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Graffiti Hack
Nelly Nasah arrives in Washington, D.C. with a critical mission--to make the internet beautiful. In her native country, letters are hand written in anthropomorphic shapes because straight lines are considered ugly and heart monitor machines are decorated with colorful mosaics so as not offend the artistic sensibilities of patients. Growing up in a culture obsessed with decorating everything qualifies her for the quest....or so she believes. Nelly secures a job as a graphical designer in Georgetown, where she meets her aloof boss Jack, a talkative middle aged Ashley and Ralf who is convinced all women are attracted to him. Nelly tries to inspire the trio towards greater heights of exquisiteness with storytelling. Her modern fair tales backfire as they get misinterpreted, leading to hilarious results. Despite all her efforts, the only character Nelly forms a bond with is a rickety old elevator in a five story building whom she names Elvi. Nelly becomes convinced Elvi is communicating with her through the language of his gentle sways and flickering lights.
A failed presentation at the office turns Nelly to exploring the dark world of hacking. Installing lavish designs on unsuspecting high profile websites, lights the internet abuzz with news of Nelly's latest hits. As the multitudes read political and social messages into her art/vandalism, Nelly fears that the adoration of her new fans is about to plunge her into deep trouble.
Mixing the bite of Generation X by Douglas Coupland with the beauty of My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, Graffiti Hack is a jarring journey into the intersection of art, internet, obsession, immigration, fairy tales and loneliness.
A failed presentation at the office turns Nelly to exploring the dark world of hacking. Installing lavish designs on unsuspecting high profile websites, lights the internet abuzz with news of Nelly's latest hits. As the multitudes read political and social messages into her art/vandalism, Nelly fears that the adoration of her new fans is about to plunge her into deep trouble.
Mixing the bite of Generation X by Douglas Coupland with the beauty of My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, Graffiti Hack is a jarring journey into the intersection of art, internet, obsession, immigration, fairy tales and loneliness.
- GenresHumor
282 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
544 people want to read
About the author
Elen Ghulam
7 books27 followersAuthor of Spoonful Chronicles: To unlock the secret to her destiny one woman must remember everything that she has eaten. Elen is an Iraqi-Canadian who believes her dance shoe is mightier than a cruise missile.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 6, 2017
Graffiti Hack is an extremely original and interesting book that will captivate you from the very first page. I loved the writing, the main character and her unique point of view, the hilarious characters she works with and her special mission in Washington D.C. I also loved the stories within this story and the way she tried to explain them to her colleagues, even though they would somehow always misinterpret them.
Nelly’s friendship with Elvi and her relationship with her “arch-enemy” Blair is also worth of mention and made this book even more interesting. I looooved her and Blair’s e-mails and the way she brought him down to earth. KICK-ASS.
Overall, I haven’t ever read a book like this but I definitely enjoyed reading it!
You can read this review on BookishFever.
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April 23, 2023rtc
November 29, 2016
An absolutely delightful read.
I got this book as an ARC from the author and was very impressed by the ambition of this short novel. The character hails from a nation entirely engrossed in art and design, and brings her creative spirit with her to America. She begins a campaign of website graffiti, adding designs and artistic content to popular websites without permission. The book takes place in Washington DC, where I currently reside, and I appreciated the attention to detail of my city.
The book is uniquely formatted as the narrator is telling us her story as she writes as opposed to seeming like a polished and edited formulation of the characters thoughts. She breaks the fourth wall on multiple occasions, which made me laugh out loud at their cleverness. In short, a must read.
I got this book as an ARC from the author and was very impressed by the ambition of this short novel. The character hails from a nation entirely engrossed in art and design, and brings her creative spirit with her to America. She begins a campaign of website graffiti, adding designs and artistic content to popular websites without permission. The book takes place in Washington DC, where I currently reside, and I appreciated the attention to detail of my city.
The book is uniquely formatted as the narrator is telling us her story as she writes as opposed to seeming like a polished and edited formulation of the characters thoughts. She breaks the fourth wall on multiple occasions, which made me laugh out loud at their cleverness. In short, a must read.
April 13, 2018
This book shows a lot of promise. The ARC I downloaded did not have over 200 pages. Instead, it had an introduction which described scenery. I need to tell you that the fact I received this as a free ARC did not change my perspective about the book.
The plot idea it described was interesting--an immigrant from a society that took colors and scents more seriously than we do learning how to hack into a government mainframe. Unfortunately, I did not get a sense of how the main character felt our computer system was lacking--did it lack compassion, was it too interested in saving money or spending money on specific people? (I admit this is a concern of mine as well.) All I was able to see was descriptions of how color was used in this fictional society that strangely reminded me of Dragon Age's Qunari people.
How could the use of color and scent correct computer programs, how could it fix our difficult medical system? How could we actually cure folks of conditions if it is so much more profitable to sell drugs to "manage" the disease while making the person suffer and die more slowly?
I cannot recommend this book as I did not know where she was going with the descriptions of the society the immigrant came from. What did the person feel was lacking in our world? I would have liked to know the answer.
I feel like I read a draft of the book, rather than the book itself. If the author comes up with a more decisive voice (again, note my ARC was much shorter than the book claims to be) for the protagonist, I would not mind rereading it.
In the meantime, I would wait to purchase this book. I want to see it when it is actually finished.
The plot idea it described was interesting--an immigrant from a society that took colors and scents more seriously than we do learning how to hack into a government mainframe. Unfortunately, I did not get a sense of how the main character felt our computer system was lacking--did it lack compassion, was it too interested in saving money or spending money on specific people? (I admit this is a concern of mine as well.) All I was able to see was descriptions of how color was used in this fictional society that strangely reminded me of Dragon Age's Qunari people.
How could the use of color and scent correct computer programs, how could it fix our difficult medical system? How could we actually cure folks of conditions if it is so much more profitable to sell drugs to "manage" the disease while making the person suffer and die more slowly?
I cannot recommend this book as I did not know where she was going with the descriptions of the society the immigrant came from. What did the person feel was lacking in our world? I would have liked to know the answer.
I feel like I read a draft of the book, rather than the book itself. If the author comes up with a more decisive voice (again, note my ARC was much shorter than the book claims to be) for the protagonist, I would not mind rereading it.
In the meantime, I would wait to purchase this book. I want to see it when it is actually finished.
March 30, 2022
this woman’s brain is insane but i love it. she wrote in her blog about how she didn’t have a plan for this book and took it chapter by chapter and this is ver apparent but not a bad thing
October 19, 2016
Interesting and fun, this is a book about assumptions and ... design.
Nelly arrives in the US from a culture obsessed with decorations and inanimate beauty. Working as a graphic designer, she attempts to inspire her colleagues with fairy tales, and strikes up a friendship with an elevator. She then turns her hand to hacking websites to beautify them...
The storytelling method was an embellished one and, although giving the feeling of being over-written at the start, begins to work on the reader. The story of loneliness is strong, but unfortunately gets lost in the narration and slow pace. But the quirkiness was interesting and, if you're up for a 'different' read, this may be for you.
*I received a review copy of this book from the author via Rosie Amber's Review Team
Nelly arrives in the US from a culture obsessed with decorations and inanimate beauty. Working as a graphic designer, she attempts to inspire her colleagues with fairy tales, and strikes up a friendship with an elevator. She then turns her hand to hacking websites to beautify them...
The storytelling method was an embellished one and, although giving the feeling of being over-written at the start, begins to work on the reader. The story of loneliness is strong, but unfortunately gets lost in the narration and slow pace. But the quirkiness was interesting and, if you're up for a 'different' read, this may be for you.
*I received a review copy of this book from the author via Rosie Amber's Review Team
November 11, 2016
Almost gave up several times - just not my type of story and very odd ending.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews