. Es gibt u.a. eine beinahe James-Bond-artige Flucht, eine Begegnung mit einem radioaktiv verseuchten Dackel, mit Androiden-Animierdamen undundund. Auch wenn mir Manches etwas zu übertrieben war, hatte ich im Großen und Ganzen doch knappe fünf Stunden eine amüsante, rührende und auch spannende Unterhaltung.
Hendrik Duryn, den ich hier zum ersten Mal als Vorleser gehört habe, gefiel mir recht gut. Zwar konnte er den einzelnen Personen nicht ganz so prägnante Stimmen verleihen wie beispielsweise Johannes Steck oder Rufus Beck, aber ich hatte dennoch keine Schwierigkeiten, sie zu unterscheiden. show less

One morning Ben and Amy find a robot in their garden. He somehow wandered in and he appears to have been damaged. And to top it all - he is a very old model and does not look like the androids that Amy had been talking about and wants to have. So she wants the robot gone - sent for recycling. Ben decides that he wants to keep Tang (as the robot introduces himself) and that adds more tension to a marriage which is on the rocks anyway.

Ben is drifting - his parents died six years earlier, his grief led to his dismissal from the veterinary school, his marriage is dissolving around him and he really sees no reason to do anything. Until Tang that is - for a reason that even he cannot explain, the little robot becomes the center of a recovery show more and even Amy leaving him does not change his new path. So off they go on a trip around the world to try to find some help for Tang - who appears to be in mortal danger from some of the damage he had sustained.

Ben starts the novel as a looser who blames everyone else for his issues and never fulfills his promises and ends it as a mature man who is ready for anything life throws at him. The almost comical elements (from the dog they meet to the megalomaniac villain that tries to kill them) are mixed with the story of an evolving father/son relationship (Tang behaves like a brat half of the time and as a toddler otherwise) and that combination should not work and yet, it somehow ends up working.

It is a cute novel that can be read as a metaphor for parenthood (and towards the end the author pushes a lot towards that) or as an adventure story. It is both things at the same time, despite some chunkiness and a somewhat uninspired middle. The end makes you smile though - because good wins against evil and all is good in the world (well, mostly).

The novel does not seem to have become very popular in English but the Japanese seem to have liked it enough to publish more volumes in the same series (the originals were never published in English from what I can see). show less

Oh, do you ever get that tingly little feeling after a few pages of a new book? And realize you've just re prioritized your to-do list so you can keep reading?

Deborah Install's debut novel A Robot in the Garden did just that!

Sometime in the near future in England, androids are an accepted part of everyday life, doing the cooking or gardening - even driving. They're high functioning, replacing the original robots.

Ben Chamber's wife Amy would like an android to help around the house (According to her, Ben does very little to help, well, very little anything) One morning though... "There's a robot in the garden" my wife informed me.

Ben is fascinated by the little robot - he's battered and worn and wherever could he have come from? He show more decides to keep him. But Amy has decided not to keep Ben - the marriage is done and she moves out. "But one thing she had said hurt more than anything else. 'He's never actually achieved anything.' She was right. I hadn't. It was about time I did."

And so Ben decides to save Tang, the broken robot. He will find his owner and get him fixed!

Tang and Ben set off on a journey that will hopefully heal Tang - and without him noticing - Ben as well. A Robot in the Garden houses quirky characters, odd situations, adventures and a pair of lead characters that you can't help but cheer for, between its pages. Ben is a perennial nice guy, who has just lost his way for a bit. And, as funny as it sounds, Tang has quite the personality, despite his limited vocabulary and boxy body.

I honestly laughed out loud so many times at Tang's antics. Tang was actually inspired by Install's own young son. As one character remarks "He's not so very different from a child if you ask me." Ben too is quite funny, albeit unintentionally sometimes.

I'm not going to spoil the book for you by revealing any more. Suffice it to say that the road trip to fix Tang is one you want to take.

A Robot in the Garden was funny, heartbreaking, heartwarming and so very, very good. How else could I describe The Robot in the Garden? Well, if you loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - cross that with Wall-E and you'll have an idea. Absolutely, positively recommended! show less

In an alternate parallel reality, A Robot in the Garden introduces the reader to thirty-four year old Ben Chambers, a chronic underachiever who is currently taking time off from veterinary school and quickly becoming an exasperation to his wife, Amy. Inexplicably a four foot tall robot, a fusion of “Japanese fine art and materials from a scrapyard” appears in their back garden. Its name is Acrid Tang. He doesn’t know where he came from and is content to watch the horses in a neighbouring field. But solving the puzzle of Tang’s appearance and finding someone who can repair his leaking cylinder becomes a galvanizing mission for Ben that will lead him from England to the United States, to Japan and Micronesia.

This debut novel from show more Deborah Install is a warm-hearted, whimsical tale about the journey unattended grief will launch us on, a journey towards understanding, acceptance and love.

7 out of 10 Recommended to readers looking for a lighter read. show less